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Algebra Level 1

i 1872 = ? \Large i^{1872} = \ ?

Clarification : i = 1 i = \sqrt{-1} .

1 -1 i i 1 1 i -i

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2 solutions

Michael Fuller
Nov 2, 2015

i 1872 = ( i 4 ) 468 = ( 1 ) 468 = 1 \large { i }^{ 1872 } \\ \large = { \left( { i }^{ 4 } \right) }^{ 468 } \\ \large = { \left( 1 \right) }^{ 468 } \\ \large = \color{#20A900}{\boxed{1}}

Brian Wang
Oct 30, 2015

The definition of i is that i 2 = 1 {i}^{2}={-1}
i 1 {i}^{1} = i
i 3 = i 2 i 1 = i 3 = i {i}^{3}={i}^{2}*{i}^{1}={i}^{3}={-i}
i 4 = i 2 i 2 = 1 {i}^{4}={i}^{2}*{i}^{2}={1}
Then, it repeats. If you divide the exponent by 4, if you get remainder 1, its i. (1 1 1*i)
If you get remainder 2, its -1.
If you get remainder 3, its -i. If you get remainder 0, its 1. 1872 mod 4 is 0, so the answer is 1.


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