Tuesday, 17 March 2026

Exercise (5.2).16

Let $a$ be a natural number such that $\gcd (a, 16) = 1$.

Find the multiplicative inverse of $a^3$ modulo 16 as a power of $a$.


Since $\gcd(a,16)=1$, Euler's Theorem gives us

$$ a^{\phi(16)} \equiv 1 \pmod {16} $$

Using $\phi(16)=8$, 

$$ a^{8} \equiv 1 \pmod {16} $$

Factorising,

$$ a^3 \times a^5 \equiv 1 \pmod {16} $$

And so the multiplicative inverse of $a^3$ is

$$ (a^3)^{-1} \equiv a^5 \pmod {16} $$