MATH2301

Workbook on Group Theory

Table of contents

0. Introductory comments

1. Binary operation

2. Definition and basic properties of groups

3. Cyclic groups

4. Permutation groups

5. Homomorphisms

6. Abelian groups

7. Cosets

8. Quotient groups

9. Finite simple groups

 0. Introductory comments

The concept of group is one way to formalise

structures that we see in familiar number sys-
tems such as Z, Q, R or Zn. Namely, in all
of these number systems, we can add and
subtract numbers. Moreover, we can also
multiply and if we are lucky, we can also di-
vide by non-zero elements.

We want to have one formalism dealing with

all of these number systems, so that we don’t
have to prove each property several times.
Instead, we prove a property once, and then
we see that it applies to many different num-
ber systems.
 1. Binary operations

Definition 1.1. Let G be a set. A binary operation

on G is a function

G × G → G, (g, h) 7→ g ◦ h.

Examples 1.1.

(i) Suppose G = N. Define the binary oper-

ation to be addition.

(ii) Suppose G = N. Define the binary oper-

ation to be multiplication.

(iii) Let G = {x, y}. Define the operation as

follows:

x ◦ x = y, y ◦ y = x, x ◦ y = x, y ◦ x = x.
(iv) Subtraction is not a binary operation on
N because, for instance, 1 − 3 ∈/ N.

1
Definition 1.2. A binary operation on G is
said to be associative if
g ◦ (h ◦ k) = (g ◦ h) ◦ k.

Examples 1.2. In Part (iii) of the above

example, we have
x ◦ (x ◦ y) = x ◦ x = y
whereas
(x ◦ x) ◦ y = y ◦ y = x.
Thus ◦ is not associative.
On the other hand, the binary operations in
Parts (i) and (ii) of Example 1.1 are associa-
tive.

Exercise 1.2. Subtraction on Z is a binary

operation which is not associative:
(2 − 2) − 2 6= 2 − (2 − 2).

Comment 1.1. Associative means we don’t

have to use brackets when writing group op-
eration.
2
Example 1.3.

(i) Let S be a set. Taking the union of sub-

sets of S is a binary operation:

A, B ⊂ S =⇒ A ∪ B ⊂ S.
Moreover, it is associative:

A ∪ (B ∪ C) = (A ∪ B) ∪ C.
(ii) Composition of functions R → R is a bi-
nary operation because we know that com-
position of functions is again a function. More-
over, it is associative because

(f ◦ g) ◦ h = f ◦ (g ◦ h).
(iii) The cross product is a binary operation
× : R3 × R3 → R3 which is not associative.
(Exercise: give an example illustrating the
non-associativity).

Exercise 1.3. Show that the unit of a bi-

nary operation is unique. (Hint: suppose e
and e0 are both units. Consider the product
ee0.
3
Definition 1.3. We say that an element
e ∈ G is an identity for a binary operation
◦ : G × G → G if for all g ∈ G we have

g ◦ e = e ◦ g = g.

Example 1.4.

(i) 0 is the identity element for the usual

addition in Z, Q, or R.

(ii) 1 is the identity element for the usual

multiplication in Z, Q, or R.

(iii) The empty set is the identity element

for the union operation ∪.

Exercise 1.3. Consider the set {x, y, z}.

Write a binary operation on this set (there
are many choices). Check whether the oper-
ation you wrote is associative. Check if this
operation has a unit.

4
Definition 1.4. Suppose we have a binary
operation ◦ : G × G → G which has a unit
e ∈ G. We say that h ∈ G is an inverse of g if
g ◦ h = h ◦ g = 1.

Example 1.5.

(i) −a is the inverse of a ∈ Z, Q, R under ad-

dition.

(ii) 1/a is the inverse of a ∈ Q, R under mul-

tiplication, provided a 6= 0.

(iii) No integer other than ±1 ∈ Z has a mul-

tiplicative inverse in Z.

(iv) The inverse of the unit element e is al-

ways itself.

(iv) Let ◦ denote multiplication mod 10.

Then [3] is the inverse of [7] and [9] is its
own inverse.

Question 1.1. Is the inverse of an element

unique?
5
2. Definition and basic properties
of groups
Definition 2.1. A group is a triple (G, ◦, e)
where G is a set, ◦ : G × G → G is a binary
operation and e is a fixed element of G such
that the following hold:

1. ◦ is associative;

2. e is the unit;

3. every element has an inverse.

Example 2.1.
(i) (Z, +, 0).
(ii) (Q \ {0}, ., 1).
(iii) (Zn, +, 0).
(iv) (Z×
n , ., 1).

(iv) ({ak | k ∈ Z}, ., 1) is a group; ak .al = ak+l .

6
Example 2.2.

(i) The general linear group GL(n, R): the

set of invertible n × n matrices together with
matrix multiplication.

(ii) The circle {x ∈ C | |x| = 1} together with

complex multiplication inherits the group struc-
ture from (C \ {0}, ., 1).

(iii) The set of symmetries (i.e. bijection

functions) on the set {1, 2, · · · , n} forms a
group under composition.

7
Notation 2.1. Henceforth we write gh in-
stead of g ◦ h for the group operation. More-
over, we write an for a ◦ a ◦ · · · ◦ a (n times).

Comments 2.2.

(i) The inverse of a−1 is a.

(ii) (ab)−1 = b−1a−1.

Theorem 2.1. Suppose G is a group with

identity e.

(i) Left cancellation property:

ab = ac =⇒ b = c.
(ii) Right cancellation property:

ba = ca =⇒ b = c.
(iii) If a2 = a then a = e.

(iv) Each element has exactly one inverse.

8
Proof.

9
Definition 2.2 A group is said to be abelian
or commutative if for all x, y ∈ G, we have

xy = yx.

Notation 2.2 If the group is abelian, we

sometimes write a + b instead of ab for the
group operation.

Exercise 2.1 Write 5 examples of commu-

tative and 5 examples of non-commutative
groups.

10
Definition 2.3 Let G be a group. The
order of g ∈ G, written o(g), is the smallest
positive integer k such that g k = e. If no such
integer exists, we say g has infinite order.

The above generalises the definition of order

of an element in Z×n . Below are some prop-
erties of Z×
n that hold in arbitrary groups:

Exercise 2.2

(i) The identity e is the only element of G

which has order 1.

(ii) g m = 1 if and only if o(g) | m.

(iii) Let G be a finite group of order n. Then

every element has order at most n.

(iv) Infinite groups can have elements of fi-

nite order; e.g., −1 ∈ R× has order 2.

11
Often we encounter smaller groups within
larger ones. For instance, we have
Z ⊂ Q ⊂ R.
We want to formaliser this kind of occur-
rence of smaller groups.

Definition 2.4 Let G be a group and H ⊂ G

be a subset. Then H is said to be a subgroup
of G, written as H ≤ G, if the following three
conditions hold:
(i) e ∈ H;
(ii) x, y ∈ H =⇒ xy ∈ H;
(iii) x ∈ H =⇒ x−1 ∈ H.

Example 2.3
(i) For every group G, {e} ≤ G. This is called
the trivial subgroup.
(ii) Z× ≤ Q× ≤ R×.
(iii) Z2 ≤ Z4. Why?
12
Given a finite group G = {g1, · · · , gn} we can
list all possible products gigj in a table called
the Cayley table:

g1 g2 ... gj ... gn
g1 g1 g1 g1g2 ... g1 gj ... g1 gn
g2 g2 g1 g2g2 ... g2 gj ... g2 gn
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
gi gi g1 gi g2 ... gigj ... gi gn
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
gn gn g1 gn g2 ... gngj ... gn gn

You have already seen this in Math1061.

Cayley table is a very inefficient method for

encoding the structure of the group. Never-
theless it is a useful tool at the beginning.

13
Theorem 2.2 Let G be a finite group.
Then the Cayley table of G contains each
element of G exactly once in each row and
column (thus, it is a Latin square).

Proof

14
We now want to address the question of
when two groups are “the same”.

Definition 2.5 Let (G, ∗) and (H, ◦) be two

groups. We say that (G, ∗) and (H, ◦) are
isomorphic if there exists a bijection

φ:G→H
such that for all g, g 0 ∈ G we have

φ(g ∗ g 0) = φ(g) ◦ φ(g 0).

In this case, we write G ' H.

Example 2.4 Z× ' Z2.

15
Example 2.5 Let us show that Z4 ' Z×
5.

16
We now discuss a more efficient way (than
Cayley table) for representing groups.

Definition 2.6 Let G be a group and S =

{g1, · · · , gk } ⊂ G. The smallest subgroup of
G containing S is denoted by < S >. This
group < S > is called the group generated by S.

Comment 2.3 Note that < S > contains

the following:

• all elements of S;

• all inverses of all elements of S;

• the identity element of G;

• all elements that can be expressed as a

product of elements of S and their in-
verses.

17
Definition 2.7 If < S >= G, then S =
{g1, · · · , gk } is called a generating set and the
gi’s are called generators of G.

Example 2.6 Z =< {1} >.

Example 2.7 Let a ∈ Z× ×

n . Then < a >≤ Zn .
Note that

< a >= {a, a2, · · · , ao(a)}.

In particular, a is a generator of Z×
n if and
only if it is a primitive root mod n.

18
Example 2.8 Z× 8 = {1, 3, 5, 7} has no one-
element generating set. In fact,

< 1 >= {1}, and < a >= {1, a}, a ∈ {3, 5, 7}.

Exercise 2.3 Z×
8 =< 3, 7 >.

Comment 2.3 Of course for every group

G, we have G =< G >. The point here is
that we use only a few element to gener-
ate the whole group (Think about the fact
that the infinite group Z is generated by one
element!).

19
We have seen how to find smaller groups
inside bigger ones. Now let us see how we
can build bigger groups using smaller ones.

Exercise 2.4 Let (G1, ∗1, e1) and (G2, ∗2, e2)
be groups. Consider the binary operation
∗1 × ∗2 on G1 × G2. Show that this binary op-
eration defines a group structure on G1 × G2
with unit e1 × e2.

The group G1×G2 is called the direct product

of G1 and G2.

20
 3. Cyclic groups

Definition 3.1. A cyclic group is a group

which can be generated with only one ele-
ment.

Example 3.1.

(i) We have Zn =< 1 >. Hence, Zn is cyclic.

(ii) Z =< 1 > so Z is also cyclic.

(iii) G a group and g ∈ G, then < g >≤ G is

a cyclic subgroup.

Theorem 3.1. Every cyclic group is abelian.

Proof.

21
Theorem 3.2. Let G be a cyclic group of
order n. Then G ' Zn.

Proof.

22
Exercise 3.1. Show that every subgroup of
a cyclic group is cyclic.

23
 4. Permutation groups

Definition 4.1. Let A be a finite set. A

permutation of A is a bijective map σ : A →
A.

Example 4.1. Let A = {a, b, c} and define

σ(a) = a, σ(b) = c, σ(c) = a.

Comment 4.1. The choice of symbols for

elements of A does not matter. In the previ-
ous example, we could take A = {1, 2, 3} and
define
σ(1) = 1, σ(2) = 3, σ(3) = 2.

Notation 4.1. Henceforth, we assume our

finite set is A = {1, 2, · · · , n} and write a per-
mutation σ : A → A as
σ = (σ(1)σ(2) · · · σ(n)).
So the permutation from the previous exam-
ple is (132).
24
Given two permutations σ, τ : A → A, we
can compose them. This is just the usual
composition of functions.

Theorem 4.1. Let Sn denote the set of

permutations of {1, 2, · · · , n}. Then (Sn, ◦) is
a group whose identity is the constant map
σ(i) = i.

Proof.

25
Comment 4.2. We have |Sn| = n!.

Example 4.2.

S3 = {(123), (132), (213), (231), (312), (321)}

What is the identity?

How do we compose elements?

26
One reason symmetric groups are important
is that every other finite groups sits inside a
symmetric group!

Theorem 4.2 (Cayley’s Theorem). Let

G be a finite group. Then there exists a
positive integer n and a subgroup H ≤ Sn
such that G ' H.

Proof.

27
Symmetric groups describe the symmetries
of n-gons. Let us consider, for instance, the
symmetries of a pentagon.

28
The notion of group action formalises the
fact that groups capture symmetries of ob-
jects.

Definition 4.2. Let G be a group and

X be a set. A group action of G on X is a
function

. : G × X → X, (g, x) 7→ g.x,
such that

• e.x = x for all x ∈ X;

• (gh).x = g.(h.x) for all g, h ∈ G and x ∈ X.

In this case, X is called a G-set.

29
We shall now see what the connection to
permutations is:

Theorem 4.3. Let X be a finite G-set.

For each g ∈ G, the function fg : X → X
defined by fg (x) = g.x is a permutation of
X.

Proof.

30
Examples 4.3.

• Trivial action: g.x = x.

• Z acts on R by a.x = a + x.

• Every group G acts on itself by left (or

right) multiplication.

• G acts on itself by conjugation.

Exercise 4.1. Show that G is commuta-

tive if and only if the conjugation action is
trivial.

31
 5. Homomorphisms

Our goal is to relate two different groups. To

do so, we should consider functions between
groups which respect the group operations.

Definition 5.1. Let G and H be groups. A

group homomorphism from G to H is a func-
tion f : G → H satisfying f (gg 0) = f (g)f (g 0).
A bijective homomorphism is called an isomorphism.

Example 5.1.

• The trivial homomorphism f : G → H is

defined by f (g) = e for all g ∈ G.

• The identity homomorphism f : G → G

is defined by f (g) = g for all g ∈ G.

• The map π : Z → Zn defined by k 7→ [k]n

is a homomorphism.

32
Example 5.2.

• The exponential map (R, +) → (R≥0, .) is

a bijective homomorphism (isomorphism).

• The determinant map det : GLn(R) →

R× is a homomorphism.

Exercise 5.1. Let f : G → H be a group

homomorphism. Then

• f (eG) = eH .

• f (x−1) = f (x)−1.

33
Definition 5.2. Let f : G → H be a homo-
morphism. The kernel of f is the set

ker(f ) := {g ∈ G | f (g) = e}.

The image of f is the set

im(f ) := {h ∈ H | ∃g ∈ G : f (g) = h}.

Example 5.3.

• Consider the homomorphism π : Z → Zn.

The kernel of this map is nZ. The image
is the whole of Zn (the homomorphism is
surjective).

• Consider the exponential map exp : R →

R. The kernel of this map is {0} while
the image is R>0.

34
Exercise 5.2. Determine the kernel and
image of the determinant homomorphism.

Exercise 5.3. Consider the group G of all

differentiable functions R → R under addi-
tion. Define a map d : G → G by df = f 0.
Show that f is a homomorphism and deter-
mine its kernel and image.

Theorem 5.1. Let f : G → H be a homo-

morphism. Then ker(f ) ≤ G.

Proof.

35
Exercise 5.4. Show that ker(f ) = {e} if
and only if f is injective.

Theorem 5.2. Let f : G → H be a homo-

morphism. Then im(f ) ≤ G.

Proof.

36
Definition 5.3. A subgroup H ≤ G is call
normal if for every g ∈ G and h ∈ H we have
g −1hg ∈ H. In this case, we write H  G.

Example 5.4.

1. For all groups G, we have GG and {e}

G.

2. Every subgroup of an abelian group is

normal.

Comment 5.1. Alternatively, H ≤ G is nor-

mal if gHg −1 ⊆ H for all g ∈ G. Equivalently,

gH = Hg, g ∈ G.

How do we produce more examples of normal

subgroups?

37
Theorem 5.3. Let f : G → H be a homo-
morphism. Then ker(f ) is a normal subgroup
of G.

Proof.

38
 6. Abelian groups

Example 6.1. Show that Z2 × Z3 ' Z6.

Exercise 6.1. Show that Z2 × Z2 is not

cyclic.

39
 6. Abelian groups

Theorem 6.1. Let mi, i = 1, · · · k, be posi-

tive integers. Then

Zm1 × · · · × Zmk ' Zm1···mk

if and only if gcd(mi, mj ) = 1 for all 1 ≤ i ≤
j ≤ k.

Proof.

40
Proof continued.

41
Just as every integer has a prime factorisa-
tion, every finite abelian group also has a
prime factorisation.

Theorem 6.2. Let G be a finite abelian

group. Then

G'Z k ×Z k ···Z
p11 p22 pknn

where pi’s are prime numbers and kis are pos-

itive integers. Moreover, such a prime de-
composition is unique.

Proof. Proof is postponed to Math3303.

42
 7. Cosets

We want to introduce a very important and

subtle concept in group theory, namely, the
concept of cosets. Thankfully, we have al-
ready seen these in examples.

Example 7.1. Let G = Z. Let H = 3Z.

Note that H ≤ G. The cosets of H in G are

0 + H = {· · · , −6, −3, 0, 3, 6, · · · };

1 + H = {· · · , −5, −2, 0, 1, 4, · · · };

2 + H = {· · · , −4, −1, 0, 2, 5, · · · };
The cosets encode the remainder modulo 3.

43
Definition 7.1. Let G be a group and H ≤
G. Let a ∈ G. The left coset aH is defined
to be the subset

aH = {ah | h ∈ H}.
The right coset right coset Ha is defined to
be the subset

Ha = {ha | h ∈ H}.

Comment 7.1. The notion of coset allows

us to take a remainder modulo a subgroup.
If G is abelian, then left and right cosets are
the same. In this case, we sometimes write
a + H instead of aH = Ha.

Example 7.2. We determine the cosets of

Z2 in Z6.

44
Example 7.3. Let G = S3 and let H =<
τ > where τ = (213). Let us determine the
cosets of H in G.

45
Theorem 7.1. Let G be a group, H ≤ G.
Then
1. aH = bH if and only if a−1b ∈ H.
2. The cosets of H partition G.
3. If H is finite then all left cosets are of
order |H|.

What does this theorem mean?

Part 1 is saying that a and b have the same

remainder modulo H if and only if a−1b ∈ H.
In the language of modular arithmetic, it is
saying that a and b have the same remainder
mod n if and only if a − b ∈ nZ.

Part 2 is saying that G is the union of cosets;

in modular arithmetic, this is just saying that
Z = {[0], [1], · · · , [n − 1]}.

Part 3 is saying that all cosets have the same

size. For instance, we know there is a bijec-
tion between odd and even integers.
46
Proof.

47
Definition 7.2 Let H ≤ G. If the number
of left cosets of H in G is a finite number
n, then we say that H has index n in G and
write [G : H] = n.

Theorem 7.2. If G is finite and H ≤ G then

|G| = [G : H]|H|.

Proof.

48
We now come to one of the main theorems
about structure of groups:

Theorem 7.3 (Lagrange) If G is finite and

H ≤ G then |H| divides |G|.

Proof.

49
Corollary 7.1

1. Let g ∈ G. Then < g > is a subgroup of

G of order o(g). Hence, o(g) | |G|.

2. Zp does not have any nontrivial subgroups.

3. Every group G of order p, p prime, must

contain an element of order p and thus
must be cyclic. So this group is isomor-
phic to Zp.

Exercise 7.1 Let G be a group of order

p2, then all its proper subgroups must be
isomorphic to Zp.

50
 8. Quotient groups

Suppose G is a group and H ≤ G is a sub-

group. Let G/H denote the set of all left
cosets. Can we also define a group structure
on G/H?

Example 8.1. Consider 3Z ≤ Z. Then

Z/3Z = {[0], [1], [2]}. We know that this has
a group structure under addition. We have
known it as Z3.

Theorem 8.1. Let H be a normal subgroup

of G. Then G/H is a group with the opera-
tion defined by

(ah)(bH) = (ab)H.
In this case, G/H is called the quotient group.

51
Proof.

52
Example 8.2. The abstract definition of
Zn:

• nZ = {nx | n ∈ Z} is a subgroup of Z.

• Since Z is abelian, nZ is a normal sub-

group.

• Consider the set of costs Z/nZ. This set

has exactly n elements:
0 + nZ, 1 + nZ, · · · , (n − 1) + nZ.

• The previous theorem says that the group

structure on Z/nZ is defined by
(a + nZ) + (b + nZ) = a + b + (nZ).

• If we let [a] = a+nZ then this is the same

group structure as
[a] + [b] = [a + b].
Thus, we recover Zn.

53
Example 8.3. Consider Z ≤ Q. This is a
normal subgroup because Q is abelian. What
does Q/Z look like?

x + Z = y + Z ⇐⇒ x − y ∈ Z.
Thus,

Q/Z = {q + Z | q ∈ [0, 1) ∩ Q}.

The group structure on Q/Z is defined by

(q + Z) + (q 0 + Z) = (q + q 0) + Z.
For instance, 1
2 +Z has order 2 in Q/Z because
1 1
( + Z) + ( + Z) = 1 + Z = 0 + Z = Z.
2 2

Exercise 8.1. Show that Q/Z is an infinite

group in which every element has finite order.

54
We have seen previously that the kernel of
every homomorphism is a normal subgroup.
We now show that in fact every normal sub-
group is the kernel of some homomorphism.

Theorem 8.2. Let N be a normal subgroup

of G. Then the map F : G → G/N given by

F (g) = gN
is a surjective group homomorphism with ker-
nel N .

Proof.

55
Theorem 8.3 (First Isomorphism Theo-
rem). Let f : G → H be a group homomor-
phism. Then G/ ker(f ) ' Im(f ).

Proof.

56
Example 8.4. Let G = Z ⊕ Z. Let H =
{(a, a) | a ∈ Z}. Then H is a normal subgroup
of G. We claim that G/H ' Z.

To see this define a map f : G → Z by

f (a, b) = a − b.

57
 9. Finite simple groups

Definition 9.1 A group is called simple if it

has no non-trivial normal subgroups.

Here is the idea: if a group G has a normal

subgroup N , then we can “build” G out of
the groups N and G/N . However, if G has
no normal subgroups, then we cannot build
it out of smaller groups.

Upshot: Simple groups are building blocks

for making all other groups.

Example 9.1 Zn is simple if and only if n is

a prime.

58
Example 9.2 There is more than one way
to put two groups together to get a bigger
group. For instance, suppose we take two
copies of Z2. Then we can build Z2 × Z2 and
Z4. These two groups are not isomorphic.

To build simple groups, we have to make sure

we don’t have normal subgroups. Here is
one example where we always have a normal
subgroup:

Exercise 9.1 If H ≤ G has index 2 then H

is normal. So G is not simple.

59
We now use previous exercise to show that
Sn is not simple:

• An inversion of σ ∈ Sn is a pair of integers

0 < i < j ≤ n such that σ(i) > σ(j).

• The number of inversions of σ is denoted

by ι(σ).

• Let An ⊂ Sn be the subset of permuta-

tions with even number of inversions.

• Exercise: An is a subgroup of index 2 in

Sn .

• Thus Sn is not simple. But one can show

that An is simple (Math3303).

60