Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-introduction-to-schemes-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/2/e/solution

Write , with integral domains, let be the ring homomorphism, and put . We do not assume that is injective. Write .
Let be any valuation ring containing , with fraction field . The canonical morphism of schemes and the ring homomorphism form a valuative problem for . Since is a proper morphism, there is an extension. On coordinate rings it is a ring homomorphism such that
is the original inclusion of into . Therefore every element of lies in . Since was arbitrary, the stated description of integral closure as an intersection of valuation rings gives
Thus every element of is an integral element over , and hence over : lift the coefficients of its monic polynomial along the surjection . The ring homomorphism is therefore an integral extension in the sense of the question.
A proper morphism is of finite type, so in this affine situation . If satisfies a monic polynomial of degree , repeatedly reducing its powers shows that the finitely many monomials
generate as an -module. Equivalently, apply the allowed equivalence between finite and integral plus finite type. Hence

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