Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/iii/paper-125/1/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 125 1 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-09-28
Embed as a smooth plane cubic with an inflection point. A line through , using the tangent when , has a third intersection counted with multiplicity. The chord-and-tangent group law defines , where is the third point on the line through and .
The divisor cut out by the first line isand the line through and gives . Their quotient therefore showsUnder the bijection from part (a), the chord-and-tangent operation is exactly addition in the abelian group . It is consequently associative and commutative, has identity , and has the geometrically defined point as inverse. Thus it makes an abelian group.
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