Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Galois Theory And The Quintic Equation, Yunye Jiang
Galois Theory And The Quintic Equation, Yunye Jiang
Honors Theses
Most students know the quadratic formula for the solution of the general quadratic polynomial in terms of its coefficients. There are also similar formulas for solutions of the general cubic and quartic polynomials. In these three cases, the roots can be expressed in terms of the coefficients using only basic algebra and radicals. We then say that the general quadratic, cubic, and quartic polynomials are solvable by radicals. The question then becomes: Is the general quintic polynomial solvable by radicals? Abel was the first to prove that it is not. In turn, Galois provided a general method of determining when …