Observe that if <math>p</math> is not prime, then <math>\mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z</math> is not a field. For example, the element <math>2 \in \mathbb Z/6 \mathbb Z</math> has no multiplicative inverse modulo 6! In this case, <math>\mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z</math> has only the structure of a [[ring]]. | Observe that if <math>p</math> is not prime, then <math>\mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z</math> is not a field. For example, the element <math>2 \in \mathbb Z/6 \mathbb Z</math> has no multiplicative inverse modulo 6! In this case, <math>\mathbb Z/p\mathbb Z</math> has only the structure of a [[ring]]. |