Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-options-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2007/c/c2/solution
Past exam of the options II course of the University of Oxford 2007 C C2 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Wilson's theorem states that for a prime , . For odd , pair each nonzero residue with its multiplicative inverse. Only the self-inverse residues remain unpaired; in a field gives . Their product is , proving the result. For the assertion is immediate.
If composite is not the square of a prime, choose a prime divisor such that and are distinct. Both occur among the factors of , so their product divides it. In the remaining case , , and the two distinct factors both occur in the factorial and have product divisible by . Thus the factorial is zero modulo every such composite .
For prime , Wilson's congruence makes the numerator sine squared equal , so its ratio is one. For composite , the numerator vanishes. The only exceptional composite in the sum is four; its ratio is . Therefore for the sum counts the primes plus two, and subtracting two gives exactly the required prime count. All statements concern the integers .
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