Finding Real and Imaginary Parts of Complex Numbers

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To find the real and imaginary parts of the complex number 12/(12+3i), one should multiply both the numerator and denominator by the complex conjugate (12-3i). This method eliminates the imaginary component from the denominator, allowing for a straightforward separation of the real and imaginary parts. The initial assumption that the real part is 1 and the imaginary part is 4 is incorrect. The discussion emphasizes the importance of using the complex conjugate in calculations involving complex numbers. Properly applying this technique will yield the correct results in programming contexts like ANSI C.
magda3227
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If I were given a complex number, such as

12/(12+3i)

in order to find the real and imaginary parts of the number, I assume that I cannot just reduce the fraction and say the real part is 1 and the imaginary part is 4. I can almost guarantee that this will not calculate the correct answer.

So how would I find the real and imaginary parts of this number?

I'm sorry to ask such a stupid question, but I am rewriting MatLab code into ANSI C and need to separate such numbers into their real and imaginary parts.

Thank you in advance.
 
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Multiply the top and bottom of the complex conjugate (12-3i). This clears the denominator of the imaginary component.
 
Thank you.

Sadly, I didn't think of doing that.
 
magda3227 said:
Thank you.

Sadly, I didn't think of doing that.

Why sadly?

Next time, you'll manage on your own. :smile:
 
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