Simplifying Rational Expressions with Complex Conjugate Denominators

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Taught by mrbrianmclogan
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Lesson Summary:

In this lesson, we learn how to subtract two rational expressions that have complex numbers as denominators. To get the common denominator, we can multiply the two denominators by the complex conjugate of each other, which will allow us to combine the fractions. To simplify the expression, we use the distributive property and cancel out the middle terms since they are conjugates of each other. Substituting -1 for i^2 allows us to simplify the expression further and put it in standard form, a + bi, where a and b are real numbers.

Lesson Description:

Simplifying two rational expressions with complex conjugates as denominators

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Questions answered by this video:
  • 2/(3+i) + 3/(2+i)