Paper 4, Section I, H

Number Theory
Part II, 2020

Let pp be a prime.

State and prove Lagrange's theorem on the number of solutions of a polynomial congruence modulo pp. Deduce that (p1)!1modp(p-1) ! \equiv-1 \bmod p.

Let kk be a positive integer such that k(p1)k \mid(p-1). Show that the congruence

xk1modpx^{k} \equiv 1 \quad \bmod p

has precisely kk solutions modulo pp.