ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a short study of algebraic concepts that will lead via complex numbers, matrices and determinants to vectors. It helps the reader to solve equations involving complex numbers, express a complex number in polar form, and represent sets of complex numbers as regions of the complex plane. It assists the reader in solving the equation zn = α and relating circular and hyperbolic functions using complex numbers. The chapter demonstrates applying this work to the practical problem of an AC bridge. A geometrical method for representing complex numbers is to regard them as directed line segments emanating from the origin. It is easy to show that, with this representation, when two complex numbers are added together their sum is obtained by adding the corresponding line segments according to the parallelogram law.
