Topic 1: Numbers and Sets

Sets

Q1. Subsets. Decide whether each statement is true or false and prove that your decision is
correct.

(a) {x ∈ R | tan(x) = 1} ⊆ {x ∈ R | sin(x) ≤ cos(x)}

   
kπ 
(b) cos k∈Z ⊆Z
3 
   
kπ 
(c) cos k∈Z ⊆Q
3 

Q2. Unions and complements. Express each of the following sets as a union of intervals
and as a set complement. Drawing pictures may help.
(a) {x ∈ R : 1 − x2 < 3x2 }. (b) {x ∈ R : sin(x) ≥ 0} ∩ [0, 6π).

(c) {x ∈ R : e−x ≥ ex }. (d) {x ∈ [0, 2π] | sin(x) < cos(x)}.

Q3. More Set Calculations. Express the following sets in the simplest possible form.
(a) Q ∩ {x ∈ R : 3x = 2} (b) Q ∩ {x ∈ R : 2x2 − 3x + 1 = 0}

(c) Z ∩ {x ∈ R : 2x2 − 3x + 1 = 0}. (d) {x ∈ R : sin(x) ∈ Z}.

Inequalities

Q4. Solving inequalities. Solve the following inequalities, expressing your answers in set
notation.
1
(a) 3 − 2x ≤ −1 − x (b) 3 − 2x ≤ −1 − 2x (c) 1 ≤ x2
<4

Q5. More inequalities Solve the following inequalities, expressing your answers in set nota-
tion. You may use the fact that log is order preserving on its entire domain. That is, if x < y,
then log(x) < log(y)
(a) e2x − 2 ≥ ex [Hint: The quadratic formula will be useful.]
(b) 1 − cos2 (x) ≤ sin2 (x)
(c) 1 − cos2 (x) < sin2 (x)
Complex Numbers

Note: In these problems, the principal argument should be used whenever the complex number
is written in polar or exponential form, that is −π < θ ≤ π.

Q6. Square root of negative numbers. Represent the following square roots as imaginary
numbers.
√ √ √
(a) −4 (b) −6 (c) 2 −12

Q7. Real and Imaginary. In each case, find Re(z), Im(z), and Re(z)–Im(z).

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(a) z = 3 − 4i (b) z = 6i (c) z = 2 + 7i

5
(d) z = 7
(e) z = 12 i + 2

Complex Arithmetic

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Q8. Complex Arithmetic. Let z1 = 2 + 6i, z2 = 2
+ 2i, z3 = −6i, z4 = −3 + 2i and z5 = 5.
Simplify:

(a) z1 + z4 (b) z1 + z3 (c) z1 − 2z2

(d) z4 + z5 (e) z2 + z4 (f) 3z2 − 2z4

(g) z5 + z3 (h) z3 + z2 (i) 2z1 + z2 + 3z3

Q9. The Complex Plane. Let z1 = 2 + 4i, z2 = −2 + 4i, z3 = 2 − 4i and z4 = −2 − 4i.

(a) Sketch z1 , z2 , z3 and z4 on the same set of axes. (b) Sketch z1 , 2z1 and −3z1 on the same
set of axes. What do you observe?
(c) Sketch z1 + z2 , z1 + z4 and z2 + z3 on the same set of axes.
(d) Is it true that
(i) z1 = −z2 ? (ii) z1 = −z3 ?

(iii) z1 = −z4 ? (iv) z2 = −z3 ?

Q10. Powers of i. Express i2 , i3 and i4 in Cartesian form (without using polar form). Use
your answers to express the following in cartesian form:
(a) i23 = (i4 )5 × i3 (b) i14 (c) i259

Q11. Cartesian form. Simplify each of the following products. You should express your
answer in the form a + ib, a, b ∈ R.

(a) i(2 + 3i) (b) (3 − 2i)2 (c) (−2 − i)(2 + i)

(d) 3(2 + 3i) (e) (2 + i)(2 − i) (f) (1 + i)3

(g) (3 − 2i)(1 + i) (h) (2 + i)(−2 + i) (i) i2 (3 + 2i)

z1
Q12. Rationalising the Denominator. Write each of the following expressions z2
in the
form a + ib, a, b ∈ R. In each case you should first write down z2 .
1 2 i 5 − 2i
x (a) (b) (c) (d)
3 − 2i 2+i 2 + 3i 1−i
4 + 3i 1−i
x (e) (f)
−2 + i −3 − 2i

Q13. Real and Imaginary. Find the real and imaginary parts:

2
    
1 − 5i 2 + 7i
(a) Im (b) Re
4+i 4 − 6i

Q14. Simplifying Complex Numbers. Express each of the following complex numbers in
the form
a + ib, a, b ∈ R.

i(1 + 2i) 3(2 − i)

(a) (b)
3(2 − i) i(1 + 2i)

(2 + i)2 (3 + 2i)(5 − i)
(c) (d)
(1 + 3i)(2 + 3i) i2 (2 − i)

Q15. Conjugates to Cartesian. Express the following numbers in the cartesian form a + ib
with a, b real:

(a) 12 + 7i (b) (1 + i)2 + (1 + i) (c) (3 + 2i)(4 + 5i)

 
2 − 3i
(d) (3 − i)(2 − i)(−1 − 3i) (e) i2 (1 − i)3 (f)
1 + 5i

Q16. Complex conjugates. Let z = x + iy with x and y real, and let z̄ be the complex
conjugate. Check the following identities:

(a) z z̄ = x2 + y 2 (b) z + z̄ = 2 Re(z) (c) z − z̄ = 2i Im(z)

Sketch the following points in the complex plane:

(d) z and z̄ (e) z and −z (f) z and −z

Modulus and Argument

Q17. Modulus and Argument. For each of the following complex numbers write down |z|
(the modulus of z) and Arg(z) (remember this is an angle in the range (−π, π]). You may find
it useful to sketch the complex numbers on an argand diagram first.
√
(a) z = 6 (b) z = −3 (c) z = − 3 + i
√
(d) z = 4i (e) z = −2i (f) z = −1 − 3i

(g) z = 7i (h) z = 1 + i (i) z = 4 − 4i

Q18. Something more complicated.

(a) Find the modulus of each of the following complex numbers without multiplying them into
cartesian form:

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 5 + 2i −27i(8 + 2i)(2 + i) (2 − 3i)(−2 − 2i)(−5)
(i) (ii) (iii)
2 + 5i (4 + i)(4 − 3i)(4 − 8i) (1 + i)(3 + 2i)

(b) Find the principal argument Arg(z) for each of the following complex numbers:

−2 i
(i) √ (ii) (iii) (1 + i)4
1+i 3 −2 − 2i

Regions in the Complex Plane

Q19. Regions in the Complex Plane. Sketch the following subsets in the complex plane:

(a) {z ∈ C : Re(z) = 1} (b) {z ∈ C : Im(z) > 1}

(c) {z ∈ C : |z − 2i| ≤ 1} (d) {z ∈ C : |z − 3| = |z + 2i|}

(e) {z ∈ C : |z| ≤ 4, Arg(z) ∈ [0, π/4]}

Complex Exponential

Q20. Exponential Polar Form. Express each of the following complex numbers in polar
form reiθ . In each case, chose an angle θ, −π < θ ≤ π:

(a) −1 (b) 5 + 5i

(c) (1 − i)2 (d) 2 + 5i

Q21. Powers. Use exponential polar form to simplify the following powers of complex numbers:

√
(a) (1 + i)20 (b) (2 3 + 2i)5
 12  7
1+i 1−i
(c) √ (d) √
3+i 3−i

Finding Complex Solutions

Q22. Complete the square. Find all solutions for z in each of the following equations,
completing the square where necessary.

(a) z 2 + 1 = 0 (b) z 2 + 16 = 0 (c) z 2 − 4 = 0

(d) z 2 + 4z + 5 = 0 (e) z 2 + 3z + 3 = 0

Q23. Quadratic formula. Find all solutions for z in each of the following equations by using
the quadratic formula.

(a) z 2 + 3z + 2 = 0 (b) z 2 + 3z + 4 = 0

(c) 2z 2 − z + 3 = 0 (d) 3z 3 + 2z 2 + z = 0

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Q24. Any way you like.
Find all solutions for z in each of the following equations. These can be done by factoring, or
by rearranging and finding the nth root.
(a) z 4 − 81 = 0 (b) z 8 − 256 = 0.

Q25. Roots and Factors. For each of the following find the roots of the given equations and
sketch the roots in the complex plane. Express your answers using principal arguments:

(a) cube roots z 3 = 1 (b) square roots z 2 = i

(c) sixth roots z 6 = −64 (d) fifth roots z 5 = 32e5πi/3

Q26. Roots of Polynomials. Find the roots of the following polynomials, using the complex
exponential and roots of unity where necessary. Express your answers as sets.

(a) z 4 + 4z 2 + 4 = 0 (b) z 4 + 4z 2 + 16 = 0

(c*) (z + i)5 − (z − i)5 = 0 (d) z 4 + z 3 + z 2 + z + 1 = 0

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 Answers

Topic 1: Numbers and Sets

A1. Subsets.
(a) True.
Proof: Let x ∈ {x ∈ R | tan(x) = 1}, so

sin(x)
tan(x) = 1 ⇒ =1
cos(x)
⇒ sin(x) = cos(x)
⇒ sin(x) ≤ cos(x)
⇒ x ∈ {x ∈ R | sin(x) ≤ cos(x)}

(c) True.    
kπ 
(b) False. Proof: Let x ∈ cos  k ∈ Z , so x =
  3 
kπ 1
 
Example: For k = 1 we have cos = ∈
/ Z. kπ
3 2 cos for some k ∈ Z. A unit circle diagram
3
shows x ∈ {−1, − 21 , 12 , 1}, so x ∈ Q.

A2. Unions and complements.

(a) (−∞, − 21 ) ∪ ( 21 , ∞) = R \ [− 21 , 12 ]
(b) [0, π] ∪ [2π, 3π] ∪ [4π, 5π] = [0, 5π] \ ((π, 2π) ∪ (3π, 4π))
(c) (−∞, 0].
h π   5π  
π 5π

(d) 0, ∪ , 2π = [0, 2π] \ , .
4 4 4 4

A3. More Set Calculations.

(a) ∅ (b) { 21 , 1}. (c) {1}.
π
(d) {kπ | k ∈ Z} ∪ {kπ + 2 | k ∈ Z} = { kπ
2 | k ∈ Z}.

A4. Solving inequalities.

(a) x ∈ [4, ∞) (b) x ∈ ∅ (c) x ∈ [−1, − 21 ) ∪ ( 12 , 1]

A5. More inequalities

(a) x ∈ [log(2), ∞) (b) R (c) ∅

A6. Square root of negative numbers.

√ √
(a) 2i (b) 6i (c) 4 3i.

A7. Real and Imaginary.

(a) Re(z) = 3, Im(z) = −4, Re(z)−Im(z) = 7 (b) Re(z) = 0, Im(z) = 6, Re(z)−Im(z) = −6

(c) Re(z) = 2, Im(z) = 7, Re(z)−Im(z) = −5 (d) Re(z) = 75 , Im(z) = 0, Re(z)−Im(z) = 5

7

(e) Re(z) = 2, Im(z) = 21 , Re(z)−Im(z) = 32 .

A8. Complex Arithmetic.

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x (a) −1 + 8i (b) 2 (c) 1 + 2i (d) 2 + 2i

x (e) − 25 + 4i (f) 15
2 + 2i (g) 5 − 6i (h) 1
2 − 4i
9
(i) 2 − 4i.

A9. The Complex Plane.

(a) (b) (c)

Im z Im z Im z
4 8 8æ z1 + z2
æ
z2 æ
2 z1 æ

z1
4 æ
z1
Re z 4
Re z -6 2 4
-2 2
z1 + z4 = z2 + z3
z4 z3 æ -3 z1 æ Re z
æ -4 æ -12 2 4
All points are on the same line.

(d) (i) No (ii) No (iii) Yes (iv) Yes.

A10. Powers of i.
i2 = −1, i3 = −i, i4 = 1 (a) −i (b) −1 (c) −i
A11. Cartesian form.

x (a) −3 + 2i (b) 5 − 12i (c) −3 − 4i (d) 6 + 9i

x (e) 5 (f) −2 + 2i (g) 5 + i (h) −5

(i) −3 − 2i.

A12. Rationalising the Denominator.

3 2 4
x (a) 13 + 13 i (b) 5 − 25 i (c) 3
13 + 2
13 i (d) 7
2 + 23 i
1 5
x (e) −1 − 2i (f) − 13 + 13 i.

A13. Real and Imaginary. (a) -21/17 (b) -17/26

A14. Simplifying Complex Numbers.

(a) − 13 (b) −3 (c) 3
26 − 11
26 i (d) − 27
5 −
31
5 i.

A15. Conjugates to Cartesian.

x (a) 12 − 7i (b) 1 + i (c) 22 + 7i (d) −10 − 20i

x (e) 2 − 2i (f) − 21 + 12 i.

A16. Complex conjugates.

(d) reflection in x axis (e) reflection in origin (f) reflection in y axis.

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 Im z Im z

Im z z z
æ æ æ -z æ
z
Re z Re z
Re z
æ
-z æ -z

æ
z

A17. Modulus and Argument.

5π
(a) |z| = 6, Arg(z) = 0 (b) |z| = 3, Arg(z) = π (c) |z| = 2, Arg(z) = 6

π
(d) |z| = 4, Arg(z) = 2 (e) |z| = 2, Arg(z) = − π2 (f) |z| = 2, Arg(z) = − 2π
3

π
√ π
√
(g) |z| = 7, Arg(z) = 2 (h) |z| = 2,Arg(z) = 4 (i) |z| = 4 2, Arg(z) = − π4 .

A18. Something more complicated.

(a) (i) 1 (ii) 27/10 (iii) 10 (b) (i) 2π/3 (ii) −3π/4 (iii) π

A19. Regions in the Complex Plane.

(a) Line x = 1 (b) half plane y > 1 (c) boundary and interior of the circle
x2 + (y − 2)2 = 1

Im z Im z

Re z Im z
1
1

-1 1

Re z
Re z -1 1
-1 1

(e) Sector of circle, centred at the origin, radius 4,

(d) line 6x + 4y = 5
angle π/4 anticlockwise from the real axis.

Im z
Im z
4
1
2 2
Re z
1 2 3
-1

-2
Π/4
Re z
4

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A20. Exponential Polar Form.
√ √
(a) eiπ (b) 5 2eiπ/4 (c) 2e−iπ/2 (d) 29eiα , where α = arctan(5/2)

√
A21. Powers. (a) −1024 (b) −512 3 + 512i (c) −1/64 (d) 1
27/2
e−7πi/12

A22. Complete the square.

(a) z1 = i, z2 √= −i (b) z1 =√4i, z2 = −4i (c) z1 = 2, z2 = −2 (d) z1 = −2 + i, z2 = −2 − i
(e) z1 = − 23 + 23 i, z2 = − 32 − 23 i.
A23. Quadratic formula.
√ √ √ √
7 7 23 23
(a) z1 = −2, z2 = −1 (b) z1 = − 32 + 2 i, z2 = − 32 − 2 i (c) z1 = 1
4 + 4 i, z2 = 1
4 − 4 i
√ √
2 2
(d) z1 = − 31 + 3 i, z2 = − 13 − 3 i, z3 =0
A24. Any way you like.

(a) z1 = 3, z2 = −3, z3 = 3i, z4 = −3i √ √ √ √ √ √

(b) z1 =
√2, √z2 = −2, z3 = 2i, z4 = −2i, z5 = − 2 − 2i, z6 = 2+ 2i, z7 = 2− 2i,
z8 = − 2 + 2i.

A25. Roots and Factors.

(a) 1, e2πi/3 , e−2πi/3 (b) eπi/4 , e−3πi/4

Im z Im z

1 1
æ
æ

2Π/3 Π/4
æ Re z Re z
-1 1 -1 -3Π/4 1

æ
æ
-1 -1

(c) 2eπi/6 , 2eπi/2 , 2e5πi/6 , 2e−5πi/6 , 2e−πi/2 , (d) 2eπi/3 , 2e11πi/15 , 2e−13πi/15 , 2e−7πi/15 ,
2e−πi/6 2e−πi/15
Im z Im z

2æ 2
æ
æ
æ æ
Π/3
Re z Re z
-2 2 -2 2
æ
æ
æ æ

-2æ -2 æ

A26. Roots of Polynomials.

√ √ √ √ √ √
(a) {−i 2, i 2} (b) {−1 − i 3, −1 + i 3, 1 − i 3, 1 + i 3}
√ √ √ √
 q q q q 
(c) − (5 + 2 5)/5, (5 + 2 5)/5, (5 − 2 5)/5, − (5 − 2 5)/5

(d) {e2πi/5 , e4πi/5 , e6πi/5 , e8πi/5 }.

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 Useful Formulae
Pythagorean identity

cos2 (x) + sin2 (x) = 1

Compound angle formulae

sin(x + y) = sin(x) cos(y) + cos(x) sin(y)

cos(x + y) = cos(x) cos(y) − sin(x) sin(y)
tan(x) + tan(y)
tan(x + y) =
1 − tan(x) tan(y)

Derivatives of inverse trigonometric functions

1
arcsin0 (x) = √
1 − x2
1
arccos0 (x) = − √
1 − x2
1
arctan0 (x) =
1 + x2

Antiderivatives from inverse trigonometric functions

Z
1 x
√ dx = arcsin +C
s2 − x2 s
−1
Z x
√ dx = arccos +C
s2 − x2 s
Z
1 1 x
dx = arctan +C
s2 + x2 s s
where s is a positive constant, and C is an arbitrary constant of integration.

Complex exponential formulae

eiθ = cos(θ) + i sin(θ)

1
cos(θ) = eiθ + e−iθ


2
1 iθ
e − e−iθ


sin(θ) =
2i
Vector projections

• The vector projection of v onto u is vk = (û · v)û = ku, where k ∈ R is the unique solution of u·(v−ku) = 0.
• The vector component of v perpendicular to u is v⊥ = v − vk .

Complex roots
1 1
The n-th roots of w = seiφ are s n ei( n (φ+2kπ)) for k = 0, 1, . . . , n − 1.

Changes in speed
Provided r0 (t) 6= 0, the speed function kr0 (t)k is decreasing when r0 (t)·r00 (t) < 0 and increasing when r0 (t)·r00 (t) >
0.

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