West Bengal WbchseTextbookSubjectiveImportance★★★★★est
54% · 15/28 Questions
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Concept understanding — Modulus and Argument of a Complex Number
For a complex number z=a+ib represented by the point P(a,b) in the Argand plane, the modulus ∣z∣=r=a2+b2 is the straight-line distance OP from the origin to P (found via Pythagoras on the right triangle formed by the point and the two axes), and the argument θ=arg(z) is the angle that OP makes with the positive real axis, satisfying cosθ=a/r, sinθ=b/r, and tanθ=b/a when a=0. Because the inverse tangent function alone only ever returns an angle in (−π/2,π/2), it cannot on its own distinguish a point in quadrant I from one in quadrant III (or quadrant II from quadrant IV), so finding the argument in the standard range 0≤θ<2π requires checking which quadrant (or axis) the point (a,b) actually lies in and adding the appropriate correction: no correction in quadrant I, +π in quadrants II and III, and +2π in quadrant IV. The modulus obeys clean multiplicative rules — ∣z1z2∣=∣z1∣∣z2∣, z2z1=∣z2∣∣z1∣, and zzˉ=∣z∣2 — together with the triangle inequality ∣z1+z2∣≤∣z1∣+∣z2∣, while the argument obeys additive rules — arg(z1z2)=argz1+argz2 and arg(z1/z2)=argz1−argz2 — which together are the algebraic seeds of De Moivre's theorem.
∣z∣=a2+b2.
✓Final answer
5.
∣3−4i∣=32+(−4)2=9+16=25=5.
✓Final answer
5.
Forgetting to square the negative b=−4 correctly (a sign slip giving a wrong sum under the root)
Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.
West Bengal HS First Year (WBCHSE Class XI) Annual Examination 2018Set ANNUAL2 marks
Q.Find the principal amplitude of (-1-i).
›Reveal solutionSolution
−1−i lies in the third quadrant with reference angle π/4; the principal argument (in (−π,π]) is −3π/4.
For z=−1−i, both the real part (−1) and imaginary part (−1) are negative, so z lies in the third quadrant.
The reference angle is tan−1(∣−1∣∣−1∣)=tan−1(1)=4π.
For the principal value convention (argument in (−π,π]), a point in the third quadrant has argument −(π−4π)=−43π (measuring the shorter, negative/clockwise rotation from the positive real axis).