I am a physics undergrad, looking for ways to solve complex circuits efficiently. I have recently started to learn about complex number applications in AC circuits and its advantage over phasor methods. What I want to know is that suppose I am given a complex AC circuit and I am required to find its impedance and phase factors. Can I do this by imagining the AC circuit to be a DC circuit at every instant, treating capacitors and inductors as if they were resistors and following the parallel/series combination methods of resistance addition? Note: I am mainly interested in sinusoidally varying voltage sources and resistors, capacitors and inductors. ---- Please forgive the question to be too obvious as I am from a physics and not electrical engineering background.