Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-options-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2009/c/c2/vi/solution
Past exam of the options II course of the University of Oxford 2009 C C2 vi Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Suppose all primes congruent to modulo eight are , and put , an odd integer. The integer is odd and congruent to three modulo eight. If a prime divides it, then and , since a common divisor of and would divide two. Thus , so part (v) forces or .
If all prime factors congruent to three had even multiplicity, their product, including the factors congruent to one, would be one modulo eight. Since is three modulo eight, at least one prime factor is congruent to three and occurs to odd multiplicity. But it is none of the , since those divide . This contradiction proves infinitely many primes are congruent to three modulo eight.
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