Concept understanding — Square Root of a Complex Number
To find the square root of a complex number x+iy, assume the (unknown) square root has the form a+ib for real a,b, so x+iy=a+ib. Squaring both sides gives x+iy=(a+ib)2=(a2−b2)+i(2ab), and equating real and imaginary parts on the two sides produces a pair of simultaneous real equations, x=a2−b2 and y=2ab, in the two unknowns a and b. These are solved together — typically by using the auxiliary identity (a2+b2)2=(a2−b2)2+(2ab)2=x2+y2, which gives a2+b2 directly as x2+y2; combining this with a2−b2=x then pins down a2 and b2 separately by simple addition and subtraction, and taking square roots gives a and b up to sign. The signs of a and b are not independent: because y=2ab fixes the relative sign of a and b (same sign if y>0, opposite if y<0), only two of the four sign combinations from a=±a2 and b=±b2 actually satisfy the original equation — so a complex number always has exactly two square roots, and they are negatives of each other, matching the familiar fact that every nonzero number (real or complex) has two square roots.
Set −8−6i=a+ib, square, equate real/imaginary parts.\n> [!ANSWER] ±(1−3i).
Let −8−6i=a+ib. Squaring: −8−6i=(a2−b2)+2abi. Equate parts: a2−b2=−8 and 2ab=−6. Using (a2+b2)2=(a2−b2)2+(2ab)2=(−8)2+(−6)2=64+36=100, so a2+b2=10. With a2−b2=−8: adding gives 2a2=2⇒a2=1⇒a=±1; subtracting gives 2b2=18⇒b2=9⇒b=±3. Since 2ab=−6<0, a and b have opposite signs: (a,b)=(1,−3) or (−1,3).
✓Final answer
−8−6i=±(1−3i).
Set the unknown square root as a+ib, square, equate real/imaginary parts, and use (a2+b2)2=(a2−b2)2+(2ab)2 to solve for a2,b2; fix the relative sign of a,b from the sign of 2ab.
Reporting all four sign combinations of a=±1,b=±3 instead of only the two consistent with 2ab=−6