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Course: Precalculus > Unit 3
Lesson 3: Complex conjugates and dividing complex numbersDividing complex numbers review
Review your complex number division skills.
How do we divide complex numbers?
Dividing a complex number by a real number is simple. For example:
Finding the quotient of two complex numbers is more complex (haha!). For example:
We multiplied both sides by the conjugate of the denominator, which is a number with the same real part and the opposite imaginary part. What's neat about conjugate numbers is that their product is always a real number. Let's continue:
Multiplying the denominator by its conjugate had the desired effect of getting a real number in the denominator. To keep the quotient the same, we had to multiply the numerator by as well. Now we can finish the calculation:
Want to learn more about dividing complex numbers? Check out this video.
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