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Miscellaneous Exercise · Q11

Q.If α\alpha and β\beta are different complex numbers with ∣β∣=1|\beta| = 1, then find ∣β−α1−αˉβ∣\left|\dfrac{\beta - \alpha}{1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta}\right|.

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The expression ∣β−α1−αˉβ∣\left|\dfrac{\beta - \alpha}{1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta}\right| simplifies to 11 when ∣β∣=1|\beta| = 1, regardless of α\alpha (as long as the denominator is non-zero). The key is that ∣β∣=1|\beta| = 1 implies ββˉ=1\beta \bar{\beta} = 1, which lets us rewrite the numerator as ∣β−α∣=∣βˉ−αˉ∣|\beta - \alpha| = |\bar{\beta} - \bar{\alpha}| and then factor β\beta cleverly.

This problem is a classic in complex number algebra — it tests your ability to use the property ∣z∣=1|z| = 1 to replace 11 with ββˉ\beta \bar{\beta} and then factor. The trick is to see that the denominator 1−αˉβ1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta is actually the conjugate of something when ∣β∣=1|\beta| = 1, but more directly, we can pull β\beta out of the numerator.

Let’s go step by step.

  1. Start with what we know.

    We are given ∣β∣=1|\beta| = 1, so ββˉ=1\beta \bar{\beta} = 1. This is the only fact about β\beta — it lies on the unit circle. α\alpha is any complex number (different from β\beta, but that doesn’t affect the algebra).

  2. Rewrite the numerator using ∣β∣=1|\beta| = 1.

    The numerator is ∣β−α∣|\beta - \alpha|. Since ∣β∣=1|\beta| = 1, we can multiply inside the modulus by ∣βˉ∣|\bar{\beta}| (which is also 1) without changing the value:

∣β−α∣=∣βˉ∣⋅∣β−α∣=∣βˉ(β−α)∣|\beta - \alpha| = |\bar{\beta}| \cdot |\beta - \alpha| = |\bar{\beta}(\beta - \alpha)|

But βˉβ=1\bar{\beta}\beta = 1, so:

βˉ(β−α)=1−βˉα\bar{\beta}(\beta - \alpha) = 1 - \bar{\beta}\alpha

Hence:

∣β−α∣=∣1−βˉα∣|\beta - \alpha| = |1 - \bar{\beta}\alpha|

  1. Compare with the denominator. The denominator is ∣1−αˉβ∣|1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta|. Notice that 1−βˉα1 - \bar{\beta}\alpha and 1−αˉβ1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta are conjugates of each other? Let’s check:

1−αˉβ‾=1−αβˉ\overline{1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta} = 1 - \alpha \bar{\beta}

That’s 1−αβˉ1 - \alpha \bar{\beta}, not 1−βˉα1 - \bar{\beta}\alpha — but since multiplication of complex numbers is commutative, αβˉ=βˉα\alpha \bar{\beta} = \bar{\beta}\alpha. So indeed:

1−αˉβ‾=1−βˉα\overline{1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta} = 1 - \bar{\beta}\alpha

Therefore ∣1−βˉα∣=∣1−αˉβ∣|1 - \bar{\beta}\alpha| = |1 - \bar{\alpha}\beta|, because a complex number and its conjugate have the same modulus.

  1. Put it together. …

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