How do you find the absolute value of -7-2i?

1 Answer
Apr 2, 2017

abs(-7-2i) = sqrt(53)

Explanation:

The absolute value of a complex number is essentially its (Euclidean) distance from 0, which we can find with the help of Pythagoras.

abs(x+iy) = sqrt(x^2+y^2)

So in our example:

abs(-7-2i) = sqrt((-7)^2+(-2)^2) = sqrt(49+4) = sqrt(53)