Tuesday, 17 March 2015

elementary number theory - If a2equiv4pmod5, then aequiv2pmod5.



I have the following proof to complete:




If a^2 \equiv 4 \pmod{5}, then a \equiv 2 \pmod{5} for all a \in \mathbb{Z}.




Here is what I have so far:




Because a^2 \equiv 4 \pmod{5}, we have 5 \mid (4-a^2), and thus there is c \in \mathbb{Z} s.t. (4-a^2)=5c. We can manipulate this equation in order to get a^2=4-5c.



I see how taking the square root of the 4 will give me my answer, but I'm not sure what to do with the 5c. I realize that this is equivalent to 0 \ ( \text{mod } 5), so can I just say
4-5c \equiv 4-0 \ (\text{mod } 5), so a \equiv 2 \pmod{5}?



It feels like that just brings me back to my starting point, and I don't think that radicals are allowed under modulo. So what do I do?


Answer



We have a=0,1,2,3,4 \pmod 5
so a^2 = 0,1,4,4,1\pmod 5 so it is not neccesarly to have a=2 \pmod 5




Example, if a=3 then a^2 = 4\pmod 5 but a = 3\pmod 5


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