4 Cyclic Groups

The notion of a “group,” viewed only 30 years ago as the epitome

of sophistication, is today one of the mathematical concepts most
widely used in physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and mathematics
itself.
Alexey Sosinsky, 1991

Indeed, group theory achieved precisely that–a unity and

­indivisibility of the patterns underlying a wide range of seemingly
unrelated disciplines.
Mario Livio, The Equation That Could Not Be Solved

Properties of Cyclic Groups

Recall from Chapter 3 that a group G is called cyclic if there is an ele-
ment a in G such that G 5 {an | n [ Z}. Such an element a is called a
generator of G. In view of the notation introduced in the preceding
chapter, we may indicate that G is a cyclic group generated by a by
writing G 5 kal.
In this chapter, we examine cyclic groups in detail and determine
their important characteristics. We begin with a few examples.

 EXAMPLE 1  The set of integers Z under ordinary addition is cyclic.

Both 1 and 21 are generators. (Recall that, when the operation is addi-
tion, 1n is interpreted as
1 1 1 1 ??? 1 1
 
n terms
when n is positive and as
(21) 1 (21) 1 ? ? ? 1 (21)

|n| terms

when n is negative.)  

75

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76 Groups

 EXAMPLE 2  The set Zn 5 {0, 1, . . . , n 2 1} for n $ 1 is a­

cy­­clic group under addition modulo n. Again, 1 and 21 5 n 2 1 are
generators.    

Unlike Z, which has only two generators, Zn may have many genera-
tors (depending on which n we are given).

 EXAMPLE 3  Z8 5 k1l 5 k3l 5 k5l 5 k7l. To verify, for instance, that

Z8 5 k3l, we note that k3l 5 {3, 3 1 3, 3 1 3 1 3, . . .} is the set {3, 6,
1, 4, 7, 2, 5, 0} 5 Z8. Thus, 3 is a gen­erator of Z8. On the other hand, 2
is not a generator, since k2l 5 {0, 2, 4, 6} 2 Z8. 

 EXAMPLE 4  (See Example 11 in Chapter 2.)

U(10) 5 {1, 3, 7, 9} 5 {30, 31, 33, 32} 5 k3l. Also, {1, 3, 7, 9} 5
{70, 73, 71, 72} 5 k7l. So both 3 and 7 are generators for U(10).

Quite often in mathematics, a “nonexample” is as helpful in under-

standing a concept as an example. With regard to cyclic groups, U(8)
serves this purpose; that is, U(8) is not a cyclic group. How can we ver-
ify this? Well, note that U(8) 5 {1, 3, 5, 7}. But
k1l 5 {1},
k3l 5 {3, 1},
k5l 5 {5, 1},
k7l 5 {7, 1},
so U(8) 2 kal for any a in U(8).
With these examples under our belts, we are now ready to tackle
cyclic groups in an abstract way and state their key properties.

  Theorem 4.1  Criterion for ai 5 a j

Let G be a group, and let a belong to G. If a has infinite order, then

ai 5 a j if and only if i 5 j. If a has finite order, say, n, then kal 5
{e, a, a2, . . . , an–1} and ai 5 a j if and only if n divides i – j.

PROOF  If a has infinite order, there is no nonzero n such that an is the

identity. Since ai 5 a j implies ai2j 5 e, we must have i 2 j 5 0, and the
first statement of the theorem is proved.
Now assume that |a| 5 n. We will prove that kal 5 {e, a, . . . , an21}.
Certainly, the elements e, a, . . . , an21 are in kal.

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 4  |  Cyclic Groups 77

Now, suppose that ak is an arbitrary member of kal. By the division

algorithm, there exist integers q and r such that
k 5 qn 1 r  with  0 # r , n.
Then ak 5 a qn1r 5 a qna r 5 (an) qa r 5 ear 5 a r, so that ak [ {e, a,
a2, . . . , an21}. This proves that kal 5 {e, a, a2, . . . , an21}.
Next, we assume that ai 5 a j and prove that n divides i 2 j. We ­begin
by observing that ai 5 a j implies ai2j 5 e. Again, by the division algo-
rithm, there are integers q and r such that
i 2 j 5 qn 1 r    with    0 # r , n.
Then ai2j 5 aqn1r, and therefore e 5 ai2j 5 aqn1r 5 (an)qar 5 eqar 5
ear 5 ar. Since n is the least positive integer such that an is the identity,
we must have r 5 0, so that n divides i 2 j.
Conversely, if i 2 j 5 nq, then a i2j 5 a nq 5 e q 5 e, so that
a 5 a j.
i

Theorem 4.1 reveals the reason for the dual use of the notation and
terminology for the order of an element and the order of a group.

 Corollary 1  |a| 5 |kal|

For any group element a, |a| 5 |kal|.

One special case of Theorem 4.1 occurs so often that it deserves

­singling out.

 Corollary 2  a k 5 e Implies That |a| Divides k

Let G be a group and let a be an element of order n in G. If a k 5 e,

then n divides k.

PROOF  Since a k 5 e 5 a 0, we know by Theorem 4.1 that n divides

k 2 0.

Exercises 48 and 50 of Chapter 3 demonstrate that, in general, there

is no relationship between |ab| and |a| and |b|. However, we have the
following.
 Corollary 3  Relationship between |ab| and |a||b|
If a and b belong to a finite group and ab 5 ba, then |ab| divides |a||b|.

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78 Groups

PROOF  Let |a| 5 m and |b| 5 n. Then (ab)mn 5 (am)n(bn)m 5 enem 5 e. So,
by Corollary 2 of Theorem 4.1 we have that |ab| divides mn.

Theorem 4.1 and its corollaries for the case |a| 5 6 are illustrated in
Figure 4.1.
... a – 6 = a 0 = a 6 ...

... a – 5 = a = a 7... ... a –1 = a 5 = a 11...

... a – 4 = a 2 = a 8 ... ... a –2 = a 4 = a 10...

... a – 3 = a 3 = a 9...

Figure 4.1

What is important about Theorem 4.1 in the finite case is that it says
that multiplication in kal is essentially done by addition modulo n. That
is, if (i 1 j) mod n 5 k, then aia j 5 ak. Thus, no matter what group G is,
or how the element a is chosen, multiplication in kal works the same as
addition in Zn whenever |a| 5 n. Similarly, if a has infinite order, then
multiplication in kal works the same as addition in Z, since aia j 5 ai1j
and no modular arithmetic is done.
For these reasons, the cyclic groups Zn and Z serve as prototypes for
all cyclic groups, and algebraists say that there is essentially only one
cyclic group of each order. What is meant by this is that, although there
may be many different sets of the form {an | n [ Z}, there is ­essentially
only one way to operate on these sets. Algebraists do not really care
what the elements of a set are; they care only about the a­ lgebraic prop-
erties of the set—that is, the ways in which the elements of a set can be
combined. We will return to this theme in the chapter on isomorphisms
(Chapter 6).
The next theorem provides a simple method for computing |a k|
knowing only |a|, and its first corollary provides a simple way to tell
when kail 5 ka j l.

 Theorem 4.2  kakl 5 kagcd(n,k)l and |ak| 5 n/gcd(n, k)

Let a be an element of order n in a group and let k be a positive

integer. Then kakl 5 kagcd(n,k)l and |ak| 5 n/gcd(n, k).

PROOF  To simplify the notation, let d 5 gcd(n, k) and let k 5 dr. Since
ak 5 (ad)r, we have by closure that kakl # kadl. By Theorem 0.2 (the gcd

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 4  |  Cyclic Groups 79

theorem), there are integers s and t such that d 5 ns 1 kt. So, ad 5 ans1kt 5
ansakt 5 (an)s(ak)t 5 e(ak)t 5 (ak)t [ kakl. This proves kadl # kakl. So, we
have verified that kakl 5 kagcd(n,k)l.
We prove the second part of the theorem by showing first that |ad| 5
n/d for any divisor d of n. Clearly, (ad)n/d 5 an 5 e, so that |ad| # n/d. On
the other hand, if i is a positive integer less than n/d, then (ad)i 2 e by
­de­finition of |a|. We now apply this fact with d 5 gcd(n, k) to obtain |ak| 5
|kakl| 5 |kagcd(n,k)l| 5 |agcd(n,k)| 5 n/gcd(n, k).  

By doing simple arithmetic the next two examples illustrate how The-
orem 4.2 allows us to easily list the elements of cyclic subgroups and
compute the orders of elements of a cyclic group in cases where the ele-
ments are inconvenient to work with.

  EXAMPLE 5 For |a|  30 we find ka26l, ka17l, ka18l and |a26|, |a17|, and |a18|.
Since gcd(30,26) 5 2, we have ka 26l  ka2l  5e, a2, a4, a6, p , a286
and |a26|  |a2|  30/2  15. Since gcd(30,17) 5 1, we have ka17l 
ka1l  5e, a, a2, a3, p , a296 and |a17|  |a1|  30/1  30. Since
gcd(30,18) 5 6, we have ka18l  ka6l  5e, a6, a12, a18, a246 and |a18| 
|a6|  30/6  5.

For large values of n and k we find gcd1n, k2 by using the prime-power

factorization of n and k.

  EXAMPLE 6  For |a|  1000 we find ka185l, ka400l, ka62l and |a185|, |a400|,
and |a62|. Since gcd(1000,185) 5 gcd12353, 225 ? 172  225  20 we
have ka185l  ka20l  5e, a20, a40, a60, p , a9806 and |a185|  |a20| 
1000/20  50. Since gcd(1000,400) = gcd12353, 2452 2  2352  200
we have ka400l  ka200l  5e, a200, a400, a600, a8006 and |a400|  |a200| 
1000/200  5. Since gcd(1000, 62) 5 gcd12353, 2 ? 312  2 we have
ka62l  ka2l  5e, a2, a4, a6, p , a9986 and |a62|  |a2| 1000/2  500.

Theorem 4.2 establishes an important relationship between the order

of an element in a finite cyclic group and the order of the group.

 Corollary 1  Orders of Elements in Finite Cyclic Groups

In a finite cyclic group, the order of an element divides the order

of the group.

 Corollary 2  Criterion for kail 5 ka j l and |ai| 5 |a j |

Let |a| 5 n. Then kail 5 ka jl if and only if gcd(n, i) 5 gcd(n, j),

and |ai| 5 |a j| if and only if gcd(n, i) 5 gcd(n, j) .
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80 Groups

PROOF  Theorem 4.2 shows that kail 5 kagcd(n,i)l and ka jl 5 kagcd(n,j)l, so that
the proof reduces to proving that kagcd(n,i)l 5 kagcd(n,j)l if and only if gcd(n, i) 5
gcd(n, j). Certainly, gcd(n, i) 5 gcd(n, j) implies that kagcd(n,i)l 5
kagcd(n,j)l. On the other hand, kagcd(n,i)l 5 kagcd(n,j)l ­implies that |agcd(n,i)| 5
|agcd(n,j)|, so that by the second conclusion of Theorem 4.2, we have
n/gcd(n, i) 5 n/gcd(n, j), and therefore gcd(n, i) 5 gcd(n, j).

The second part of the corollary follows from the first part and
Corollary 1 of Theorem 4.1.
The next two corollaries are important special cases of the preceding
corollary.

 Corollary 3  Generators of Finite Cyclic Groups

Let |a| 5 n. Then kal 5 ka jl if and only if gcd(n, j) 5 1, and

|a| 5 |ka jl| if and only if gcd(n, j) 5 1.

 Corollary 4  Generators of Zn

An integer k in Zn is a generator of Zn if and only if gcd(n, k) 5 1.

The value of Corollary 3 is that once one generator of a cyclic group has
been found, all generators of the cyclic group can easily be determined. For
example, consider the subgroup of all rotations in D6. Clearly, one genera-
tor is R60. And, since |R60| 5 6, we see by Corollary 3 that the only other
generator is (R60)5 5 R300. Of course, we could have readily deduced this
information without the aid of Corollary 3 by direct calculations. So, to il-
lustrate the real power of Corollary 3, let us use it to find all generators of
the cyclic group U(50). First, note that direct computations show that
|U(50)| 5 20 and that 3 is one of its generators. Thus, in view of Corollary
3, the complete list of generators for U(50) is
3 mod 50 5 3, 311 mod 50 5 47,
33 mod 50 5 27, 313 mod 50 5 23,
37 mod 50 5 37, 317 mod 50 5 13,
39 mod 50 5 33, 319 mod 50 5 17.
Admittedly, we had to do some arithmetic here, but it certainly entailed
much less work than finding all the generators by simply determining
the order of each element of U(50) one by one.
The reader should keep in mind that Theorem 4.2 and its corollaries
apply only to elements of finite order.

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 4  |  Cyclic Groups 81

Classification of Subgroups
of Cyclic Groups
The next theorem tells us how many subgroups a finite cyclic group has
and how to find them.

 Theorem 4.3  Fundamental Theorem of Cyclic Groups

Every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic. Moreover, if |kal| 5 n,

then the order of any subgroup of kal is a divisor of n; and, for each
positive divisor k of n, the group kal has exactly one subgroup of
order k—namely, kan/k l.

Before we prove this theorem, let’s see what it means. Understand-

ing what a theorem means is a prerequisite to understanding its proof.
Suppose G 5 kal and G has order 30. The first and second parts of the
theorem say that if H is any subgroup of G, then H has the form ka30/kl for
some k that is a divisor of 30. The third part of the theorem says that G
has one subgroup of each of the orders 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, and 30—and
no others. The proof will also show how to find these subgroups.

PROOF  Let G 5 kal and suppose that H is a subgroup of G. We must

show that H is cyclic. If it consists of the identity alone, then clearly H is
cyclic. So we may assume that H 2 {e}. We now claim that H contains
an element of the form at, where t is positive. Since G 5 kal, every
­element of H has the form at; and when at belongs to H with t , 0, then
a2t belongs to H also and 2t is positive. Thus, our claim is verified. Now
let m be the least positive integer such that am [ H. By closure, kaml # H.
We next claim that H 5 kaml. To prove this claim, it suffices to let b be an
arbitrary member of H and show that b is in kaml. Since b [ G 5 kal, we
have b 5 ak for some k. Now, apply the division algorithm to k and m to
obtain integers q and r such that k 5 mq 1 r where 0 # r , m. Then ak 5
amq1r 5 amqar, so that ar 5 a2mqak. Since ak 5 b [ H and a2mq 5 (am)2q
is in H also, ar [ H. But, m is the least positive integer such that am [ H,
and 0 # r , m, so r must be 0. Therefore, b 5 a k 5 a mq 5
(am)q [ kaml. This proves the assertion of the theorem that every subgroup
of a cyclic group is cyclic.
To prove the next portion of the theorem, suppose that |kal| 5 n and
H is any subgroup of kal. We have already shown that H 5 kaml, where
m is the least positive integer such that am [ H. Using e 5 b 5 an as in
the preceding paragraph, we have n 5 mq.

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82 Groups

Finally, let k be any positive divisor of n. We will show that kan/kl is the
one and only subgroup of kal of order k. From Theorem 4.2, we see that
kan/kl has order n/gcd(n, n/k) 5 n/(n/k) 5 k. Now let H be any s­ ubgroup of
kal of order k. We have already shown above that H 5 kaml, where m is a di-
visor of n. Then m 5 gcd(n, m) and k 5 |am| 5 |agcd(n,m)| 5 n/gcd (n, m) 5
n/m. Thus, m 5 n/k and H 5 kan/kl.

Returning for a moment to our discussion of the cyclic group kal,

where a has order 30, we may conclude from Theorem 4.3 that the sub-
groups of kal are precisely those of the form kaml, where m is a divisor
of 30. Moreover, if k is a divisor of 30, the subgroup of order k is
ka30/kl. So the list of subgroups of kal is:
kal 5 {e, a, a2, . . . , a29} order 30,
ka2l 5 {e, a2, a4, . . . , a28} order 15,
ka3l 5 {e, a3, a6, . . . , a27} order 10,
ka5l 5 {e, a5, a10, a15, a20, a25} order 6,
ka6l 5 {e, a6, a12, a18, a24} order 5,
ka10l 5 {e, a10, a20} order 3,
ka15l 5 {e, a15} order 2,
ka30l 5 {e} order 1.
In general, if kal has order n and k divides n, then kan/kl is the unique
subgroup of order k.
Taking the group in Theorem 4.3 to be Zn and a to be 1, we obtain the
following important special case.

 Corollary Subgroups of Zn

For each positive divisor k of n, the set kn/kl is the unique subgroup
of Zn of order k; moreover, these are the only subgroups of Zn.

 EXAMPLE 7  The list of subgroups of Z30 is

 k1l 5 {0, 1, 2, . . . , 29} order 30,
 k2l 5 {0, 2, 4, . . . , 28} order 15,
 k3l 5 {0, 3, 6, . . . , 27} order 10,
 k5l 5 {0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25} order 6,
 k6l 5 {0, 6, 12, 18, 24} order 5,
k10l 5 {0, 10, 20} order 3,
k15l 5 {0, 15} order 2,
k30l 5 {0} order 1.    

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 4  |  Cyclic Groups 83

Theorems 4.2 and 4.3 provide a simple way to find all the generators
of the subgroups of a finite cyclic group.

 EXAMPLE 8  To find the generators of the subgroup of order 9 in Z36,

we observe that 36/9 5 4 is one generator. To find the others, we have
from Corollary 3 of Theorem 4.2 that they are all elements of Z36 of the
form 4j, where gcd(9, j) 5 1. Thus,
k4 ? 1l 5 k4 ? 2l 5 k4 ? 4l 5 k4 ? 5l 5 k4 ? 7l 5 k4 ? 8l.
In the generic case, to find all the subgroups of kal of order 9 where
|a| 5 36, we have
k(a4)1l 5 k(a4)2l 5 k(a4)4l 5 k(a4)5l 5 k(a4)7l 5 k(a4)8l.
In particular, note that once you have the generator an/d for the subgroup
of order d where d is a divisor of |a| 5 n, all the generators of kadl have
the form (ad) j where j [ U(d).

By combining Theorems 4.2 and 4.3, we can easily count the number
of elements of each order in a finite cyclic group. For convenience, we
introduce an important number-theoretic function called the Euler phi
function. Let f(1) 5 1, and for any integer n . 1, let f(n) denote the
number of positive integers less than n and relatively prime to n. Notice
that by definition of the group U(n), |U(n)| 5 f(n). The first 12 values
of f(n) are given in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1  Values of f(n)

n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

f(n) 1 1 2 2 4 2 6 4 6 4 10 4

 Theorem 4.4  Number of Elements of Each Order in a Cyclic Group

If d is a positive divisor of n, the number of elements of order d in

a cyclic group of order n is f(d).

PROOF  By Theorem 4.3, the group has exactly one subgroup of order d—
call it kal. Then every element of order d also generates the subgroup kal
and, by Corollary 3 of Theorem 4.2, an element a k generates kal if and only
if gcd(k, d) 5 1. The number of such elements is precisely f(d).

Notice that for a finite cyclic group of order n, the number of e­ lements
of order d for any divisor d of n depends only on d. Thus, Z8, Z640, and
Z80000 each have f(8) 5 4 elements of order 8.

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84 Groups

Although there is no formula for the number of elements of each

o­ rder for arbitrary finite groups, we still can say something important in
this regard.

 Corollary Number of Elements of Order d in a Finite Group

In a finite group, the number of elements of order d is a multiple

of f(d).

PROOF  If a finite group has no elements of order d, the statement is true,

since f(d) divides 0. Now suppose that a [ G and |a| 5 d. By Theorem
4.4, we know that kal has f(d) elements of order d. If all ­elements of or-
der d in G are in kal, we are done. So, suppose that there is an element b
in G of order d that is not in kal. Then, kbl also has f(d) ­elements of order
d. This means that we have found 2f(d) elements of order d in G pro-
vided that kal and kbl have no elements of order d in common. If there is
an element c of order d that belongs to both kal and kbl, then we have
kal 5 kcl 5 kbl, so that b [ kal, which is a contradiction. Continuing in
this fashion, we see that the number of elements of order d in a finite
group is a multiple of f(d).  

On its face, the value of Theorem 4.4 and its corollary seem limited
for large values of n, because it is tedious to determine the number of
positive integers less than or equal to n and relatively prime to n by
­examining them one by one. However, the following properties of the
f function make computing f (n) simple: For any prime p, f (pn) 5
pn  pn1 (see Exercise 65) and for relatively prime m and n, f(mn) 5
f (m) f (n). Thus, f (40) 5 f (8) f (5) 5 4 ? 4 5 16; f (75) 5 f (52)
f (3)  5 (25 2 5) ? 2 5 40.

The relationships among the various subgroups of a group can be

i­llustrated with a subgroup lattice of the group. This is a diagram that in-
cludes all the subgroups of the group and connects a subgroup H at one
level to a subgroup K at a higher level with a sequence of line segments
if and only if H is a proper subgroup of K. Although there are many
ways to draw such a diagram, the connections between the s­ ubgroups
must be the same. Typically, one attempts to present the diagram in an
eye-pleasing fashion. The lattice diagram for Z30 is shown in Figure 4.2.
Notice that k10l is a subgroup of both k2l and k5l, but k6l is not a sub-
group of k10l.

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 4  |  Cyclic Groups 85

<1>

<5>
< 2>
<3>

<10>

<6> <15>

<0>

Figure 4.2  Subgroup lattice of Z30.

The precision of Theorem 4.3 can be appreciated by comparing the

ease with which we are able to identify the subgroups of Z30 with that of
doing the same for, say, U(30) or D30. And these groups have relatively
simple structures among noncyclic groups.
We will prove in Chapter 7 that a certain portion of Theorem 4.3
­extends to arbitrary finite groups; namely, the order of a subgroup di-
vides the order of the group itself. We will also see, however, that a finite
group need not have exactly one subgroup corresponding to each divisor
of the order of the group. For some divisors, there may be none at all,
whereas for other divisors, there may be many. Indeed, D4, the dihedral
group of order 8, has five subgroups of order 2 and three of order 4.
One final remark about the importance of cyclic groups is appropri-
ate. Although cyclic groups constitute a very narrow class of finite
groups, we will see in Chapter 11 that they play the role of building
blocks for all finite Abelian groups in much the same way that primes
are the building blocks for the integers and that chemical elements are
the building blocks for the chemical compounds.

Exercises
It is not unreasonable to use the hypothesis.
Arnold Ross

1. Find all generators of Z6, Z8, and Z20.

 
2. Suppose that kal, kbl, and kcl are cyclic groups of orders 6, 8, and
 
20, respectively. Find all generators of kal, kbl, and kcl.

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86 Groups

 3. List the elements of the subgroups k20l and k10l in Z30. Let a be a
group element of order 30. List the elements of the subgroups ka20l
and ka10l.
  4. List the elements of the subgroups k3l and k15l in Z18. Let a be a
group element of order 18. List the elements of the subgroups ka3l
and ka15l.
  5. List the elements of the subgroups k3l and k7l in U(20).
  6. What do Exercises 3, 4, and 5 have in common? Try to make a gen-
eralization that includes these three cases.
  7. Find an example of a noncyclic group, all of whose proper sub-
groups are cyclic.
  8. Let a be an element of a group and let |a| 5 15. Compute the orders
of the following elements of G.
a.  a3, a6, a9, a12
b.  a5, a10
c.  a2, a4, a8, a14
  9. How many subgroups does Z20 have? List a generator for each of
these subgroups. Suppose that G 5 kal and |a| 5 20. How many
subgroups does G have? List a generator for each of these sub-
groups.
10. In Z24, list all generators for the subgroup of order 8. Let G 5 kal
and let |a| 5 24. List all generators for the subgroup of order 8.
11. Let G be a group and let a [ G. Prove that ka21l 5 kal.
12. In Z, find all generators of the subgroup k3l. If a has infinite order,
find all generators of the subgroup ka3l.
13. In Z24, find a generator for k21l > k10l. Suppose that |a| 5 24. Find
a generator for ka21l > ka10l. In general, what is a generator for the
subgroup kaml > kanl?
14. Suppose that a cyclic group G has exactly three subgroups: G ­itself,
{e}, and a subgroup of order 7. What is |G|? What can you say if 7
is replaced with p where p is a prime?
15. Let G be an Abelian group and let H 5 {g [ G | |g| divides 12}.
Prove that H is a subgroup of G. Is there anything special about 12
here? Would your proof be valid if 12 were replaced by some other
positive integer? State the general result.
16. Complete the statement: |a| 5 |a2| if and only if |a| . . . .
17. Complete the statement: |a2|5 |a12| if and only if . . . .
18. Let a be a group element and |a|  q. Complete the following
statement: |ai|  |a j| if and only if . . . .

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 4  |  Cyclic Groups 87

19. If a cyclic group has an element of infinite order, how many ele-
ments of finite order does it have?
20. Suppose that G is an Abelian group of order 35 and every element
of G satisfies the equation x35 5 e. Prove that G is cyclic. Does your
argument work if 35 is replaced with 33?
21. Let G be a group and let a be an element of G.
a. If a12 5 e, what can we say about the order of a?
b. If am 5 e, what can we say about the order of a?
c. Suppose that |G| 5 24 and that G is cyclic. If a8 2 e and a12 2 e,
show that kal 5 G.
22. Prove that a group of order 3 must be cyclic.
23. Let Z denote the group of integers under addition. Is every subgroup
of Z cyclic? Why? Describe all the subgroups of Z. Let a be a group
element with infinite order. Describe all subgroups of kal.
24. For any element a in any group G, prove that kal is a subgroup of
C(a) (the centralizer of a).
25. If d is a positive integer, d 2 2, and d divides n, show that the num-
ber of elements of order d in Dn is f(d ). How many elements of
order 2 does Dn have?
26. Find all generators of Z. Let a be a group element that has infinite
order. Find all generators of kal.
27. Prove that C*, the group of nonzero complex numbers under multipli-
cation, has a cyclic subgroup of order n for every positive integer n.
28. Let a be a group element that has infinite order. Prove that kail 5
ka j l if and only if i 5 6j.
29. List all the elements of order 8 in Z8000000. How do you know your list
is complete? Let a be a group element such that |a|  8000000. List
all elements of order 8 in kal. How do you know your list is c­ omplete?
30. Suppose that G is a group with more than one element. If the only
subgroups of G are 5e6 and G, prove that G is cyclic and has prime
order.
31. Let G be a finite group. Show that there exists a fixed positive integer
n such that an 5 e for all a in G. (Note that n is independent of a.)
32. Determine the subgroup lattice for Z12. Generalize to Zp2q, where p
and q are distinct primes.
33. Determine the subgroup lattice for Z8. Generalize to Zpn, where p is
a prime and n is some positive integer.
34. Prove that a finite group is the union of proper subgroups if and
only if the group is not cyclic.

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88 Groups

35. Show that the group of positive rational numbers under multiplica-
tion is not cyclic. Why does this prove that the group of nonzero
rationals under multiplication is not cyclic?
36. Consider the set {4, 8, 12, 16}. Show that this set is a group under
multiplication modulo 20 by constructing its Cayley table. What
is the identity element? Is the group cyclic? If so, find all of its
generators.
37. Give an example of a group that has exactly 6 subgroups (including
the trivial subgroup and the group itself). Generalize to exactly n
subgroups for any positive integer n.
38. Let m and n be elements of the group Z. Find a generator for the
group kml > knl.
39. Suppose that a and b are group elements that commute. If |a| is
­finite and |b| infinite, prove that |ab| has infinite order.
40. Suppose that a and b belong to a group G, a and b commute, and |a|
and |b| are finite. What are the possibilities for |ab|?
41. Let a belong to a group and |a|  100. Find |a98| and |a70|.
42. Let F and F9 be distinct reflections in D21. What are the possibilities
for |FF9|?
43. Suppose that H is a subgroup of a group G and |H| 5 10. If a
belongs to G and a6 belongs to H, what are the possibilities for |a|?
44. Which of the following numbers could be the exact number of
elements of order 21 in a group: 21600, 21602, 21604?
45. If G is an infinite group, what can you say about the number of
elements of order 8 in the group? Generalize.
46. If G is a cyclic group of order n, prove that for every element a in G,
an  e.
47. For each positive integer n, prove that C*, the group of nonzero
complex numbers under multiplication, has exactly f(n) elements
of order n.
48. Prove or disprove that H 5 {n [ Z | n is divisible by both 8 and 10}
is a subgroup of Z. What happens if “divisible by both 8 and 10” is
changed to “divisible by 8 or 10?”
49. Suppose that G is a finite group with the property that every non-
identity element has prime order (for example, D3 and D5). If Z(G)
is not trivial, prove that every nonidentity element of G has the
same order.
50. Prove that an infinite group must have an infinite number of
subgroups.
51. Let p be a prime. If a group has more than p 2 1 elements of order p,
why can’t the group be cyclic?

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 4  |  Cyclic Groups 89

52. Suppose that G is a cyclic group and that 6 divides |G|. How many
elements of order 6 does G have? If 8 divides |G|, how many ele-
ments of order 8 does G have? If a is one element of order 8, list the
other elements of order 8.
53. List all the elements of Z40 that have order 10. Let |x| 5 40. List all
the elements of kxl that have order 10.
54. Reformulate the corollary of Theorem 4.4 to include the case when
the group has infinite order.
55. Determine the orders of the elements of D33 and how many there are
of each.
56. When checking to see if k2l  U1252 explain why it is sufficient
to check that 210 ? 1 and 24 ? 1.
57. If G is an Abelian group and contains cyclic subgroups of orders 4
and 5, what other sizes of cyclic subgroups must G contain?
Generalize.
58. If G is an Abelian group and contains cyclic subgroups of orders 4
and 6, what other sizes of cyclic subgroups must G contain?
Generalize.
59. Prove that no group can have exactly two elements of order 2.
60. Given the fact that U(49) is cyclic and has 42 elements, deduce the
number of generators that U(49) has without actually finding any of
the generators.
61. Let a and b be elements of a group. If |a| 5 10 and |b| 5 21, show
that kal > kbl 5 {e}.
62. Let a and b belong to a group. If |a| and |b| are relatively prime,
show that kal > kbl 5 {e}.
63. Let a and b belong to a group. If |a| 5 24 and |b| 5 10, what are the
possibilities for |kal > kbl|?
64. Prove that U(2n) (n $ 3) is not cyclic.
65. Prove that for any prime p and positive integer n, f 1pn 2 5 pn  pn1.
66. Prove that Zn has an even number of generators if n . 2. What does
this tell you about f(n)?
67. If |a5| 5 12, what are the possibilities for |a|? If |a4| 5 12, what are
the possibilities for |a|?
68. Suppose that |x| 5 n. Find a necessary and sufficient condition on r
and s such that kx r l # kx s l.
69. Let a be a group element such that a  48. For each part, find a
divisor k of 48 such that
a.  ka21l 5 kakl;
b.  ka14l 5 kakl;
c.  ka18l 5 kakl.

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90 Groups

1 n
70. Prove that H  e c
0 1
d ` n [ Zf is a cyclic subgroup of
GL(2, R).
71. Suppose that |a| and |b| are elements of a group and a and b com-
mute. If |a|  5 and |b|  16, prove that |ab|  80.
72. Let a and b belong to a group. If |a| 5 12, |b| 5 22, and kal > kbl 2
{e}, prove that a6 5 b11.
73. Determine f1812, f1602 and f11052 where f is the Euler phi
­function.
74. If n is an even integer prove that f12n2  2f1n2.
75. Let a and b belong to some group. Suppose that a  m, b  n,
and m and n are relatively prime. If ak  bk for some integer k,
prove that mn divides k. Give an example to show that the condition
that m and n are relatively prime is necessary.
76. For every integer n greater than 2, prove that the group U 1n2  12
is not cyclic.
77. (2008 GRE Practice Exam) If x is an element of a cyclic group of
order 15 and exactly two of x3, x5, and x9 are equal, determine |x13|.

Computer Exercises

Computer exercises for this chapter are available at the website:

http://www.d.umn.edu/~jgallian

Suggested Reading
Deborah L. Massari, “The Probability of Generating a Cyclic Group,”
Pi Mu Epsilon Journal 7 (1979): 3–6.
In this easy-to-read paper, it is shown that the probability of a randomly
chosen element from a cyclic group being a generator of the group de-
pends only on the set of prime divisors of the order of the group, and
not on the order itself. This article, written by an under­graduate student,
received first prize in a Pi Mu Epsilon paper contest.

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affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
 James Joseph Sylvester

I really love my subject.

j. j. sylvester

James Joseph Sylvester was the most i­nflu­ -

ential mathematician in America in the 19th
century. Sylvester was born on September 3,
1814, in London and showed his mathemati-

Stock Montage
cal genius early. At the age of 14, he studied
under De Morgan and won several prizes for
his mathematics, and at the unusually young
age of 25, he was elected a fellow of the
Royal Society.
After receiving B.A. and M.A. degrees Sylvester’s methods! He had none. “Three
from Trinity College in Dublin in 1841, lectures will be delivered on a New Universal
Sylvester began a professional life that was to Algebra,” he would say; then, “The course
include academics, law, and actuarial careers. must be extended to twelve.” It did last all the
In 1876, at the age of 62, he was appointed to rest of that year. The following year the
a prestigious position at the newly founded course was to be Substitutions-Theorie, by
Johns Hopkins University. During his seven Netto. We all got the text. He lectured about
years at Johns Hopkins, Sylvester pursued re- three times, following the text closely and
stopping sharp at the end of the hour. Then he
search in pure mathematics with tremendous
began to think about matrices again. “I must
vigor and enthusiasm. He also founded the
give one lecture a week on those,” he said.
American Journal of Mathematics, the first He could not confine himself to the hour, nor
journal in America devoted to mathematical to the one lecture a week. Two weeks were
research. Sylvester returned to England in passed, and Netto was forgotten entirely and
1884 to a professorship at Oxford, a position never mentioned again. Statements like the
he held until his death on March 15, 1897. following were not infrequent in his ­lectures:
Sylvester’s major contributions to mathe- “I haven’t proved this, but I am as sure as I
matics were in the theory of equations, ­matrix can be of anything that it must be so. From
theory, determinant theory, and invariant the- this it will follow, etc.” At the next lecture it
ory (which he founded with Cayley). His turned out that what he was so sure of was
false. Never mind, he kept on forever guess-
writings and lectures—flowery and eloquent,
ing and trying, and presently a wonderful dis-
pervaded with poetic flights, emotional ex-
covery followed, then another and another.
pressions, bizarre utterances, and para- Afterward he would go back and work it all
doxes—reflected the personality of this sen- over again, and surprise us with all sorts of
sitive, excitable, and enthusiastic man. We side lights. He then made another leap in the
quote three of his students.† E. W. Davis com- dark, more treasures were discovered, and so
mented on Sylvester’s teaching methods. on forever.

†F. Cajori, Teaching and History of Mathematics in the United States, Washington: Government Printing

Office, 1890, 265–266.

91

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some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially
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 Sylvester’s enthusiasm for teaching and his Sylvester had one remarkable peculiarity. He
influence on his students are captured in the seldom remembered theorems, propositions,
following passage written by Sylvester’s first etc., but had always to deduce them when he
student at Johns Hopkins, G. B. Halsted. wished to use them. In this he was the very
antithesis of Cayley, who was thoroughly
A short, broad man of tremendous vitality, . . . conversant with everything that had been
Sylvester’s capacious head was ever lost in done in every branch of mathematics.
the highest cloud-lands of pure mathematics. I remember once submitting to Sylvester
Often in the dead of night he would get his some investigations that I had been engaged
­favorite pupil, that he might communicate on, and he immediately denied my first state-
the very last product of his creative thought. ment, saying that such a proposition had never
Everything he saw suggested to him ­some- been heard of, let alone proved. To his aston-
thing new in the higher algebra. This transmu- ishment, I showed him a paper of his own in
tation of everything into new ­mathematics which he had proved the proposition; in fact,
was a revelation to those who knew him I believe the object of his paper had been the
­intimately. They began to do it themselves. very proof which was so strange to him.

Another characteristic of Sylvester, which For more information about Sylvester,

is very unusual among mathematicians, was visit:
his apparent inability to remember mathemat- http://www-groups.dcs.st-and
ics! W. P. Durfee had the following to say. .ac.uk/~history/

92

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some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially
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