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    Ideals and Factor Rings : Annihilators

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    If R is a commutative ring, a polynomial f(x) in R[x] is said to annihilate R if f(a) = 0 for every a belonging to R

    Show that x^p - x annihilates Zp (Z is integers).

    © BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com March 6, 2023, 1:20 pm ad1c9bdddf
    https://brainmass.com/math/ring-theory/ideals-factor-rings-annihilators-fermats-theorem-17293

    Solution Preview

    Proof:
    By Fermat's theorem, if p is a prime, then x^(p-1)=1 (mod p) for any x in Zp. So ...

    Solution Summary

    An annihilator is identified and Fermat's theorem is used.

    $2.49

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