Conjugating in the math classroom — and we're not talking verbs! The seventh lesson in a series of 32 introduces the class to the building blocks of complex number division. During the instruction, the class learns to find the multiplicative inverse of a complex number. As the examples progress, class members realize the relationship between the multiplicative inverse and the conjugate and find the general form of the inverse for all complex numbers.

Concepts

complex numbers, imaginary numbers, multiplicative inverse, terms

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Additional Tags

math

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Instructional Ideas

• Provide a mini-lesson on what it means to be a multiplicative inverse
• Lead a discussion on the meaning of two complex numbers to be equal

Classroom Considerations

• The class should be familiar with the real and imaginary components of complex numbers

Pros

• The suggested teacher questions have the teacher make the connection to past learning in Algebra II
• The problem set has the pupils show that the process of finding the multiplicative inverse of complex numbers also works for real and imaginary numbers

Cons

• None

Common Core

HSN-CN.A.3 HSN-CN.B.4