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Rings and fields

Two operations: integers, polynomials, ℤ/n, and when division is possible.

A ring has addition and multiplication like the integers; a field additionally lets you divide by anything non-zero. ℤ/p is a field exactly when p is prime. Every non-zero element has an inverse. Picture it: the multiplication table of ℤ/7: every row is a permutation. Think it: polynomials over a field behave like integers (unique factorisation, Euclid's algorithm), which is why algebra and number theory rhyme.

Worked example · inverse of 7 mod 11

Number-Theory · Modular-Arithmetic

Inverse of 7 mod 11

7,\ 11

Step by step

  1. 7x \equiv 1 \pmod{11}

    We want x with a·x ≡ 1 (mod m). It exists only when gcd(a, m) = 1.

  2. 11 = 1 \times 7 + 4

    Euclid step.

  3. 7 = 1 \times 4 + 3

    Euclid step.

  4. 4 = 1 \times 3 + 1

    Euclid step.

  5. 3 = 3 \times 1 + 0

    Euclid step.

  6. 7 \times 8 = 56 \equiv 1 \pmod{11}

    Back-substitute (extended Euclid) to express 1 as a combination of a and m; the coefficient of a is the inverse.

Reveal the answer
7^{-1} \equiv 8 \pmod{11}

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How to: Rings and fields

  1. We want x with a·x ≡ 1 (mod m). It exists only when gcd(a, m) = 1.
  2. Euclid step.
  3. Euclid step.
  4. Euclid step.
  5. Euclid step.
  6. Back-substitute (extended Euclid) to express 1 as a combination of a and m; the coefficient of a is the inverse.

Questions people ask

What is a group, in plain words?

A set with one operation that is associative, has an identity, and lets every element be undone. Symmetries of any object form a group. That is where the idea came from.

What is the difference between a ring and a field?

A ring has addition and multiplication that behave like the integers (you cannot always divide); a field is a ring where every non-zero element has a reciprocal, like the rationals or the reals.

More in Abstract Algebra

GroupsSubgroups, cosets and Lagrange's theoremCyclic groups and permutation groupsHomomorphisms, normal subgroups and quotient groupsGalois theory: why the quintic has no formula