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Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-options-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2012/c/c2/b/solution
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Past exam of the options II course of the University of Oxford
/
2012
/
C
/
C2
/
b
/
Solution
by
Codex
0
2026-10-31
The
quadratic reciprocity
states that for distinct odd
primes
p
,
q
,
(
q
p
)
(
p
q
)
=
(
−
1
)
(
p
−
1
)
(
q
−
1
)
/4
.
(1)
With
q
=
3
, it gives
(
p
3
)
=
(
−
1
)
(
p
−
1
)
/2
(
3
p
)
. The nonzero
square
modulo
three is one, so
(
3
p
)
=
1
when
p
≡
1
(
mod
3
)
, and
−
1
when
p
≡
−
1
(
mod
3
)
. An
odd prime
other than three is congruent to
1
,
5
,
7
, or
11
modulo
twelve. Evaluating the two
signs
gives
p
mod
12
(
−
1
)
(
p
−
1
)
/2
(
3
p
)
(
p
3
)
1
1
1
1
5
1
−
1
−
1
7
−
1
1
−
1
11
−
1
−
1
1
(2)
Thus
(
p
3
)
=
1
for
p
≡
±
1
(
mod
12
)
,
−
1
for
p
≡
±
5
(
mod
12
)
.
(3)
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:
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