I also have to prove this for $$2^2 \times 4^2 \times 6^2 \cdots \times (p-1)^2 \equiv (-1)^{(p+1)/2} \pmod{p}$$
I made some progress so far and got stuck. I said that since p is odd, $(p+1)/2$ is even. Then we can say that $(-1)^{\mathrm{even}}= 1$, so $(-1)^{(p+1)/2}\pmod{p}$ can be written as $1\pmod{p}$. I know that the product of odds is odd and the product of evens is even, but I cant prove that the left side of this equation in either case is congruent to $1 \pmod{p}$. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
[Math] If p is an odd prime, prove that $1^2 \times 3^2 \times 5^2 \cdots \times (p-2)^2 \equiv (-1)^{(p+1)/2}\pmod{p}$
elementary-number-theory
Best Answer
You can start with Wilson's theorem, $(p-1)! \equiv -1 \pmod{p}.$ Rearrange the factorial thus, with $p=2m+1,$ $$-1 \equiv 1(p-1)2(p-2) \ldots m(p-m) \equiv 1(-1)2(-2) \ldots m(-m) \equiv 1^22^2 \ldots m^2(-1)^m \pmod{p}.$$
So we have shown
$$1^22^2 \ldots m^2 \equiv (-1)^{m+1} $$
or, noting that $m=(p-1)/2,$ in terms of $p$
$$1^12^2 \ldots \left( \frac{p-1}{2} \right)^2 \equiv (-1)^{(p+1)/2}.$$
Now we construct the product on the LHS, so consider first $2^24^2 \ldots (p-1)^2$ and factor out $2^{2p-2}$ then use Fermat, $2^{p-1} \equiv 1 \pmod{p}.$
You should now have the result for the product with the even numbers, use that along with Wilson's theorem again to prove the desired result for the product with the odd numbers.