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Simplifying Powers of the Imaginary Unit

To simplify a higher power of the imaginary unit, such as ini^n, divide the exponent nn by 44. This reveals how many full cycles of 44 are contained in the exponent and what the remainder is. Using the properties of exponents, rewrite ini^n as (i4)qir(i^4)^q \cdot i^r, where qq is the quotient and rr is the remainder. Since i4=1i^4 = 1, the expression simplifies to 1qir1^q \cdot i^r, which is just iri^r. Therefore, ini^n is equal to iri^r, and you can determine the final value using the basic cycle of powers: i1=ii^1 = i, i2=1i^2 = -1, i3=ii^3 = -i, or i0=1i^0 = 1.

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Updated 2026-05-25

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