Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/ii/paper-3/18h/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 3 18H b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
An algebraic closure of a field is an algebraically closed field that is an algebraic extension of .
By definition, every element ofis algebraic over , and the question allows us to use that this set is a field. It remains to prove that it is algebraically closed.
Let be nonconstant. Its finitely many coefficients generate a finite extension . By the fundamental theorem of algebra, has a root . Since is a root of a polynomial over , it is algebraic over ; since is algebraic, transitivity of algebraic extensions makes algebraic over . Thus . Repeating after division by shows that splits there, so is algebraically closed and is an algebraic closure of .
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