Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ia/paper-4/7d/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ia Paper 4 7D b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Suppose . Then modulo the prime number , so Fermat's little theorem gives . But makes odd, and thereforeThis contradicts , since is odd. Thus is not a quadratic residue modulo . Apply part (a) to the finite field : the pairs with the given operations form a field, and there are choices for each coordinate, so its cardinality is .
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