Let’s start at the very beginning

A very good place to start

When you read you begin with A B C
When you sing you begin with Do Re Me
Abstract Algebra

Algebra- (al-jabr) “balancing or reduction”; “finding solutions to equations”

Propositions/ theorems
Proofs
Axioms

Abstract Algebra- made use of general approach (axioms, and logically deduce properties from the
axioms).
List of Symbols
∈ belongs to ≡n congruence modulo n
∉ does not belong to : A→ B f function from set A into a set B
⊆ subset ⊇ contains
⊂ proper subset ⊃ properly contains
△ Symmetric difference A/B set difference
(a, b) ordered pair A0 complement of a set A
Ζ set of integers Ζ# set of nonnegative integers
Q set of rational numbers Q+ set of positive rational numbers
R set of real numbers C set of complex numbers
gcd(a,b) greatest common divisor of a and b K4 Klein 4- group
Z (G) center of the group
Sn symmetric group on n symbols
Dn dihedral group of degree n

Integers, rational numbers, real numbers

 Operations and relations
a. Commutative
b. Associative
c. Distributive
d. Order
e. Identity
f. The sum of two positive numbers is positive. The sum of two negative numbers is negative.
g. The product of two nonzero numbers with the same sign is positive. The product of two numbers with different signs
is negative.
h. If the product of two numbers is zero, then one or the other number must be zero.

Exercise #1
Name:_______________________________________________________
Date:_______________
a. For the properties a,b,c,e above, give (i) a specific example for addition, using numbers, and (ii) a general statement
for multiplication, using variables. For example, for property (a) (the commutative property) a specific example would
be 3+5 = 5+3, and a general statement would be x · y = y · x.
b. For properties d,f,g,h above, give a specific example which illustrates the property using numbers.
c. Give an example (using numbers) that shows that subtraction is not commutative.
d. Give an example (using numbers) that shows that division is not associative.
e. Rewrite the following expressions without any parentheses, using only the associative and distributive properties.
(Don’t use commutative in this exercise!)
(a) (((x + y) + (y + z)) • w) − 2y • w
(b) 0.5 • ((x + y) + (y + z) + (z + x))
(c) ((((((a + b) + c) • d) + e) • f) + g) + h
 Manipulating equations and Inequalities ; Exponentiation

 Strict inequalities & non-strict inequalities

a. Substitution
b. Balanced operations
 c. Multiplying or dividing an inequality by a negative value will reverse the inequality symbol.
d. The ratio of two integers can always be reduced to lowest terms, so that the numerator and
denominator have no common factors.

The origin of complex numbers

 A number that can’t be real (and we can prove it!)

 Unreal, but unavoidable ( quartic and cubic equations) :
a. x2 = 4 x = ±2
b. x2 = 36 x = ±6
c. x7 = −1 ???

 Bombelli with equation x3−15x−4 = 0 (√ formula ) with solution of x = (2+ −1)+(2− −1) then x = 4.

 Definition 6. The complex numbers are defined as C = {a + bi : a,b ∈ R}

Proposition 1. −1 has no real square root. (by Long drawn-out proof: with all the gory details with
proof of contradiction or by using Streamlined proof)

Proposition 9. Given a right isosceles triangle where both legs have length. Let x be the length of the
hypotenuse. Then x is irrational–that is, it cannot be expressed as a ratio of integers.

Proposition 20. Addition on complex numbers is commutative (ex: z = a + bi and w = c + di.

Exercise #2
Name:___________________________________________________ Date:___________

1. Imitate the proof of Propostion 1 to prove that −2 has no real fourth root.

2. Try to use the method of Propostion 1 to prove that -4 has no real cube root. At what step does
the method fail?

What goes up, must come down

Spinnin’ wheel, got ta go round
Talkin’ ’bout your troubles it’s a cryin’ sin
Ride a painted pony, Let the spinnin’ wheel spin
(Source: “Spinnin’ Wheel”, Blood, Sweat, and Tears)
The Integers

 is on associative, commutative and identity over addition and is applicable to additive inverse.

 Modular arithmetic [ a ≡ b (mod n) ]

Definition 13. Two integers a and b are equivalent mod m if both a and b have the same remainder when divided by m.
To denote that a and b are equivalent mod m.

Remark 14. The remainder of a when divided by m is a number r between 0 and m − 1 such that a = q • m + r for some
integer q (q is called the “quotient”).
Note: ( “≡” , = ) ; modular equivalence resembles equality

If a ≡ b (mod m) then a − b is divisible by m. which we can also write as a ≡ b (mod m) ⇒ a − b is divisible

by m.
Proof:
Using the converse statement: If a − b is divisible by m then a ≡ b (mod m).
Using the Contrapositive statement: “If a 6≡ b (mod m), then a − b is not divisible by m”).

Proposition 19. Given any integers a,b,c and a positive integer n such that a ≡ b (mod n) and c ≡ b (mod n). Then it is
also true that a ≡ c, c ≡ a, b ≡ a, and b ≡ c (all these equivalences are (mod n)).

Note: ( “≡” , = ) ; modular equivalence resembles equality

If a ≡ b (mod m) then a − b is divisible by m. which we can also write as a ≡ b (mod m) ⇒ a − b is divisible by m.

Proof:
Using the Converse statement: If a − b is divisible by m then a ≡ b (mod m).
Using the Contrapositive statement: “If a 6≡ b (mod m), then a − b is not divisible by m”).

Proposition 19. Given any integers a,b,c and a positive integer n such that a ≡ b (mod n) and c ≡ b (mod n). Then it is
also true that a ≡ c, c ≡ a, b ≡ a, and b ≡ c (all these equivalences are (mod n)).

Definition 25. The set {0,1,...,n − 1} is called the integers mod n, and is denoted by the symbol Zn.
Proposition 26. Suppose a,b ∈ Zn and a ≡ b (mod n). Then a = b.

Exercise #3

Name:__________________________________________ Date:___________

Suppose January 25 is a Thursday.

(a) Use Definition 13 to determine whether January 3 is a Thursday. Show your reasoning.

(b) Use Proposition 18 to determine whether January 31 is a Thursday. Show your reasoning.

(c) Find the nearest Thursday to January 15. Show your reasoning.
 Modular equations

1. Turn the ≡ sign into an = sign using the definition of modular equivalence. This introduces an additional
variable k.
2. Find (by trial and error if necessary) the value of k that puts x in the appropriate range.
3. Change the equation back into an equivalence.

Example #1. 8+x≡6 (mod 11)

Example #2. Given the equation 5x + 3 ≡ 9 (mod 11).

The integers mod n (also known as Zn)

A. Arithmetic with remainders

Ex #1: Z5 = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}

Ex #2: Z8 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

Definition 41. Modular Addition

The sum mod n of two integers mod n is the remainder left after dividing their regular sum by n; that is, if x,y ∈ Zn then
x ⊕ y = r iff x + y = r + sn and r ∈ Zn.
Definition 42. Modular Multiplication
The product mod n of two integers mod n is the remainder left after dividing their regular product by n; that is, if x,y ∈
Zn then
and r ∈ Zn.

B. Cayley tables for Zn

Results of addition mod 5 for Z5: Results of multiplication mod 5 for Z5:

⊕ 0 1 2 3 4
0 1 2 3 4
0 0 1 2 3 4
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 1 2 3 4 0
1 0 1 2 3 4
2 2 3 4 0 1
2 0 2 4 1 3
3 3 4 0 1 2
3 0 3 1 4 2
4 4 0 1 2 3
4 0 4 3 2 1
Table 1: Addition table for Z5 Table 2: Multiplication table for Z5

Exercise #4
Name:____________________________________________ Date:________________

A.Find all x ∈ Z satisfying each of the following equations. (If there’s no solution, then you can say “no
solution”– but show why!)

(a) 9x ≡ 3 (mod 5) (b) 5x ≡ 1 (mod 6)

(c) 7x ≡ 9 (mod 13) (d) 8x ≡ 4 (mod 12)
(e) 11x ≡ 2 (mod 6) (f) 27x ≡ 2 (mod 9)

B. Construct the Caley’s table of Z7.

 Properties of Zn
Ex : Z8 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

A. Closure properties of Zn -must be closed under addition and multiplication

 Proposition 51. Zn is closed under modular addition and multiplication, for all positive integers n.

B. Identities and inverses in Zn

 Proposition 55. 0 ∈ Zn is the additive identity of Zn.

C. Inverses in Zn
 Proposition 57. Let Zn be the integers mod n and a ∈ Zn. Then for every a there is an additive inverse a 0 ∈ Zn.
In other words: for any a ∈ Zn in we can find an a0 such that: a ⊕ a0 = a0 ⊕ a = 0.

D. Modular addition and multiplication are commutative:

E. Modular addition and multiplication are associative:

.
F. Modular multiplication distributes over modular addition:

GROUPS
Ex: (a) The set of integers Z, equipped with the operation of addition
 (b) The sets Q, R, and C are also groups with respect to the operation of addition of numbers.

 Any combination of a set and an operation that has those three properties, as well as
the associative property.
 A group (G,∗) consists of a set G and a binary operation ∗ on G, satisfying the following 3
axioms:
(i) ∗ is associative. This means that (∀ x,y,z ∈ G) x∗(y∗z)=(x∗y)∗z.
(ii) G contains an element e (or eG) which is an identity for the binary operation ∗. This means
that (∀x ∈ G) x∗e = x = e∗x.
(iii) Each element x ∈ G has an inverse x (or x−1) in G. This means that x∗x = eG = x∗x.

Ex#1: (Z, +) & (R, *)

Ex #2: Show that for n ≥ 2, Zn is not a group under.

Exercise #1

Name:_____________________________________________ Date:______________

1. Is (N,+) a group? Prove. (Show your complete solution.)

 Modular Division
Ex #1: Someone gives us a pencil and two unmarked sticks of lengths 52 cm and 20 cm respectively (see Figure 4.7). We are
told to make measuring sticks by using the pencil to make markings on the sticks. What is the smallest length that we can
accurately measure? Clearly we can measure 20 cm lengths with the shorter rod, but is it possible to make smaller
measurements?

a. Division algorithm
 the reduction modulo m of N is the unique integer r so that N can be written as
N = q(m) + r with an integer q and with
0 ≤ r < lml (Very often the word `modulo' is abbreviated as `mod'.) The non-negative integer m is the
modulus. We will use the notation r % m = reduction of r modulo m
Ex: 10 % 7 = 3 10 % 5 = 0

b. Greatest Common Divisors (gcd)

Remark: The greatest common divisor of m;n is denoted gcd(m;n). Two integers are relatively prime or
coprime if their greatest common divisor is 1. Also we may say that m is prime to n if they are relatively
prime.
Theorem: Let m;n be integers, not both zero. Among all common divisors of m;n there is a unique one, call
it d, so that for every other common divisor e of m;n we ha ve ejd, and also d>0. This divisor d is thegr eatest
common divisor or gcd of m;n. The greatest common divisor of two integers m, n (not both zero) is the least
positive integer of the form xm + yn with x;y 2 Z.

c. Least common Multiple (LCM)

Corollary: Let m;n be integers, not both zero. Among all common multiples of m;n there is a unique one,
call it N, so that for every other common multiple M of m;n we ha ve NjM, and also N>0. This multiple N is
the least common multiple or lcm of m;n.

Ways in getting gcd and lcm

a. Prime Factorization
 b. Euclidean algorithm
 Proposition 69. The Euclidean algorithm applied to two integers will give the gcd of those
two integers.
Ex#2: (gcd) of 513 & 614

 Chinese remainder theorem- (Sun Zi); deals with multiple congruences.

Ex: x≡4 (mod 7) & x≡5 (mod 9).

Exercise #2
Name:_______________________________________________________ Date:______________

A. What is the greatest common divisor of:

(a) 1168 and 2338 ?
(b) 2343 and 4697 ?

B. Exercise 97. Solve the following sets of congruences or show that they do not have a solution:
a. x ≡ 2 (mod 3) & x ≡ 3 (mod 4)
b. x ≡ 12 (mod 23) & x ≡ 7 (mod 11)

 Function
1. Any function has a set of allowable inputs, which we call the domain of the function.
2. Any function also has a set that contains all of the possible outputs, which we call the codomain of the
function.
Definition 20. Suppose A and B are sets. A set f is a function from A to B if
(a) f ⊂ A × B
(b) ∀a ∈ A,∃ a unique b ∈ B s.t. (a,b) ∈ f
 (Condition (b) can also be stated as follows: every a ∈ A is in one and only one ordered pair in
f).
 We write “f : A → B” to denote that f is a function from A to B. We also call A the
domain of f, and B the codomain of f.
 If the pair (a,b) ∈ f, then we say that b is the image of a under the function f.
Notation 21. Suppose f : A → B.
1. For a ∈ A, it is convenient to have a name for the element b of B, such that (a,b) ∈ f. The name we use is f(a):
f(a) = b if and only if (a,b) ∈ f.
2. Each element a of A provides us with an element f(a) of B. The range of f is the set that includes all of these
elements f(a). That is, Range of f = {b ∈ B such that ∃a ∈ A with f(a) = b.
The range is always a subset of the codomain. The range can be denoted {f(a) | a ∈ A}.

TYPES of FUNCTION

a. ONE to ONE function (INJECTIVE)

Ex #1: Suppose Inspector Gadget knows two facts: (a) Alice is the thief’s wife, and (b) Alice is Bob’s wife. Then the
Inspector can arrest Bob for theft, because a woman cannot (legally) be the wife of more than one husband.
Definition 33. Suppose f : A → B. We say f is a one-to-one function iff for all a 1,a2 ∈ A, such that
f(a1) = f(a2), we have a1 = a2.
Ex#2: f : R → R, defined by f(x) = x + 1.
Ex#3: g: R → R, defined by g(x) = |x|. a m
a m a m m
b b n n a n
b. ONTO function (SURJECTIVE) n b
c c o b
o c o o
d p d p p c p
d
e e q
f g h i
Definition 44. Suppose f : A → B. We say f is onto if for all b ∈ B, there is some a ∈ A, such that f(a) = b. 4
 Ex: (a) Consider the function h: N → N, defined by h(x) = |x|.
(b) Consider the function f : {1,2,3}→{a,b,c} defined by f = {(1,b),(2,a),(3,a)}.
(c) Define g: R → R by g(x) = 5x − 2. Show g is onto.

c. BIJECTION
Definition 58. A function is a bijection if and only if it is both one-to-one and onto.
Ex#1: Define f : R → R by f(x) = 5x − 7. Then f is a bijection.

Exercise #1
Name:__________________________________________________________ Date:_______________
A. Exercise 40. For each function, either prove that it is one-to-one, or prove that it is not.
(a) f : Q → Q defined by f(x) = 3x/5 − 2.
(b) f : N → N defined by f(x) = x2.
B. Each formula defines a function from R to R. Either prove that the function is onto, or prove that it is not.
(a) a(x) = 1. (b) b(x) = x.

C. Each formula defines a function from R to R. Either prove the function is a bijection, or prove that it is not.
(a) a(x) = 5x + 2
(b) b(x) = 2x – 5

 Composition of Function
 applying one function to the result of another
Definition 73. Suppose f : A → B and g: B → C. The composition of g and f (denoted g ◦ f) is the function
from A to C defined by: for all a ∈ A. The notation g ◦ f is read as “g compose f” or “g composed with f.”
Since , the notation g ◦ f(a) is sometimes read as ”g of f of a.”

Ex #1. Define f : R → R and g: R → R by f(x) = 3x and g(x) = x2.

RELATIONS ( )
A. BINARY RELATIONS
 Definition 4. Suppose A and B are sets.
(a) Any subset of A × B is called a relation from A to B.
(b) For the special case where A = B, any subset of A×A is called a binary relation on A.
Ex #1: If A = {1,2,3} and B = {4,5,6}.
Ex#2: Let A = {all cities in the U.S.} and B = {all states in the U.S.}.

 Definition 15. Suppose ∼ is a binary relation on a set A.

a. We say that ∼ is reflexive iff ∀a ∈ A,a ∼ a.
b. We say that ∼ is symmetric iff ∀a,b ∈ A,(a ∼ b) ⇒ (b ∼ a).
c. We say that ∼ is transitive iff ∀a,b,c ∈ A, (a ∼ b) and ( .

B. EQUIVALENCE RELATIONS
Definition 25. An equivalence relation on a set A is a binary relation on A that is reflexive,
symmetric, and transitive.
Ex#1: Define a binary relation ∼ on R by x ∼ y iff x2 = y2. Then ∼ is an equivalence relation.

SYMMETRIES OF PLANE FIGURES

Definition 1. A symmetry of a geometrical figure is a rearrangement of the figure that (i) preserves distances and
angles between points of the figure, and (ii) leaves the appearance and location of the figure unchanged.
 Rotation
 Translations
 Reflections
 Rotation
To rotate an object means to turn it around. Every rotation has a center and an angle.

Translation
To translate an object means to move it without rotating or reflecting it. Every
translation has a direction and a distance.

Reflection
To reflect an object means to produce its mirror image. Every reflection has
a mirror line. A reflection of an "R" is a backwards "R" ]

Ex #1: Get all the symmetries of a certain rectangle with vertices of

A,B,C, D.

Exercise #2
(a) Explain why a 90◦ rotation, a 270◦ rotation, or reflection across a diagonal are not symmetries of the rectangle ABCD.
(b) What subcategory of rectangle would have a 90◦ rotation, 270◦ rotation, and a reflection across a diagonal as symmetries?
(c) What rotation does the identity symmetry correspond to?

 Composition of symmetries

This notation is called tableau form, and for r180 it looks like the following:

sv = {(A,D),(B,C),(C,B),(D,A)}, Then: the top row of the tableau for sv would read, “ABCD”, and the bottom row of the
tableau would read, “DCBA”. Hence

Ex #1: Find r180 ◦ sv using the tableau forms for

r180 and sv above. That is:

Ex #2: Show all the symmetries of an equilateral triangle: id is the identity; ρ 1 is the 120◦ counterclockwise
rotation; ρ2 is the 240◦ counterclockwise rotation; µ1 is the reflection across the median through A; µ 2 is the
reflection across the median through B; and µ3 is the reflection across the median through C.
♦
◦ id ρ1 ρ2 µ1 µ2 µ3
id id ρ1 ρ2 µ1 µ2 µ3
ρ1 ρ1 ρ2 id µ3 µ1 µ2
ρ2 ρ2 id ρ1 µ2 µ3 µ1
µ1 µ1 µ2 µ3 id ρ1 ρ2
µ2 µ2 µ3 µ1 ρ2 id ρ1
µ3 µ3 µ1 µ2 ρ1 ρ2 id
Table 9.1: Composition of the symmetries of an equilateral triangle
Proposition 21. The set of symmetries S of any figure under composition is
associative.
Proposition 22. The set of symmetries S of any figure has an identity. (id ◦ s = s ◦ id = s)

Proposition 23. All elements of the set S of symmetries of any figure have inverses.
.
 The dihedral groups
 We define the nth dihedral group to be the group of symmetries of a regular n-gon (Dn).
Proposition 28. The dihedral group, Dn, is a group of order 2n.
3 2
4 2 3 1
rotation
5 1 4 8

6 8 5 7
7 6
3 7
4 2 6 8
reflection
5 1 5 1

6 8 4 2
7 3
Figure 9.7. Rotations and reflections of a regular n- gon
  Permutations

Definition 1. A bijection whose domain and codomain are equal is called a permutation. The set of all
bijections from a finite set X to itself is called the set of permutations on X and is denoted as SX. 4

Let A be a set, then a permutation of A is a bijection . Read the notes on functions if you are
unfamiliar with this idea.

If A is finite then we may as well let and we write such a permutation as

where the are distinct elements of A.

Example 2. Let us recall for a moment the equilateral triangle 4ABC from the Symmetries chapter. Let T be the set of vertices
of 4ABC; i.e. T = {A,B,C}. We may list the permutations of T as follows. For input A, we have 3 possible outputs; then for B
we would have two possible outputs (to keep the one-to-one property of each combination); and finally for C only one
possible output. Therefore there are 3 · 2 · 1 = 6 permutations of T. Below are the six permutations in ST :

For starters, we’ll look at a simple example. Let X = {A,B,C,D} and

Y = {1,2,3,4}. Suppose

and

Is µ = τ? Technically no, because they their domain/codomains are different, yet we can clearly see that they are somehow
equivalent. But how do we express this equivalence?
Suppose we start with the tableau for µ. We cross out every ‘A’ in the tableau and replace with ‘1’.

Similarly, we replace B,C,D with 2,3,4 respectively. Then what we end up with is exactly τ. In other words, performing a
“face-lift” on µ gives τ. Therefore µ and τ are equivalent, as are σ and ρ.

Exercise #1

Name:____________________________________________ Date:______________

(a) Write µ ◦ σ in tableau form.

(b) Write τ ◦ ρ in tableau form.

(c) Is µ ◦ σ equivalent to τ ◦ ρ? Explain your answer. (d) Is σ ◦ µ equivalent to ρ ◦ τ? Explain your answer.