How to divide complex numbers

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ACT Math › How to divide complex numbers

Questions 1 - 8
1

Complex numbers take the form , where is the real term in the complex number and is the nonreal (imaginary) term in the complex number.

Simplify:

Explanation

This problem can be solved very similarly to a binomial such as . In this case, both the real and nonreal terms in the complex number are eligible to be divided by the real divisor.

, so

2

Evaluate:

Explanation

First, divide 100 by as follows:

Now, divide this by :

3

Evaluate:

Explanation

First, divide 100 by as follows:

Now dvide this result by :

4

Complex numbers take the form , where is the real term in the complex number and is the nonreal (imaginary) term in the complex number.

Simplify by using conjugates:

Explanation

Solving this problem using a conjugate is just like conjugating a binomial to simplify a denominator.

Multiply both terms by the denominator's conjugate.

Simplify. Note .

Combine and simplify.

Simplify the numerator.

The prime denominator prevents further simplifying.

Thus, .

5

Simplify:

Explanation

Multiply both numberator and denominator by :

6

Evaluate:

Explanation

First, evaluate :

Now divide this into :

7

Evaluate:

Explanation

First, evaluate using the square pattern:

Divide this into :

8

Simplify:

Explanation

This problem can be solved in a way similar to other kinds of division problems (with binomials, for example). We need to get the imaginary number out of the denominator, so we will multiply the denominator by its conjugate and multiply the top by it as well to preserve the number's value.

Then, recall by definition, so we can simplify this further:

This is as far as we can simplify, so it is our final answer.

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