Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / ii / Paper 2 / 21F / i / Solution

The radical of an ideal $I$ in a commutative ring $A$ is $\sqrt{I}=\{a\in A:a^m\in I\text{ for some }m\ge 1\}$. It is an ideal: if $a^m,b^n\in I$, every term of $(a+b{)}^{m+n}$ has either at least $m$ factors $a$ or at least $n$ factors $b$, so the sum belongs to $I$. Also $(ca{)}^m\in I$ for every $c\in A$, and additive inverses preserve the defining condition.