Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ii/paper-3/12f/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ii Paper 3 12F i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The Liouville approximation theorem states that if a real irrational algebraic number has degree , there is such that for every integer and positive integer .
Choose its irreducible polynomial of degree . Since is irrational, ; after multiplication by it is a nonzero integer. Hence . On the polynomial derivative has a finite bound . For , the mean value theorem gives , proving the required bound with . For more distant rationals, the bound holds with . Taking covers every rational and proves the theorem.
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