Exercise · ZW-LEGENDRE-SYMBOL-006 · ★★☆ Intermediate

Compute \(\left(\frac{10}{13}\right)\) given that the nonzero squares modulo 13 are \(1,4,9,3,12,10\).

Choose one option.

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  • C. \(1\)

Explanation

Since \(10\) appears in the list of squares modulo 13 (\(6^2=36\equiv 10\)), 10 is a quadratic residue and the symbol equals 1.

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Review the concept: Legendre symbol

The Legendre symbol \(\left(\frac{a}{p}\right)\) for an odd prime \(p\) and an integer \(a\) with \(p \nmid a\) equals \(1\) if \(a\) is a quadratic residue modulo \(p\), and \(-1\) if it is not.

\[\left(\frac{a}{p}\right)\equiv a^{(p-1)/2} \pmod{p}\]

More practice problems: legendre symbol

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