Math 30710

Exam 1
October 5, 2011 Name

This is a 50-minute exam. Books and notes are not allowed. Make sure that your work is legible, and make sure
that it is clearly marked where your answers are. Show all work. Good luck!

1. (10 points) Give an example of a binary operation on Z that is not commutative. Explain.
Answer:
Subtraction. For example, 5 − 3 6= 3 − 5.

2. Let G be a group.

(a) (6 points) Show, as we did in class, that if a ∈ G then the inverse element a−1 is unique, i.e. a has exactly
one inverse. (You may use cancelation laws without proof.)
Answer:
Let a ∈ G. Suppose that a has two inverses, x and y. Then we have ax = e = ay. By left cancelation,
we get x = y. Thus the inverse is unique.

(b) (7 points) Now assume that G is a finite group with an even number of elements. Prove that there
must be an element a ∈ G which is not the identity, but such that a2 = e. (Hint: part (a) will be helpful.
Notice also that e is its own inverse.)
Answer:
Let’s break G up into the following subsets:
A = {e},
6 e, i.e. a−1 6= a }
B = { elements a for which a2 =
C = { elements a for which a2 = e }
Notice that B contains an even number of elements, because every element is paired with its inverse,
which is a different element. A contains just one element. Since G contains an even number of elements,
and so far with A and B we have an odd number, C must contain at least one element.

(c) (7 points) Show that if G is a finite group with an odd number of elements then there is no element
other than the identity for which a2 = e. (Hint: Suppose there were, and get a contradiction. Lagrange
might be useful.)
Answer:
Suppose that there were an element a ∈ G which is not the identity element but which satisfies a2 = e.
Then hai contains exactly two elements, since a 6= e and a2 = e. But the order of a subgroup divides the
order of the group, and since |G| is odd, it can’t be divisible by two. Contradiction.

3. Consider the permutation

 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
σ=
10 7 9 2 8 1 4 6 5 3

(a) (6 points) Find σ 2 and σ −1 write them in the space below:

Answer:  
2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
σ =
3 4 5 7 6 10 2 1 8 9
 
−1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
σ =
6 4 10 7 9 8 2 5 3 1

1
2

(b) (4 points) Write σ as a product of disjoint cycles.

Answer:
σ = (1, 10, 3, 9, 5, 8, 6)(2, 7, 4)

(c) (5 points) Write σ as a product of transpositions.

Answer:
σ = (1, 6)(1, 8)(1, 5)(1, 9)(1, 3)(1, 10)(2, 4)(2, 7).

4. In this problem you may assume that we are working in S10 .

(a) (5 points) Explain why disjoint cycles commute.

Answer:
Let σ1 and σ2 be disjoint cycles. For each m = 1, 2, . . . , 10, we want to show that the permutation σ1 σ2
and the permutation σ2 σ1 send m to the same place. We know that m appears in at most one of σ1 or σ2
(possibly neither). If m does not appear in either, then both σ1 σ2 and σ2 σ1 send m to itself. So assume
that m appears in one of them.Without loss of generality, suppose that m appears in σ1 . Suppose that
σ1 (m) = n, i.e. that σ1 sends m to n. Since the cycles are disjoint, also n does not appear in σ2 , so σ2
does not send n anywhere. Now in σ1 σ2 , m does not appear in σ2 , so σ1 σ2 sends m to n via σ1 . Similarly,
σ2 σ1 sends m to n via σ1 , and does not send n anywhere else via σ2 . Thus both send m to n.

(b) (5 points) Let σ1 be a cycle of order 6 and σ2 be a cycle of order 4. Assume that σ1 and σ2 are disjoint
cycles. What is the order of σ1 σ2 ? Explain your answer.

Answer:
Since the cycles are disjoint, the order of the product is the least common multiple of the individual
orders, and LCM (6, 4) = 12.

(c) (5 points) Give an example of a cycle of order 6 and a cycle of order 4 (not necessarily disjoint) whose
product has order different from the one in part (4b), and say what the order of your product is.

Answer:
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)(5, 6, 7, 8) = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)(6, 7, 8) has order 15.
5. (10 points) Find the maximum possible order for an element of S8 and give an example of an element with
this order. Explain your answer.

Answer:
We can write any element of S8 as a product of disjoint cycles, and the order of a product of disjoint cycles
is the least common multiple of the orders of the cycles. How may ways can we have disjoint cycles? It just
depends on how long the cycles are. So we have to look at partitions of 8 (where each number gives the length
of the cycle) and give the corresponding LCM:
 3

partition LCM
8=1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1 LCM (1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) = 1
8=2+1+1+1+1+1+1 LCM (2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) = 2
8=2+2+1+1+1+1 LCM (2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1) = 2
8=2+2+2+1+1 LCM (2, 2, 2, 1, 1) = 2
8=2+2+2+2 LCM (2, 2, 2, 2) = 2
8=3+1+1+1+1+1 LCM (3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1) = 3
8=3+2+1+1+1 LCM (3, 2, 1, 1, 1) = 6
8=3+2+2+1 LCM (3, 2, 2, 1) = 6
8=3+3+1+1 LCM (3, 3, 1, 1) = 3
8=3+3+2 LCM (3, 3, 2) = 6
8=4+1+1+1+1 LCM (4, 1, 1, 1, 1) = 4
8=4+2+1+1 LCM (4, 2, 1) = 4
8=4+2+2 LCM (4, 2, 2) = 4
8=4+3+1 LCM (4, 3, 1) = 12
8=4+4 LCM (4, 4) = 4
8=5+1+1+1 LCM (5, 1, 1, 1) = 5
8=5+2+1 LCM (5, 2, 1) = 10
8=5+3 LCM (5, 3) = 15
8=6+1+1 LCM (6, 1, 1) = 6
8=6+2 LCM (6, 2) = 6
8=7+1 LCM (7, 1) = 7
8=8 LCM (8) = 8
The biggest of these orders is 15. An example is (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)(6, 7, 8).

6. (10 points) Above is the group table for the dihedral group D4 . Find a subgroup that is isomorphic to the
Klein 4-group. Explain. In particular, your answer should include
(a) why it is a subgroup, and
(b) why it is isomorphic to the Klein 4-group.
(Hint: really, the group table on the right is all you need. Giving the group table for your subgroup would be
a good approach to both parts, although you should still explain.)

Answer:
One solution is to let H = {e, µ1 , µ2 , ρ2 }. According to the above table, the following is the multiplication
table for H:
4

e µ1 µ2 ρ2
e e µ1 µ2 ρ2
µ1 µ1 e ρ2 µ2
µ2 µ2 ρ2 e µ1
ρ2 ρ2 µ2 µ1 e

This is the same multiplication table as that of the Klein group, hence it is a group and is isomorphic to the
Klein group.
Also, H = {e, δ1 , δ2 , ρ2 } works similarly.

7. Let G be a group and let H be a subgroup of G. Assume that H has index 2. (Don’t misread that – it’s index
2, not order 2.)

(a) (5 points) Show that there exists an element of G that’s not in H. It’s enough if you show that H 6= G.
Call such an element a, and freely use the element a in subsequent parts of this problem.

Answer:
If H has index 2 then |G| = 2 · |H|, so |H| < |G|. Thus there is an element, a ∈ G that is not in H.

(b) (5 points) How many left cosets of H are there? List them. (Here’s where a might come in handy.)
Explain your answer.

Answer:
The number of left cosets is equal to the index, so there are two. They are H and one other one, which
we can represent by aH.

(c) (5 points) How many right cosets of H are there? List them.

Answer:
The number of right cosets is equal to the index, so there are two. They are H and one other one, which
we can represent by Ha.

(d) (5 points) Using these answers, show that aH = Ha. Explain your answer carefully.

Answer:
The left cosets partition G, as do the right cosets. Thus aH and Ha both consist of the set of elements
of G that are not in H, hence they are equal.