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A NOTE ON THE FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF ALGEBRA
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2018
Abstract
The algebraic proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra uses two facts about real numbers. First, every polynomial with odd degree and real coefficients has a real root. Second, every nonnegative real number has a square root. Shipman [‘Improving the fundamental theorem of algebra’, Math. Intelligencer29(4) (2007), 9–14] showed that the assumption about odd degree polynomials is stronger than necessary; any field in which polynomials of prime degree have roots is algebraically closed. In this paper, we give a simpler proof of this result of Shipman.
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- © 2018 Australian Mathematical Publishing Association Inc.
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