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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.

A '''complex number''' is a [[number]] composed of two parts - a [[Real number|real]] component and and [[Imaginary number|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'').

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'').