{"id":2843,"date":"2022-02-04T16:33:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.testgeek.com\/blog\/?p=2843"},"modified":"2022-06-22T20:58:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T20:58:31","slug":"sat-math-complex-numbers-imaginary-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.testgeek.com\/blog\/sat-math-complex-numbers-imaginary-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"SAT Math Complex Numbers & Imaginary Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

What do you get when you multiply a leprechaun by a unicorn? What about a mermaid times a centaur? And what does any of this have to do with SAT math?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Imaginary things exist in math. For example, what is the square root of -1? Surely there is such a number — we can of course imagine it — but what is it? The square of any real number is a positive number (1*1=1 and -1*-1=1), so it can’t be a real number. Instead, just like unicorns and leprechauns and mermaids and centaurs, this number is imaginary<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Kickstart Your SAT Prep with Test Geek\u2019s Free SAT Study Guide.<\/a><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Imaginary vs. Complex Numbers<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

First, let’s make a small distinction. Imaginary and complex numbers are not exactly the same thing:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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  • Imaginary Numbers<\/strong><\/em> don’t appear on the number line. One example is the square root of -1 discussed above. We can call this number i<\/em>.<\/li>\r\n
  • Complex numbers<\/em><\/strong> are the sum of a real number and an imaginary number. 5+i<\/em> is an example of a complex number.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n