Field Axioms

Field Axioms of R

R≠∅\mathbb{R} \not = \emptyset with two binary operations ++ and ⋅\cdot satisfying the following properties

  1. Closed under addition: ∀a,b∈R;a+b∈R\forall a, b \in \mathbb{R} ; a + b \in \mathbb{R}
  2. Commutative: ∀a,b∈R;a+b=b+a\forall a, b \in \mathbb{R}; a + b = b + a
  3. Associative: ∀a,b,c∈R;(a+b)+c=a+(b+c)\forall a, b, c \in \mathbb{R}; (a + b) + c = a + (b + c)
  4. Additive identity: ∃0∈R ∀a∈R;a+0=0+a=a\exists 0 \in \mathbb{R}\, \forall a \in \mathbb{R}; a + 0 = 0 + a = a
  5. Additive inverse: ∀a∈R ∃(−a);a+(−a)=(−a)+a=0\forall a \in \mathbb{R}\, \exists (-a); a + (-a) = (-a) + a = 0
  6. Closed under multiplication: ∀a,b∈R;a⋅b∈R\forall a, b \in \mathbb{R} ; a \cdot b \in \mathbb{R}
  7. Commutative: ∀a,b∈R;a⋅b=b⋅a\forall a, b \in \mathbb{R}; a \cdot b = b \cdot a
  8. Associative: ∀a,b,c∈R;(a⋅b)⋅c=a⋅(b⋅c)\forall a, b, c \in \mathbb{R}; (a \cdot b) \cdot c = a \cdot (b \cdot c)
  9. Multiplicative identity: ∃1∈R ∀a∈R;a⋅1=1⋅a=a\exists 1 \in \mathbb{R}\, \forall a \in \mathbb{R}; a \cdot 1 = 1 \cdot a = a
  10. Multiplicative inverse: ∀a∈R−{ 0 } ∃a−;a⋅a−=a−⋅a=1\forall a \in \mathbb{R}-\set{0}\, \exists a^{-}; a \cdot a^{-} = a^{-} \cdot a = 1
  11. Multiplication is distributive over addition: a⋅(b+c)=a⋅b+a⋅ca \cdot (b + c) = a \cdot b + a \cdot c

Required Proofs

The below mentioned propositions can and should be proven using the above-mentioned axioms. a,b,c∈Ra, b, c \in \mathbb{R}.

  • a⋅0=0a\cdot0 = 0
    Hint: Start with a(1+0)a(1+0)
  • 1≠01\not = 0
  • Additive identity (00) is unique
  • Multiplicative identity (11) is unique
  • Additive inverse (−a-a) is unique for a given aa
  • Multiplicative inverse (a−1a^{-1}) is unique for a given aa
  • a+b=0  ⟹  b=−aa + b = 0 \implies b = -a
  • a+c=b+c  ⟹  a=ba + c = b + c \implies a = b
  • −(a+b)=(−a)+(−b)-(a + b) = (-a) + (-b)
  • −(−a)=a-(-a) = a
  • ac=bc  ⟹  a=bac = bc \implies a = b
  • ab=0  ⟹  a=0∨b=0ab = 0 \implies a = 0 \lor b = 0
  • −(ab)=(−a)b=a(−b)-(ab) = (-a)b = a(-b)
  • (−a)(−b)=ab(-a)(-b) = ab
  • a≠0  ⟹  (a−1)−1=aa \not = 0 \implies {(a^{-1})}^{-1} = a
  • a,b≠0  ⟹  ab−1=a−1b−1a, b \not = 0 \implies {ab}^{-1} = a^{-1}b^{-1}

Field

Any set satisfying the above axioms with two binary operations (commonly ++ and ⋅\cdot) is called a field. Written as:

(R,+,⋅)  is a Field    but    (R,⋅,+)  is not a field(\mathbb{R}, +, \cdot) \;\text{is a Field} \;\; \text{but} \;\; (\mathbb{R}, \cdot, +)\;\text{is not a field}

Field or Not?

Is field?Reason (if not)
(R,+,⋅)(\mathbb{R},+,\cdot)True
(R,⋅,+)(\mathbb{R},\cdot,+)FalseAxiom 11 is invalid
(Z,+,⋅)(\mathbb{Z},+,\cdot)FalseMultiplicative inverse doesn’t exist
(Q,+,⋅)(\mathbb{Q},+,\cdot)True
(Qc,+,⋅)(\mathbb{Q}^c,+,\cdot)False2⋅2∉Qc\sqrt{2}\cdot\sqrt{2}\not\in\mathbb{Q}^c
Boolean algebraFalseAdditive inverse doesn’t exist
({ 0,1 },+  mod  2,⋅  mod  2)(\set{0,1},+\;\text{mod}\;2,\cdot\;\text{mod}\;2)True
({ 0,1,2 },+  mod  3,⋅  mod  3)(\set{0,1,2},+\;\text{mod}\;3,\cdot\;\text{mod}\;3)True
({ 0,1,2,3 },+  mod  4,⋅  mod  4)(\set{0,1,2,3},+\;\text{mod}\;4,\cdot\;\text{mod}\;4)FalseMultiplicative inverse doesn’t exist
Written by September 29, 2026 2 min read
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