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A ''complex number'' is a number composed of two parts - a [[Real number|real]] component and and imaginary component, of the form <math>a + bi</math>, where ''a'' and ''b'' are real numbers and ''i'' is the [[square root]] of negative 1.
Whereas the real numbers can be represented as all the possible points on an infinitely extended [[number line]], to represent all the complex numbers requires the use of a two dimensional coordinate system, usually with the real components on the horizontal axis (the ''abscissa'') and the imaginary components on the vertical axis (the ''ordinate'').
[[category:mathematics]]
Whereas the real numbers can be represented as all the possible points on an infinitely extended [[number line]], to represent all the complex numbers requires the use of a two dimensional coordinate system, usually with the real components on the horizontal axis (the ''abscissa'') and the imaginary components on the vertical axis (the ''ordinate'').
[[category:mathematics]]