Stage 31 · Complex Numbers

31.1.3 What a Complex Number Looks Like: a+bi

31.1 From Analytic Geometry to an Equation We Can't Solve

Point 3 of 4

31.1.3 What a Complex Number Looks Like: a+bi

Core idea

Picture this: take a real number and attach a little "imaginary remainder" — every complex number can be written as a+bi, where a is the real part and b is the imaginary part

Module goal. Picking up the coordinate geometry from the last stage, we start from a genuine dead end — the real number line just isn't enough — and from there introduce the imaginary unit and the idea of complex numbers
eastmath.com · 31.1 From Analytic Geometry to an Equation We Can't Solve · 31.1.3 What a Complex Number Looks Like: a+bi