Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-analysis-and-differential-equations-1-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2009/3/solution
Past exam of the algebra, analysis and differential equations 1 course of the University of Oxford 2009 3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
A cubic over a field is reducible exactly when it has a root in that field. For modulo five, direct evaluation givesNo value is zero, so is irreducible in .
The integer polynomial in the second part reduces to precisely , because , and . It is monic, hence primitive, and its degree is preserved by reduction. The irreducibility by degree-preserving reduction modulo a prime criterion states that a primitive integer polynomial with irreducible reduction of the same degree is irreducible over the rationals. This follows from Gauss's lemma: a rational factorization would give integer factors whose leading coefficients remain nonzero modulo five, contradicting the irreducible reduction. Thus
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