Use square roots to solve theequation x2 = -121 over thecomplex numbers.
Mathematics · Middle School · Mon Jan 18 2021
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Given the numerical equation:
x^2 = -121
Solve over the complex numbers.
Solution:
If we solve for x, generally we can take the square root of both sides, hence negative numbers do not have a square root, since no squared number will result to a negative number. In such case the square root of any negative number is referred to as an imaginary number or a complex number. Hence we can designate an imaginary number with i.
x^2 = -121
√x^2 = √-121
x = 11i
Final answer:
x = 11i