Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ii/paper-4/11f/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ii Paper 4 11F Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-14
Reduce the polynomial modulo , obtaining a nonzero degree- polynomial over the field . If is a root, polynomial division gives . Any different root is a root of , because is invertible. Induction on degree therefore proves there are at most distinct roots modulo .
Every nonzero residue is a root of by Fermat's little theorem. The difference between this monic polynomial and the product over all its nonzero roots has degree at most , yet has roots. The root bound forces it to vanish identically over . Thus all coefficients of the corresponding integer polynomial are divisible by .
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