Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/ia/paper-3/1d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 3 1D Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose a positive common denominator so that and with nonzero integers . Put . Every element of the generated subgroup has the form , so it lies in . Conversely, Bezout identity gives integers with , so belongs to the generated subgroup. ConsequentlyThis map is a bijective additive group homomorphism. It is the two-generator instance of a finitely generated subgroup of the rational additive group being an infinite cyclic group.
For the real example, take and . The group homomorphism from onto the generated subgroup is injective because is an irrational number. Thus this subgroup is isomorphic to . More directly, if a single real number generated it, then and for integers , giving , a contradiction. The choice generates a noncyclic additive subgroup.
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