Complex and Imaginary Numbers
I know most of you who, like me, went through Kenya's 8.4.4. school system up to secondary school know nothing of complex or imaginary numbers.
My own first encounter with them was in a SAT exam and it was a rude shock.
Just so that none of you get any rude shocks,
Imaginary numbers
The solution to x2 (x squared) = 1 is +1 or -1
What about x2 = -1?
By definition, the imaginary number i is the solution to this equation.
i.e. i = square root of -1
Complex Numbers
A complex number is a number that contains both real (normal numbers like 22, 56) and imaginary (i) components. They are usually written as
z = a + ib
Where a and b are real and i is imaginary.