Learning Resources

Home »  » Courses » Mathematics » Advanced Mathematics 3207 (delisted) » Unit 05 » Set 03 ILO 01 » Get Ready

Outcomes

In this lesson you will learn

• the meaning of "argument"
• to multiply and divide complex numbers in polar form

By the end of this section students will be able to:

• apply operations on complex numbers both in rectangular and polar form
• translate between polar and rectangular representation
• develop and apply De Moivre's Theorem for powers

Introduction

Many mathematical equations, you will discover, can be simplified by changing complex numbers to polar form.

In this section you will explore patterns involving relationships with polar coordinates. The patterns you investigate will eventually lead to De Moivre's Theorem for powers and a quick method for multiplying polar coordinates, or complex numbers. Later in the section, you will extend this theorem to include negative and rational exponents, and apply it for trigonometric applications.

It should take approximately 4 hours to complete this section of study.

Prerequisites

To be successful in this lesson, it would be helpful to know the following:

• the Foil Method
• complex numbers
• operations of complex numbers
• how to convert complex numbers in rectangular form to polar form and vice versa
• exact sine and cosine values of special angles
• r cis
• modulus