Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 1 1A ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Write the complex number as . Since , the modulus of the complex exponential givesThis equals one precisely when . The quadratic formula shows that the imaginary part of either root is . Consequently the roots are real exactly at the two endpoints:Both endpoints satisfy the condition. The repeated roots are respectively and ; their multiples by have exponentials on the unit circle.