text: # Thread: finding r, absolute value of (sqrt3 + i)
  
  1. ## finding r, absolute value of (sqrt3 + i)
  
  I was doing some reading through the forum and noticed a question about De Moivre's theorem and realized that I don't know how to find r at all.
  
  I was wondering why the radius is 2 when you take the absolute value of (sqrt3 + i)
  
  2. For $\displaystyle x+yi \implies r =\sqrt{x^2+y^2}$
  
  so $\displaystyle \sqrt{3}+i \implies r =\sqrt{(\sqrt{3})^2+1^2} =\sqrt{4}=2$
  
  3. Is this the form that all of these types of questions are in? I mean would it be possible to see a question asking for the absolute value of (sqrt3 + i) without any hints of r or anything?
  
  4. Any question where you need to find the solutions of a complex equation using De Moivre's would assume $r$ is needed.
  
  5. Originally Posted by BugzLooney
  Is this the form that all of these types of questions are in? I mean would it be possible to see a question asking for the absolute value of (sqrt3 + i) without any hints of r or anything?
  You could be required to calculate the "modulus" of a complex number.
  
  On an Argand Diagram, a complex number's "modulus" is it's distance from the origin $(0,0)$.
  
  Pythagoras' theorem calculates this
  [you can draw a right-angled triangle with hypotenuse being the line from $(0,0)$ to $z$].
  
  $z=a+ib$
  
  $r^2=|z|^2=a^2+b^2\Rightarrow\ |z|=r=\sqrt{a^2+b^2}$
  
  6. For any further questions you might have, I find this video to be very informative:
  
  YouTube - The Polar Form of Complex Numbers