SCSA Mathematics Specialist Complex numbers
15 sample questions with marking guides and sample answers · Avg. score: 61.5%
Let .
Given that and , is
Reveal Answer
Incorrect. This negative value might result from a sign error when multiplying by the complex conjugate or evaluating the denominator.
Incorrect. While the expression has a real part of for , the expression does not.
Correct. Letting , we get . The real part simplifies to .
Incorrect. This value might be confused with the imaginary part for specific values of (like ), but the real part is constantly for all valid .
If the point is represented on an Argand diagram, the point representing can be located by
reflecting the point representing in the real axis.
rotating the point representing anticlockwise about the origin by .
reflecting the point representing in the imaginary axis.
rotating the point representing clockwise about the origin by .
Reveal Answer
reflecting the point representing in the real axis.
Reflecting a point in the real axis negates its imaginary part, which gives the complex conjugate , not .
rotating the point representing anticlockwise about the origin by .
Rotating a point anticlockwise by corresponds to multiplying the complex number by , which yields , not .
reflecting the point representing in the imaginary axis.
For any complex number , the value of is . Negating only the real part while keeping the imaginary part unchanged corresponds to a reflection across the imaginary axis.
rotating the point representing clockwise about the origin by .
Rotating a point clockwise by corresponds to multiplying the complex number by , which yields , not .
Consider the complex sum:
Express the value of this sum in the form where .
Reveal Answer
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
evaluates the sum of the first 4 terms correctly | 1 |
generalises that the sum of the first 4 terms repeats 505 times | 1 |
simplifies correctly in the form | 1 |
The complex number , where . Determine the exact values for and .
Reveal Answer
Given where i.e.
i.e.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
states | 1 |
states or | 1 |
justifies the determination of both and | 1 |
Two concurrent forces represented in the polar form of and act on an object.
Determine the magnitude of the resultant force.
0.50 N
1.92 N
2.51 N
3.70 N
Reveal Answer
0.50 N
This value is incorrect. It is close to the result of (approx. N), which implies an incorrect application of the Pythagorean theorem rather than vector addition.
1.92 N
The resultant is found by vector addition using the Law of Cosines or component method. The angle between the forces is , which is equivalent to . Calculating yields approximately N.
2.51 N
This represents the scalar sum of the magnitudes ( N). This would only be correct if the two forces were acting in exactly the same direction.
3.70 N
This value corresponds to the square of the resultant force ( N). The final step of taking the square root to find the magnitude was omitted.
Given , determine .
Reveal Answer
Using De Moivre's Theorem, . Since , the result is .
This option incorrectly multiplies the modulus by the exponent () instead of raising the modulus to the power ().
This answer results from two errors: multiplying the modulus by the exponent () and incorrectly evaluating as .
This option correctly calculates the new modulus () but incorrectly evaluates as instead of .
Consider complex numbers of the form , where is a positive real number.
If , determine all possible values of .
Reveal Answer
Given
Let
where
Given , then where
As , consider for angles that lie in quadrant 1.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Correctly uses De Moivre's theorem | 1 |
Correctly determines an expression representing arg(w) in terms of x | 1 |
Determines a relationship involving using the condition | 1 |
Determines a general expression representing possible values of x | 1 |
Determines one value of x | 1 |
Evaluates the reasonableness of solution by determining the remaining two values of x | 1 |
Let , where and .
If , which one of the following is true?
Reveal Answer
Substituting , we get . An argument of means the point lies in the second quadrant, so . The angle gives , which simplifies to .
If and , the real part is positive and the imaginary part is negative. This places the point in the fourth quadrant, giving an argument of (or ), not .
The equation implies , which corresponds to an angle whose tangent is . This would mean the argument is either or , not .
If and , both the real part and imaginary part are positive. This places the point in the first quadrant, giving an argument of .
If and , both the real part and imaginary part are negative. This places the point in the third quadrant, giving an argument of (or ).
Consider the polynomial , where and .
Two of the roots of are also roots of . The remaining root of is .
Given , determine a possible expression for .
Leave your answer in expanded form.
Reveal Answer
The roots of are where
Given , the four roots of must be the four complex roots of the five 5th roots of unity, .
By the conjugate root theorem, the two remaining roots of must be a conjugate pair of roots of .
One possible pair of roots is and
Determining a quadratic factor of
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Correctly determines the roots of z^5 = 1 | 1 |
Correctly recognises one possible pair of roots | 1 |
Determines a quadratic factor of P(z) in factorised form | 1 |
Expresses determined quadratic factor of P(z) in expanded form | 1 |
Uses the factor of z = 2 to express P(z) in factorised form | 1 |
Determines P(z) in expanded form | 1 |
Solve the complex equation giving solutions in the form where .
Reveal Answer
Roots are:
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
states the value for correctly | 1 |
states the value for correctly | 1 |
states the principal solution | 1 |
indicates a separation of between solution arguments | 1 |
states all solutions correctly using the condition | 1 |
For the complex polynomial with real coefficients , and , and .
The values of , and are respectively
Reveal Answer
This corresponds to the polynomial , which has a root of instead of .
This corresponds to the polynomial , which has roots of and rather than and .
Since the coefficients are real, the complex roots must occur in conjugate pairs, meaning is also a root. Expanding gives , so , , and .
This corresponds to the polynomial , which has real roots , , and .
This corresponds to the polynomial , which has real roots , , and instead of the required complex roots.
Consider the quartic polynomial and where .
Show that is a factor of .
Reveal Answer
Hence is a factor of .
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
substitutes correctly into | 1 |
expands correctly to show that | 1 |
Solve the equation .
Reveal Answer
is also a root of and .
Solve
and
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
states that and are solutions | 1 |
determines that and or is a factor of | 1 |
solves the equation correctly | 1 |
Consider the function where
One of the roots of is
Determine the possible value/s for and such that all remaining roots of have an imaginary component.
Reveal Answer
where
Given is a root of , then
Given that the coefficients of the polynomial are real, another root is , another factor of is .
is a factor of
By inspection,
Given all roots of have an imaginary component, must have only complex roots.
For complex roots,
So or and
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
correctly applies the factor theorem to determine | 1 |
correctly uses the conjugate root of the given root to identify another factor of | 1 |
correctly identifies that is a factor of | 1 |
determines the remaining quadratic factor in terms of | 1 |
applies the complex root requirement to the remaining quadratic factor | 1 |
determines the possible values for given | 1 |
Use and , where , to prove
Reveal Answer
RTP
LHS
RHS
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
correctly expresses in terms of and in Cartesian form | 1 |
expresses in terms of and in expanded form | 1 |
correctly expresses in terms of and in expanded form | 1 |
correctly expresses in terms of and | 1 |
completes proof | 1 |
shows logical organisation, communicating key steps | 1 |
Let and , where .
If , then
Reveal Answer
This is incorrect because equating the imaginary parts () implies , not .
Two complex numbers are equal if and only if their real parts are equal () and their imaginary parts are equal ().
This is incorrect because equating the real parts requires (not ) and equating the imaginary parts requires (not ).
This is incorrect because the real part must equal the real part of , which is , not .