Degree Year
2020
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Mathematics
Advisor(s)
Susan Jane Colley
Keywords
Algebraic geometry, Mathematics, Curves, Polynomials, Étienne Bézout, Bézout's Theorem, Multiplicities, Multiplicity, Plane curves, Projective geometry, Projective plane curves, Projective space, Intersection, Intersection number, Intersecting curves
Abstract
One area of interest in studying plane curves is intersection. Namely, given two plane curves, we are interested in understanding how they intersect. In this paper, we will build the machinery necessary to describe this intersection. Our discussion will include developing algebraic tools, describing how two curves intersect at a given point, and accounting for points at infinity by way of projective space. With all these tools, we will prove Bézout’s theorem, a robust description of the intersection between two curves relating the degrees of the defining polynomials to the number of points in the intersection.
Repository Citation
Cohen, Camron Alexander Robey, "Curving Towards Bézout: An Examination of Plane Curves and Their Intersection" (2020). Honors Papers. 683.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/683
