6

1. Number Systems
1.1. Discussion. Complex Analysis is used extensively in number theory and applied mathematics.
In particular, it has become vital to certain areas of physics such as thermodynamics and electrical
engineering. Carl Friedrich Gauss is considered by some to be the grandfather of complex numbers.
He used complex numbers to prove The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. Students commonly first
encounter complex numbers in an introductory algebra course when learning how to solve quadratic
equations using the quadratic formula. In this entry, I have shown a solution which demonstrates
the connections between trigonometry and the complex numbers along with algebra. I expanded
the problem further by showing how a complex function can be split into two parts using only real
numbers to find a solution to the problem. I plotted the two curves using GeoGeobra to find their
intersection points. Although there are simpler solutions to this problem, I tried to write a solution
so that it can be followed in the high school classroom.
1.2. Problem. Find the roots of the quadratic function:
f (z) = z 2 + iz 1 + i = 0 , where z C and i =

1.

(a) Using the quadratic formula.

(b) Find and graph the real and imaginary parts of the function.
1.3. Solution.
(a) We proceed by using the quadratic formula. We have,
p
i2 4(1 + i)
i (3 4i)
=
.
z=
2
2
Whats interesting about this particular problem is that we dont know the polar angle of
z = 3 4i. Fortunately, we dont have to. We know that cos = 35 and sin = 45 . We also have
the standard half angle formulas from trigonometry to help us:
i

1 + cos
4

1 cos
1

=
= and sin2 =
= .
2
2
5
2
2
5
We know that is in the fourth quadrant of the complex plane, that is 3
2 < < 2.

It follows that 2 is in the second, that is 3

<
<
.
Hence,
4
2
cos2

1
2
cos = and sin = .
5
5
We note that |3 4i| = 5. It follows that the square root of 3 4i is given by,



2
1
s = 5 +
= 2 + i.
5
5
Therefore the two roots to our quadratic equation are
i (2 + i)
s=
= 1, and 1 i.
2
Thus, z 2 + iz 1 + i = (z + 1)(z 1 + i).

(b) We let z = x + iy, where x, y R. We can express any complex function f in terms of two real
valued functions as f (z) = u(x, y) + iv(x, y), where the functions u(x, y) and v(x, y) are the real and
imaginary parts of f , respectively. Hence,
f (z) = (x + iy)2 + i(x + iy) (1 + i) = x2 + 2xyi y 2 + xi y (1 + i) = 0.
Now, u(x, y) = x2 + y 2 y 1 and v(x, y) = 2xy + x + 1. Equating both functions to 0 allows us
to graph each in the Cartesian plane. The software application GeoGebra allows us to graph each
function and determine their intersection points (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1
The two curves intersect at the points (1, 0) and (1, 1), which correspond to the roots 1 and
1 i respectively. Thus, we have shown a graphical representation of the solution for the complex
quadratic function f (z) = z 2 + iz 1 + i = 0 in (a).