4.7 Summary
After handling algebra in Chapter 3, we tackled geometry here. The concept of “function” is core to most of mathematics and its application areas, such as physics. Functions allow us to connect one or more inputs with useful output. Plotting functions is an excellent way to visualize their behavior.
Two- and three-dimensional spaces are now familiar, and we learned and reviewed tools to allow us to use them effectively. Trigonometry demonstrates beautiful connections between algebra and geometry and falls out naturally from relationships such as the Pythagorean theorem.
The complex “plane” is like the real plane R2, but the algebra and geometry give more structure than points alone can provide. Euler’s formula nicely ties together complex numbers and trigonometry in an easy-to-use notation that is the basis for how we define many quantum operations in Chapter 7, “One Qubit,” and Chapter 8, “Two...
