Complex Numbers

Complex numbers are numbers of the form a + b $\sqrt{{-1}}$ where a and b are real numbers. The arithmetic of the complex numbers is obtained by observing all of the standard rules of arithmetic of real numbers together with the identity $\left(\vphantom{ \sqrt{-1}}\right.$ $\sqrt{{-1}}$ $\left.\vphantom{ \sqrt{-1}}\right)^{{2}}_{}$ = - 1.

The default notation for the square root of -1 is i. If you prefer to use j you can change the default as follows.

$\blacktriangleright$ To modify the system to recognize j for $\sqrt{{-1}}$

Choose Maple + Settings
Click the Definition Options tab.
Under Imaginary Unit, check Change from i to j

If you carry out this procedure, Scientific Notebook will recognize and return j rather than i for the square root of minus one. The letter i is used throughout this document.

Subsections

Basic Operations
Powers and Radicals
Absolute Value
Complex Conjugate
Numerical Approximations
Related topics