Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-algebraic-curves-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/2/c/solution

First make the invertible linear change of homogeneous coordinates
The original equation becomes
This takes the flex to the point at infinity of a Weierstrass model.
Put and choose with . Both are nonzero. Define
Since , the three factors on the right are , and , where
The resulting equation is precisely
the Legendre form of an elliptic curve. In particular, .
Combining the two changes gives an explicit projective transformation from the original coordinates:
Its determinant is , so this is a valid transformation of the whole projective plane, including the points where an affine coordinate would be undefined.

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