EXTRA CREDIT: MULTIPLICATION AS TRANSFORMATIONS AND ROTATIONSName:

The operation of multiplication can be thought of as a projection (either

lengthening or shortening) of a number on a number line. For instance, if we
multiply the number 1 by 2, we change its magnitude (length) by a factor of 2,
without changing its direction. If we multiply the number 1 by , again we do not
change its direction, but only its length. DRAW TWO DIAGRAMS
ILLUSTRATING THESE OPERATIONS ON THE TWO NUMBER LINES BELOW.

If we combine these two operations, then the net result is that there is NO
CHANGE. For instance, if we INCREASE the magnitude by a factor of 2, and then
a factor of , or by a factor of , and then a factor of 2, the result is 1 in both
cases. The order does not matter. This illustrates the commutative property of
multiplication, as well as the property that the inverse operation of multiplication
is multiplication by the reciprocal of a number (1 divided by the number).
Additionally, if we try and think backwards to come up with an operation that is
the opposite of multiplication, we can think of DECREASING the magnitude by a
factor of 2, to go from 2 to 1. This gives us the operation of division, which is the
opposite of multiplication. It also shows how you can go from 2 to 1 EITHER by
multiplying by , or by dividing by 2. In the same way, you can go from 1 to 2
either by multiplying by 2, or dividing by . This indicates that multiplying by a
number is the same as dividing by its reciprocal.
So far, these results are quite standard and obvious, but they can lead to some
interesting results.
One of these is that rather than multiplying a number by projecting it along the
number line, it is possible to actually CHANGE THE SCALE of the number line
itself. For instance, to multiply the number 2 by 10, instead of actually drawing a
projection that enlarges the number from 2 to 20, we could simply change the
scale of the number line itself by multiplying all of the numbers by 10crossing
out 1, 2, and 3, etc. and writing 10, 20, and 30 instead (in effect, what used to be
1 is now 10, what used to be 2 is now 20, etc.). Of course, the same is also
possible to perform with division.

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DIAGRAM THE OPERATION OF MULTIPLYING THE NUMBER 5 BY 2 ON

THE NUMBER LINE BELOW WITHOUT MAKING A PROJECTION (CHANGE
THE SCALE OF THE NUMBER LINE INSTEAD).

DIAGRAM THE OPERATION OF DIVIDING THE NUMBER 8 BY 2 ON THE

NUMBER LINE BELOW WITHOUT MAKING A PROJECTION (CHANGE THE
SCALE OF THE NUMBER LINE INSTEAD).

This idea can be extended into two dimensions. For example, here is the graph of
y = x2:

If we take the entire right side of this equation and multiply it by , so we have y
= x2, the effect is that every y value is only half as much as it would have
been before, so the graph is flatter. However, it is possible to modify this graph
without changing the line of the equation at all. Instead, we can use the previous
idea to CHANGE THE NUMBER LINE ITSELF. If we multiply the numbers on the y
axis by , then we have effectively transformed this equation with a scaling
factor.

Algebra I

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CHANGE THE GRAPH OF Y = X2 ABOVE TO Y = 2X2 BY CHANGING ONLY

THE NUMBERS ON THE X- OR Y- AXIS (YOU CAN CROSS OUT THE
NUMBERS AND PUT NEW NUMBERS IN THEIR PLACE TO CHANGE THE
SCALING FACTOR).
Now, lets go back to thinking about one dimension briefly, but think about what
happens when we apply this same change TWICE. For instance, if we apply the
change of multiplying a number (1, for instance) by 3, and then 3 again, we can
imagine the operation of SQUARING a number. We can either change the scale of
the number line twice, or we can project or modify the scaling of the number on
the line twice (from 1 to 3, and then from 3 to 9, in each case).
If we want to think BACKWARDS, we are in effect taking a SQUARE ROOT. For
instance, if we take the number 25, and try to deduce what change we must
apply TWICE to reach iteither a projection or change in scaling of 5. Therefore,
the square root of 25 is 5.
Now, lets keep this idea in mind, but try and figure out how to use a projection
to multiply by a NEGATIVE NUMBER. (Note that it is possible to change the
scaling to be negative on the right and positive on the left, but that is
unconventional and impractical).
DIAGRAM THE OPERATION OF MULTIPLYING THE NUMBER 1 BY -2 ON
THE NUMBER LINE BELOW BY MAKING A PROJECTION.

NOW DIAGRAM THE OPERATION OF MULTIPLYING THE NUMBER 1 BY -2

TWICE (1 -2 -2) ON THE NUMBER LINE BELOW BY MAKING A
PROJECTION.

IS THE RESULT OF MULTIPLYING BY -2 TWICE THE SAME AS THAT FROM

MULTIPLYING BY 2 TWICE?

WHAT DOES THIS TELL US ABOUT THE SQUARE ROOT(S) OF 4? HOW

MANY SQUARE ROOTS DOES 4 HAVE, AND WHAT ARE THEY?

Algebra I

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Notice how every time you multiply by a negative number, you SWITCH TO THE
OTHER SIDE of the number line. Doing this twice in a row (or any EVEN number
of times) will yield a POSITIVE number, and doing it an ODD number of times will
yield a NEGATIVE number. This is important, and we can use this idea to think of
how negative numbers interact in 2 dimensions.

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So, to review, multiplying by a number will lead to a projection with the following
properties:
If the number is positive, the projection is in the same direction, but if the
number is negative, the projection is flipped 180 o (in the opposite direction).
If the number itself has a magnitude (distance from 0) greater than 1, the
projection increases the magnitude, but if the number has a magnitude less than
1, then the magnitude decreases.
FROM THE ABOVE, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PROJECTION IF A NUMBER IS
MULTIPLIED BY -1?

In mathematics, there is no integer (in fact, no real number at all!) on the 2dimensional number line which, when multiplied by itself, yields -1. However,
now that we have come up with a way to model multiplication by -1, all we have
to do is to go halfway through this process in order to find what the square root
of -1 actually is!
ON THE GRAPH (NUMBER LINE WITH 2 DIMENSIONS) BELOW, DIAGRAM
AN OPERATION WHICH, WHEN PERFORMED TWICE CONSECUTIVELY ON
THE NUMBER 1, WILL YIELD THE NUMBER -1.
HINT: IF MULTIPLICATION BY -1 YIELDS A PROJECTION IN THE OPPOSITE
DIRECTION (180o), PERFORM HALF OF THIS PROCESS.

The significance of this result is that it represents the square root of -1. This
quantity is known as i, and is called an imaginary number to distinguish it from
the real numbers on the number line. Since it is a rotation to a different

Algebra I

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direction and not just a projection in the same direction, it moves the value onto
the y axis. It is better represented on a graph that has the y-axis (vertical axis)
labelled with imaginary numbers (which are simply i multiplied by real numbers).
Numbers with BOTH a real (horizontal) AND imaginary (vertical) component
are called complex numbers.

Algebra I

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ON THE ABOVE COMPLEX PLANE, SHOW HOW BOTH i2 = -1 AND (-i)2 = -1.
USE 2 CONSECUTIVE ROTATIONS, ONE COUNTERCLOCKWISE AND ONE
CLOCKWISE.

NOW, SHOW THAT i5 = i USING 5 OF THE SAME ROTATION IN A ROW.

Algebra I

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Knowing that i5 = i is a very important result that allows us to come to the

following conclusion:
ANY NUMBER (REAL, IMAGINARY, OR COMPLEX) THAT RESULTS IN A NET
TURN OF 90o AFTER 5 ROTATIONS (THIS INCLUDES GOING 1 OR MORE
TIMES AROUND PREVIOUSLY360o + 90o = 540o, 720o + 90o = 810o, ETC)
AND HAS A MAGNITUDE (DISTANCE FROM 0, THE ORIGIN) OF 1 IS A 5TH
ROOT OF THE IMAGINARY NUMBER i.
There are 5 such numbers, evenly spaced around the origin with a magnitude of
1, and the angles:
90o/5 = 18o, (360+90o)/5 = 90o, (720+90o)/5 = 162o, (1080+90o)/5 = 234o, and
(1440o+90o)/5 = 306o
USING THIS PATTERN, WRITE THE ANGLES OF THE 6 DIFFERENT 6th
ROOTS OF i:

Also, we can know that ANY NUMBER (real, imaginary, or complex) can be
represented as a process (either a projection or rotation) in the following
forms:
1. A + Bi, where A is the real part and B is the imaginary part, and if both A
and B are not 0, the number is complex.
2. An angle, and a distance, where the angle is taken from the positive x-axis
and is counterclockwise in the positive direction, and the distance is the
magnitude (absolute value or distance from 0) of the number.
IN THIS SECOND FORM, AT WHAT 2 ANGLES IN THE COMPLEX PLANE ARE
REAL NUMBERS FOUND?

AT WHAT 2 ANGLES IN THE COMPLEX PLANE ARE IMAGINARY NUMBERS

FOUND AT?

From this, it is clear that multiplication can be thought of as a transformation

(either a projection, rotation, or both) in a coordinate plane, and is more than
simply arithmetic. While a number line is not an incorrect representation,
adding imaginary numbers in order to form a complex plane adds to our
possibilities and allows us to perform operations that were otherwise impossible.
WHAT INSIGHTS HAVE YOU GAINED FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT? WHAT HAS
INTERESTED YOU? (Write at least 3-5 sentencesuse the back of the
page if necessary)