Let p be a prime number and let Zp denote the set of integers modulo p. Let k be an integer with 0⩽k⩽p and let A be a subset of Zp of size k.
Let t be a non-zero element of Zp. Show that if a+t∈A whenever a∈A then k=0 or k=p. Deduce that if 1⩽k⩽p−1, then the sets A,A+1,…,A+p−1 are all distinct, where A+t denotes the set {a+t:a∈A}. Deduce from this that (pk) is a multiple of p whenever 1⩽k⩽p−1.
Now prove that (a+1)p=ap+1 for any a∈Zp, and use this to prove Fermat's little theorem. Prove further that if Q(x)=anxn+an−1xn−1+…+a1x+a0 is a polynomial in x with coefficients in Zp, then the polynomial (Q(x))p is equal to anxpn+an−1xp(n−1)+…+a1xp+a0.