Sigma Percentile
JEE Main 2016
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Animated Solution for Mathematics - Complex Numbers: A value of for which is purely imaginary, is

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Visualized Solution

The Complex Plane

  • A complex number can be plotted on the Argand plane.
  • The x-axis represents the Real part, and the y-axis represents the Imaginary part.

Condition for Purely Imaginary

  • For to be purely imaginary, it must lie exactly on the imaginary axis.
  • This means its horizontal component must be zero: .

Defining the Expression

  • Let the given complex number be .

Rationalizing the Denominator

  • To separate the real and imaginary parts, we must rationalize the denominator.
  • Multiply the numerator and denominator by the complex conjugate of the denominator.
  • Conjugate of is .

Setting up the Multiplication

Expanding the Numerator

  • Let's expand the numerator step-by-step:

Simplifying the Numerator

  • Since , the last term becomes .

Grouping Real and Imaginary Parts

  • Grouping the real terms and imaginary terms in the numerator:

Expanding the Denominator

  • Now for the denominator:
  • Using :

The Standard Form of

  • Dividing both parts of the numerator by the denominator:

Applying the Purely Imaginary Condition

  • We know that for to be purely imaginary, .

Solving the Equation

  • Multiplying both sides by the denominator:

Finding

  • Taking the square root:
  • (Considering the principal value from options)

Final Value of

  • Key Takeaway: For purely imaginary numbers, always convert to standard form and set the real part to zero.

The Sigma Insight: Algebraic Operations on Complex Numbers

Solution Diagram

Understanding the Purely Imaginary Condition

In the Argand plane, a complex number represents a point where is the real part and is the imaginary part.
When we define a number as purely imaginary, we are stating that it has no horizontal component. Geometrically, this means the real part must vanish, so we set .

Untangling the Expression

We are given the complex expression:
To simplify this, we employ the technique of rationalization. We multiply both the numerator and the denominator by the complex conjugate of the denominator, which is .
The denominator becomes:

Expanding the Numerator

Next, we expand the numerator:
Recalling that , the expression simplifies to:

Solving for the Condition

We now express in the standard form :
For to be purely imaginary, the real part must be zero:
This implies:
Thus, the condition for the complex number to be purely imaginary is:

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