Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / ii / Paper 1 / 24I / d / Solution

The semicubical parabola has coordinate ringunder $x\mapsto t^3$, $y\mapsto t^2$. The isomorphism is valid in every characteristic: after division by the monic polynomial in $x$, a remainder $P(y)+xQ(y)$ maps to a sum of distinct even powers and odd powers at least three, and can vanish only when both polynomials are zero.

Its fraction field contains $t=t^3/t^2$, which is an integral element over $A$ because it satisfies $z^2-y=0$. However $t\notin A$, since a polynomial in $t^2,t^3$ has no term of degree one. Thus $A$ is not an integrally closed domain. The ring $k[t]$ of the affine line is a principal ideal domain and therefore an integrally closed domain. This property is preserved by ring isomorphism. By coordinate-ring functoriality,The parametrization is a bijection on points over an algebraically closed field, but that does not make its inverse a morphism at the cusp.