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MathsMediumClass 11

Modulus & Argument — Polar form

Complex Numbers

8

JEE Qs

8%

Hard

75

min

Master the quadrant rules for determining the principal argument correctly, as almost all advanced complex number problems depend on this precise value.

🧮 Key Formulas

z = x + iy (Cartesian form)
|z| = r = sqrt(x^2 + y^2) (Modulus)
x = r cos θ
y = r sin θ
z = r(cos θ + i sin θ) (Polar form)
z = r e^(iθ) (Euler's form)
Principal Argument Arg(z) ∈ (-π, π]
Reference angle α = tan⁻¹|y/x|
If z is in 1st quadrant (x>0, y>0), Arg(z) = α
If z is in 2nd quadrant (x<0, y>0), Arg(z) = π - α
If z is in 3rd quadrant (x<0, y<0), Arg(z) = -(π - α) or α - π
If z is in 4th quadrant (x>0, y<0), Arg(z) = -α

✅ Key Points for JEE

  • 1Always determine the quadrant of the complex number (x, y) first to correctly find its principal argument.
  • 2The principal argument θ must strictly lie in the interval (-π, π]. Any other angle needs to be converted to this range.
  • 3The polar form z = r(cos θ + i sin θ) and Euler's form z = r e^(iθ) are fundamental for simplifying multiplication, division, powers, and roots of complex numbers.
  • 4Understand the geometric interpretation: modulus |z| is the distance of the complex number from the origin, and argument θ is the angle it makes with the positive x-axis in the Argand plane.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

  • Incorrectly identifying the quadrant of the complex number, leading to an incorrect sign or value for the argument.
  • Not ensuring the argument is within the principal value range (-π, π], especially after operations like addition or subtraction of arguments.
  • Confusing tan⁻¹(y/x) with the actual argument; tan⁻¹ only gives the reference angle (α), and quadrant rules must be applied.
  • Errors in basic trigonometric values for standard angles when converting between forms.

📝 Practice Questions

See all

Q17.Let 2¯z+i ¯z−i = 13 , z ∈C , be the equation of a circle with center at C . If the area of the triangle, whose vertices are at the points (0, 0), C and (α, 0) is 11 square units, then α2 equals: (1) 50 (2) 100 (3) 81 (4) 121 25 25

2025·MCQMedium

Q25.Let α, β be the roots of the equation x2 −ax −b = 0 with Im(α) < Im(β). Let Pn = αn −βn . If P3 = −5√7i, P4 = −3√7i, P5 = 11√7i and P6 = 45√7i , then α4 + β4 is equal to . ∣∣ 2025 (23 Jan Shift 2) JEE Main Previous Year Paper

2025·NumericalHard

Q20.Let z1, z2 and z3 be three complex numbers on the circle |z| = 1 with arg (z1) = −π4 , arg (z2) = 0 and arg (z3) = π4 . If |z1¯z2 + z2¯z3 + z3¯z1|2 = α + β√2, α, β ∈Z, then the value of α2 + β2 is : (1) 24 (2) 29 (3) 41 (4) 31

2025·MCQHard

Q19.Let the curve z(1 + i) + ¯z(1 −i) = 4, z ∈C, divide the region |z −3| ≤1 into two parts of areas α and β . Then |α −β| equals : (1) 1 + π2 (2) 1 + π3 (3) 1 + π6 (4) 1 + π4

2025·MCQHard

Q14.The number of complex numbers z , satisfying |z| = 1 and z¯z + ¯zz = 1, is : (1) 4 (2) 8 (3) 10 (4) 6 Q15. ⎡ 0 ⎤ ⎡ 0 ⎤ ⎡4⎤ ⎡0⎤ ⎡2 ⎤ ⎡1 ⎤ Let A = [aij] be 3 × 3 matrix such that A 1 = 0 , A 1 = 1 and A 1 = 0 , then a23 equals : ⎣ 0 ⎦ ⎣ 1 ⎦ ⎣3⎦ ⎣0⎦ ⎣2 ⎦ ⎣0 ⎦ (1) -1 (2) 2 (3) 1 (4) 0 2 x sin 2 dx equals : 3 3

2025·MCQMedium

Q10.For a statistical data x1, x2, … , x10 of 10 values, a student obtained the mean as 5.5 and ∑10i=1 x2i = 371. He later found that he had noted two values in the data incorrectly as 4 and 5 , instead of the correct values 6 and 8 , respectively. The variance of the corrected data is (1) 9 (2) 5 (3) 7 (4) 4

2025·MCQHard

NCERT Chapters

  • Class 11 Mathematics Ch 5: Complex Numbers and Quadratic Equations