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I have looked at the definition of an integral domain and tried multiple equivalencies of being an integral domain but still can't figure out how to prove that:

Proposition: If $A$ is an integral domain and $a^2=1$, then $a=1$ or $a=-1$.

I would appreciate any clues on how to start this proof.

  • Related: https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/112677/proving-that-an-integral-domain-has-at-most-two-elements-that-satisfy-the-equati – Hans Lundmark Nov 13 '17 at 21:30

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If $a^2=1$, then $a^2-1=0$. Factor the left hand side, and use the fact that there are no zero divisors.

G Tony Jacobs
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