- #1
msbell1
- 25
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Homework Statement
This question consists of three parts, the first two of which I have answered:
a) Is the set of all positive integers a field? (positive indicates greater than or equal to 0, and ordinary definitions of addition and multiplication are being used)
No. There is no additive inverse for any element other than 0. Also, there is not a multiplicative inverse for any element in the set of positive integers other than 1.
b) What about the set of all integers?
Almost, but no. Again, there is not a multiplicative inverse for most elements.
c) Can the answers to these questions be changed by re-defining addition or multiplication (or both)?
Maybe I'm not imaginative enough to answer this. My problem is that I'm not sure how I can change addition or multiplication and still have the operations satisfy the axioms that define a field. For instance, does the multiplicative inverse of a always have to be 1/a? I guess it does, since a(1/a) must equal 1. In that case, I am tempted to answer this question by saying "no". Is this the right answer?
Homework Equations
Axioms for a field:
to every pair of scalars a and b, there is a scalar a + b such that
a + b = b + a
a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c
a + 0 = a
a + -a = 0
ab = ba
a(bc) = (ab)c
a1 = a
a(1/a) = 1
The Attempt at a Solution
See above.
Thank you very much for the help! For anyone interested, this is problem 2 in Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces by Halmos, which I am currently trying to get through on my own, although the going is slow so far (I am stuck on page 2).