Question

A primitive element are those which yield ______ when raised to higher order exponents.

(a) All zero elements

(b) Non zero elements

(c) Unity elements

(d) None of the mentioned

The question was asked in final exam.

This intriguing question comes from Properties of Convolution Codes and Reed-Solomon Codes topic in section Channel Coding of Digital Communications

Answer 1

The correct option is (b) Non zero elements

The best explanation: In a primitive polynomial at least one of its roots will be primitive element. A primitive elements are those which yield non zero elements when raised to a higher order exponent.