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Question:
Find z such that
xx* + 3(z-z*) = 13 + 12i
can someone please tell me how to begin to solve this.
i realize that z* is the complex conjigate of z, but i just don't know where to start.
Thanks
First, start by doing a few quick substitutions:
x = a + bi (where a and b are real)
x* = a - bi
z = c + di (where c and d are real)
z* = c - di
xx* = (a + bi)(a - bi) = a^2 + b^2
z - z* = c + di - (c - di) = 2di
So:
a^2 + b^2 + 3(2di) = 13 + 12i
Since i is the only possible imaginary value (all other variables must be real):
a^2 + b^2 = 13 and 6di = 12i
di = 2i, and since d must be real, d = 2
So z = c + 2i, where c is any real number. The simpilest solution is z = 2i (c = 0)
Last edited by Ricky (2006-01-08 07:46:50)
"In the real world, this would be a problem. But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist. So we'll go ahead and do that now..."
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thanks, i sort of understood what u did. ill be going along to my math support class to understand that fully.
The reason why I did that is because x and x*, and z and z*, have a lot of the same terms in them, which you can take advantage of if you put them in full complex form.
From there, it's just plugging them in and trying to solve for c and d.
"In the real world, this would be a problem. But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist. So we'll go ahead and do that now..."
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