Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ii/paper-1/18h/iv/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ii Paper 1 18H iv Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-14
Irreducibility modulo two implies irreducibility over by Gauss lemma for polynomials, so the Galois group embeds transitively in . The discriminant is , hence primes two and three are unramified. The factor-degree theorem says that square-free reduction with factor degrees provides an element of the Galois group with cycle lengths . The reductions already found therefore give a 4-cycle and a 3-cycle.
The group order divides 24 and is divisible by four and three, so is 12 or 24. An order-12 subgroup of has index two and must be : in its quotient every transposition has the same nontrivial image, since transpositions are conjugate and generate , making the quotient map the sign. But a 4-cycle is odd. Therefore the order is 24 andThe discriminant can also be obtained from and the resultant, giving .
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