Simplifying Square Roots

To simplify a square root: make the number inside the square root as small as possible (but still awhole number):

Example: 8 is simpler as 22
Get your calculator and check if you want: they are both the same value! This is the useful rule to remember:

And this is how to use it:

Example (continued) 8 = (42) = 4 2 = 22

(Because the square root of 4 is 2) Here is another example:

Example: simplify 12
12 is 4 times 3:

12 = (4 3)
Use the rule:

(4 3) = 4 3
And the square root of 4 is 2:

4 3 = 23
So 12 is simpler as 23 And here is how to simplify in one line:

Example: simplify 18
18 = (9 2) = 9 2 = 32

Imaginary Numbers

An Imaginary Number, when squared, gives a negative result.

Try
Let's try squaring some numbers to see if we can get a negative result:

22=4 (-2) (-2) = 4 (because a negative times a negative gives a positive) 00=0 0.1 0.1 = 0.01
No luck! Always positive, or zero. It seems like you cannot multiply a number by itself to get a negative answer...

... but imagine that there is such a number (call it do this:

i for imaginary) that could

i i = -1
Would it be useful, and what could we do with it?

Well, by taking the square root of both sides we get this:

Which means that

i is the answer to the square root of -1.

Which is actually very useful because ...

... by simply accepting that i exists we can solve things that need the square root of a negative number.
Let us have a go:

Example: What is the square root of -9 ?

Answer: = (9 -1) = (9) (-1) = 3 (-1) = 3i (see how to simplify square roots) Hey! that was interesting! The square root of -9 is simply the square root of +9, times i. In general:

(-x) = ix
So long as we keep that little "i" there to remind us that we still need to multiply by -1 we are safe to continue with our solution!
Using

i we can also come up with new solutions:

Example: Solve x2 = -1

Using Real Numbers there is no solution, but now we can solve it: Answer: x = -1 = i

Unit Imaginary Number

The "unit" Imaginary Number (the equivalent of 1 for Real Numbers) is (-1)(the square root of minus one). In mathematics we use

i (for imaginary) but in electronics they use j (because "i" already

means current, and the next letter after i is j).

Examples of Imaginary Numbers

i 12.38i -i 3i/4 0.01i -i/2

Imaginary Numbers are not "Imaginary"

Imaginary Numbers were once thought to be impossible, and so they were called "Imaginary" (to make fun of them). But then people researched them more and discovered they were actually useful and importantbecause they filled a gap in mathematics ... but the "imaginary" name has stuck. And that is also how the name "Real Numbers" came about (real is not imaginary).

Imaginary Numbers are Useful

Here are 2 cases where they are useful:

Electricity
AC (Alternating Current) Electricity changes between positive and negative in a sine wave. If you combine two AC currents they may not match properly, and it can be very hard to figure out the new current. But using imaginary numbers and real numbers together makes it a lot easier to do the calculations.

And the result may be "Imaginary" current, but it could still hurt you!

Quadratic Equation
The Quadratic Equation can give results that include imaginary numbers

Interesting Property
The Unit Imaginary Number, i, has an interesting property. It "cycles" through 4 different values each time you multiply:

i i = -1, i = -i, -i i = 1, then 1 i = i (back to i again!)

then -1 then

So we have this:

i = -1

i2 = -1

i3 = --1

i4 = 1

i5 = -1

...etc

Example What is i6 ?

i6 = i4 i2
= =

1 -1 -1

Conclusion
The unit imaginary number, i, equals the square root of minus 1 Imaginary Numbers are not "imaginary", they really exist, and you may need to use them one day.

Engineers use complex numbers in analyzing stresses and strains on beams and in studying resonance phenomena in structures as different as tall buildings and suspension bridges. The complex numbers come up when they look for the Eigen values and eigenvectors of a matrix. The Eigen values are roots of a certain polynomial equation associated with a matrix. The matrices may be quite large, maybe 10000 by 10000, and the associated polynomials are of very high degree. Complex numbers are used in studying the flow of fluids around obstacles, such as the flow around a pipe. Mathematicians use complex numbers in many ways, but one way is in studying infinite series, like e^z = 1+z+z^2/2!+z^3/3!+z^4/4!+..., where z = x+i*y is a complex variable. This is a more "natural" environment to study series than on the real line. You might be interested in a fact that comes from the above series: it is that e^(i*pi) = -1. This brief equation relates 4 of the most fundamental constants in mathematics, e, i, pi, and 1. Your calculator may be able to handle complex numbers. You might be able to check that e^(i*t) = cos(t)+i*sin(t), from which the earlier result follows. Just let t = pi.
more ...

Complex Number
A combination of a real and an imaginary number in the form a + bi, where a and b are real, and i is the "unit imaginary number" (-1) The values a and b can be zero. Examples: 1 + i, 2 - 6i, -5.2i, 4