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Locus of Complex Numbers Explained

1) The document discusses how to find the locus, or set of points, of a complex number z on the Argand diagram that satisfies certain conditions like forming a half line or straight line. 2) To determine the locus, one looks for the variable complex number z, a fixed complex number, and a condition placed on z, usually involving its modulus or argument. 3) The half-line locus is defined by the equation "arg(z - a) = θ", where a is the fixed point and θ is the angle of inclination between the directed line segment from a to the moving point z and the positive real axis.

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Nick Fuller
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40 views12 pages

Locus of Complex Numbers Explained

1) The document discusses how to find the locus, or set of points, of a complex number z on the Argand diagram that satisfies certain conditions like forming a half line or straight line. 2) To determine the locus, one looks for the variable complex number z, a fixed complex number, and a condition placed on z, usually involving its modulus or argument. 3) The half-line locus is defined by the equation "arg(z - a) = θ", where a is the fixed point and θ is the angle of inclination between the directed line segment from a to the moving point z and the positive real axis.

Uploaded by

Nick Fuller
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as ODP, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Locus of a complex number

Half and Straight Line

Prepared by Dr. Orville Duffus


Objective

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At the end of the class students should be able to:

1) find the set of all points z (locus of z) on the Argand Diagram such that z satisfies
conditions that result in a half and straight line respectively.

2
What is the Locus of a Complex Number?

Let z = x + iy and P(x, y) ≡ z. The locus of the point P is a set of points in the
complex plane which satisfies a given condition. The condition is generally the modulus or
Argument.

3
Determining the Locus of a Complex Number

Things to look for when identifying the locus:


●
variable complex number z
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a fixed complex number
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a condition placed on the variable number. The condition is generally the modulus or
argument.

These factors dictate where the locus of complex would normally be.

4
Variable Complex Number

●
A variable complex number is a variable that can take on the value of a complex
number. In basic algebra, the variables x and y generally stand for values of real
numbers. The algebra of complex number uses the complex variable z to represent a
number of the form a + bi.
●
Variable complex numbers may be constrained to move along a certain path( or
“locus’) in the Argand Diagram. The paths would normally be straight lines or
circles.

5
Half-Line Locus Form

Let the “directed” straight line segment described from the fixed point representing a to
the moving point representing z be inclined at an angle θ to the positive direction
of the real axis.

Then,

arg(z − a) = θ.

This equation is satisfied by all of the values of z for which


the inclination of the directed line segment is genuinely θ.

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Activity

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Straight Line Locus Form

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