1

ASSIGNMENT
Mathematics Optional
 2

Modern Algebra
EXPLORING GROUPS
Q. Is the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} a group under (i) addition modulo 6 (ii) multiplication modulo 6?
Ans. (i) No. (ii) No.
Q. Is the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} a group under addition modulo 7?
Ans. No.
Q. Does the set of residue classes modulo 5 form a group with respect to addition?
Ans. Yes.
Q. Prove that the set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4} is a finite abelian group of order 5 under addition modulo 5 as composition.
Q. Prove that the set {1, 2, 3, 4} is a finite abelian group of order 4 under multiplication modulo 5 as
composition.
Q. Show that the set {1, 3, 4, 5, 9} is an abelian group under multiplication modulo 11 as composition. What
is the order of this group?
Ans. 5
Q. Prove that G = {1, 5, 7, 11) is a group under multiplication modulo 12.
Q. Which of the following sets are groups under multiplication modulo 11?
(i) (1, 3, 5, 7, 8), (ii) {1, 8), (iii) {1, 10).
Ans. Only {1, 10}.
Q. Show that the non-zero residue classes modulo a positive prime integer p form a commutative group with
respect to multiplication of residue classes.
Q. Define a semigroup and a group, and prove that a semi- group G is a group if and only if the equations ax
= b and ya = b have solutions in G for arbitrary a, b  G.
Q. Let S = (x  I : 1 < x < n, and (x, n) = 1 i.e., x and n are relatively prime integers}. Prove that S is a group
with respect to multiplication modulo nas composition.

PERMUTATION GROUP
Q1. Write down all the permutations on three symbols a, b, e Which of these permutations are even?
Ans. I (identity permutation), (ab), (bc), (ca), (abc), (acb); even permutations are I, (abc), (acb).
Q2. Find the orders of the groups:
(i) the group S4 (symmetric group), (ii) the group A4 (alter. nating group).
Ans. (i) 24, (ii) 12.
 1 2 3 1 2 3
Q3. Define a permutation. If A =   and B =   , find AB and BA.
 2 3 1 3 1 2
Ans. Both AB and BA are identity permutations.
Q4. Find the inverse of each of the following permutations:
 3

1 2 3 4  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5
(i)  , (ii)   (iii)  
1 3 4 2  3 4 1 2  2 3 1 5 4
1 2 3 4  1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5
Ans. (i)  , (ii)   (iii)  
1 4 2 3  3 4 1 2 3 1 2 5 4
Q5. Decompose the following permutations into transpositions:-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(i)   (ii)  
6 5 2 4 3 1 7 3 1 4 7 2 5 8 6
Ans. (i) (16) (25) (2 3); (ii) (13) (14) (17) (18) (1-6) (15) (1 2).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Q6. Examine whether the following permutation is even or odd:  .
 2 5 4 3 6 1 7 9 8
Ans. Odd.
Q7. Given that j = (1 3 2 5) (1 4 3) (2 5 1) is a permutation on five symbols. Express it as a product of disjoint
cycles. Also find the inverse of f and express it as a product of disjoint cycles.
Ans. f = (1 2) (3 5 4); f-1 = (1 2) (3 4 5).
Q8. Prove that a cycle containing an odd number of symbols is an even permutation whereas a cycle containing
an even num- ber of symbols is an odd permutation.
Q9. Show that the set G of four permutations I, (1 2) (3 4), (1 3) (24) and (1 4) (2 3) on four symbols 1, 2, 3, 4
is an abelian group with respect to the permutation multiplication.
Q10. Show that the n ! permutations of n objects form a group with respect to permutation multiplication. Verify
this theorem by taking the set of all permutations of elements 1, 2, 3.
Q11. Prove that the set A3 of three permutations (a), (a b c), (a c b)
on three symbols a, b, c forms a finite abelian group with respect to the permutation multiplication.
Q12. Show that if S has more than two elements, then the symmetric group Sn, is not abelian.
Q13. Show that the group S3, is non-abelian.
Q14. Give an example of a finite non-abelian group.
Q15. G is a group and a is a fixed element of G. Show that the mapping fa: G → G defined by fa(x) = ax  vx 
G is a permutation of G ie., is a one-to-one mapping of G onto G.
 4

ORDER OF ELEMENTS
Q1. Define the order of an element in (i) an additive group, (ii) a multiplicative group. What is the order of the
residue class [3] in the multiplicative group of non-zero residue classes modulo 5?
Ans. 4.
Q2. Distinguish between the order of a group and the order of an element in a group. Prove that if a, x  G then
a and xax-1 have the same order in G.
Q3. Show that in a group G, we have
Ab = e  a = b-1 and b = a-1
Q4. Show that in a group G, we have
Ab = a or ba = a > b = e,
where e is the identity element of G.
Q5. If in a group G, the elements a and b commute, then prove that (i) a-1 and b-1 also commute, (ii) a-1 and b
also commute, (iii) a and b-1 also commute.
Q6. In a group G, prove that en = e for any integer n.
Q7. Find the solution of the equation abxax = cbx in a group G, where a, b and c are given elements of G.
Ans. x = b-1 a-1c b a-1.
Q8. Prove that, if a group has an even number of elements, then at least one element, apart from the identity
element must equal its inverse.
Q9. Prove that in any group, e is the only element of order 1.
Q10. Find the order of each element of the group
Ans. o (0) = 1 and each other element is of order 5.
1 2 3 4 
Q11. Find the order of the permutation  
1 3 4 2 
Ans. 3.
Q12. Let G be a group and let a  e G be such that an = e, where p is a prime number. Prove that o (a) = p.
Q13. Show by means of an example that it is possible for the uadratic equation x2 = e to have more than two
solutions in some group G with identity e.
Q14. If the elements a, b and ab of a group are each of order 2, prove that ab = ba.
Q15. Let a, b G be non-identity elements with o (a) = 5 and a-1 ba = b2. Find o (b).
Ans. 31.
Q16. Give an example of an infinite group each element of which has a finite order.
Hint. Let G = {z : z C and zn = 1 for some positive integer n} i.e., let G be the union of all n nth roots of
unity where n N. Then for multiplication of complex numbers G is the desired group].
Q17. Let x  G, x  e. Show that x  x-1 if and only if the order of x is greater than two, where G is any group.
Q18. If a is an element of a group, prove that the integral powers of a form a multiplicative group.
 5

Q19. In S3 give an example of two elements x, y such that (xy)2  x2y2. Here S3 is the symmetric group of
permutations of degree 3.
Q20. In S3 show that there are four elements satisfying x2 = l and three elements satisfying y3 = e.
Q21. In a group G let a be an element of finite order n. If a positive integer k is a divisor of n, prove that o (ak) =
n/k.
Q22. Show that the equation xax = b is solvable for x ina group G if and only if ab is the square of some element
in G.
Q23. Show that in an abelian group the product of two elements of finite order is again an element of finite order.
Q24. Prove that a group G is abelian if and only if
(ab)-1 = a-1 b-1  a, b  G.

CYCLIC GROUPS
1. Show that any two cyclic groups of the same order are isomorphic.
2. Show that all finite cyclic groups of order n are isomorphic to the additive group of integers modulo n.
3. Find the order of each element in the multiplicative group of residues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 prime to 7 Show that the
group is cyclic of order 6 and that it can be generated by 3 and 5 and not by any of the other elements.
4. "A group may be isomorphic to one of its proper sub- groups". Either disprove this statement or give an
example to prove it.
5. Explain the statement, "every element of a group gene- rates a subgroup".
6. Define a cyclic group.
Let a be a generator of a cyclic group G. Let  : n → an be a mapping of the additive group of all integers I
onto G. (i) If  is one-one, prove that G is isomorphic to I. (ii) If  is not one-one, prove that G is a finite
cyclic group.
7. Give an example to show that a group of order 4 is not necessarily cyclic.
8. Give an example of an infinite non-abelian group and one example of an abelian group which is not cyclic.
9. If  be the cube root of unity, show that the set {1,  ,  2} is a cyclic group of order 3 with respect to
multiplication.
10. Show that the set Un of n nth complex roots of unity forms a cyclic group with respect to multiplication.
11. Prove that a non-commutative group has at least six elements.
12. What is the least order of a non-abelian group? Show that all proper subgroups of a group of order 8 must be
abelian.
13. Show that the group ({1, 2, 3, 4), × 5) is cyclic.
14. Show that the residue classes {1}, {3}, {5}, {7} modulo 8 form a multiplicative group. Is this a cyclic group?
Ans. No.
15. (i) How many generators are there of the cyclic group of order 10?
Ans. Four i.e., a, a, a, a.
(ii) How many generators can a cyclic group of order 12 have?
 6

Ans. 4.
16. How many elements of the cyclic group of order 6 can be used as generators of the group?
Ans. Two i.e., a and a3.
17. Prove that each element b  e in an infinite cyclic group (a) is of infinite order.

ISOMORPHISM
1. Show that the multiplicative group G = {1, -1} is isomor phic to the permutation group G' ={1, (ab)}.
2. (i) What do you understand by the statement:
"When two groups are isomorphic, then in some sense they are equal".
(ii) Are any two finite groups with the same number of elements isomorphic?
Ans. No.
3. Show that the multiplicative group G = {1,  ,  2} is iso- morphic to the group G' of residue classes (mod
3) under addition of residue classes.
4. Show that the multiplicative group G = {1, -1, i, -i) is isomorphic to the group G' = {0, 1, 2, 3} with addition
modulo 4 as composition.
5. If f is an isomorphism of a group G onto a group G', show that f-1 is an isomorphism of G' onto G.
6. Show that the product of two isomorphisms is also an isomorphism.
7. Let G be any group and a be any fixed element in G. Define a mapping f: G → G by the formula.
f(x) = axa-1,  x  G.
Prove that ƒ is an isomorphism of G onto itself.
8. Prove that the order of an element of a group is unaltered by an isomorphism.
9. Show that the mapping x → x-1 of G onto G is an isomorphism if and only if G is abelian, x being any element
of the group G.
10. Prove that the additive group of complex numbers a + ib (a, b integers) is isomorphic to the multiplicative
group of rational numbers of the form 2a3b (a, b integers).
11. Let n be an integer greater than 1. Prove that
 2k  2k  
G =  zk : zk = cos + i sin ; 0  k  n − 1
 n n 
is a group with respect to the multiplication of complex numbers. Show that G is isomorphic to Z/(n) -the
additive group of inte gers modulo n.
12. Show that the multiplicative group G of n nth roots of unity is isomorphic to the group
G' = ({0, 1, 2,..., n - 1}, + n).

13. Show that the group G of four transformations f1 f2 f3, f4 defined by f1(z) = z, f2(z) = -z, f3(3) = 1/z, f4(z) = 1/z,
with composite composition is isomorphic to the permutation group G' of degree four consisting of the four
permutations
I,(ab), (cd), (ab) (cd).
 7

 a 0
14. Show that real matrices of the type   , where a  0 form a multiplicative group which is isomorphic
0 1
to the group of real non-zero numbers under multiplication.
 a b
15. Show that the multiplicative group of all matrices   , where a and b are real numbers (not both equal
 −b a 
to zero), is isomorphic to the group of non-zero complex numbers for multiplication.
SUBGROUPS
1. Show that the elements of finite order in any commutative group G form a subgroup of G.
2. Show by means of examples that the union of two subgroups may or may not be a subgroup.
3. Show that the integral multiples of 5 form a subgroup of the additive group of integers.
4. Let A and B be subgroups of a group G and let AB be the subset of G consisting of all elements of the form
ab, where a is in A and b is in B. Then
(i) Show by considering the subgroups of the group of permutations of three elements, or otherwise,
that AB need not be a subgroup of G.
(ii) Show that AB is a subgroup of G if and only if AB = BA.
4. Show that the 24 permutations on 4 symbols form a group with respect to permutation multiplication. Write
down three proper subgroups of this group.
5. Show that all those elements of an abelian group G which satisfy the relation a2 = e constitute a subgroup of
G.
6. Show that a group can never be expressed as the union of two of its proper subgroups.
7. Let the mapping  ab, for a, b real numbers, map the reals into the reals by the rule,  ab (x) = ax + b.
Let G = {  ab : a  0}. Prove that G is a group under the composition of product of mappings. Find the
formula for  ab  cd.
Let H = {  ab  G : a is rational}. Show that H is a subgroup of
8. Consider the set
a 
S =  n : a is any int eger, nis a fixed int eger  0 
2 
COSET THEORY
1. Answer the following questions:
(i) What is the order of the group P4?
(ii) What is the order of the group A4?
(iii) Is A4, a subgroup of P4 ? If yes, what is the index of A4. in P.?
Ans. (i) 24, (ii) 12, (iii) 2.
2. Use Fermat's theorem to determine the remainder, if 8103 is divided by 103.
Ans. 8.
3. Prove that any group is isomorphic to a transformation group.
 8

4. (i) Show that every group is isomorphic to a subgroup of A(S) for some appropriate S. Here A(S) is he group
of all one-one functions of S onto itself.
(ii) Let G be a finite group. Prove that G is isomorphic to a subgroup of Sn, the symmetric group of degree n,
for some n.
5. Let G be the group of integers under addition and let N be the set of all integral multiples of 3. Prove that H
is a subgroup of G and determine all the cosets of N in G.
6. Let G be a finite group, a E G; show that the order of a equals the order of the subgroup H of G generated by
a. Hence or otherwise deduce that o (a) divides o (G).
7. Consider two subgroups H = {I, (1 2)} and K = {I, (1 3)} of S3 Determine HK. Using Lagrange's theorem or
otherwise prove that HK is not a subgroup of S3.
8. If H and K are subgroups of a finite group G, give an example to show that o (HK) need not divide o (G).
9. If a finite group G contains an element of even order, show that G must also be of even order.
10. If a finite group possesses an element of order 2, prove that it possesses an odd number of such elements.
11. S is a subset of a given group G and one defines a relation a ~ b in G if and only if ab-1  S. Show that the
necessary and sufficient condition that this is an equivalence relation is that S is a subgroup of G.
12. Use Lagrange's theorem to show that any group of prime order can have no proper subgroups.

HOMOMORPHISMS
1. Let f : G→G’ be a homomorphism of a group G into a group G'. Prove that f (G) is a subgroup of G' and f-1
(e') is a normal subgroup of G, where e' is the identity of G.
2. Prove that in a homomorphic mapping of a group G into a group G', unit element corresponds to unit element,
inverses correspond to inverses and subgroups correspond to subgroups.
3. Let R be the additive group of real numbers and U, the multiplicative group of complex numbers of absolute
value unity. Prove that the mapping x → eix is a homomorphism of R onto U. Find the kernel.
Ans. Kernel = {x: x R and x = 2n  where n is any integer).
4. Prove that any quotient group of G is a homomorphic image of G and conversely if G' is a homomorphic
image of G then G' is isomorphic to a quotient group of G.
5. G is a group and H is a subgroup of G. Show that the following statements are equivalent :
(i) H is a normal subgroup of G.
(ii) H is the kernel of a homomorphism of G.
(iii) Every left coset of H in G is a right coset of H in G.
6. Prove that every normal subgroup of a group G gives rise to a homomorphism from G. Moreover, show that
with every homomorphism from G we can associate a unique normal sub- group of G.
7. If  be a homomorphism of a group G onto the group G with kernel K, then prove that G/K  G .
8. If  is a homomorphism of a group G onto a group G with kernel K, then prove that the set of all inverse
images of g  G under  in G is given by Kx where x is any particular inverse image of g in G.
 9

9. Let H be a subgroup of a group G and S be the set of all right cosets of H in G. Prove that there is a
homomorphism  of G into A(S) and the kernel of  is the largest normal sub group of G which is contained
in H.
10. Write down the elements of the symmetric group P3 and determine the classes of conjugate elements.
11. Show that any two conjugate classes of a group are either disjoint or identical.
12. If N is a normal subgroup of G, having the prime index p, prove that G/N is cyclic.
13. Let (G, +) be an abelian group. Let S be the set of all endomorphisms of G. For any  ,   S define
 +  : G→G by
(  +  ) (x) =  (x) +  (x).
Show that  +  is also an endomorphism of G. Further show that S becomes an abelian group with respect
to this addition composition.
14. Show that it is impossible to find a homomorphism of Z onto Sn, (n > 2). Here Z is the additive group of
integers.
15. State and prove fundamental theorem of homomorphism for groups. Deduce that if a group G' is a
homomorphic image of a finite group G, the order of G' divides the order of G.
16. How many homomorphisms are there from Z6 onto Z5? Here Zn denotes the additive group of residue classes
modulo n.
Ans. No.
17. If the order of a group G is a power of a prime p, show that the centre of G has at least p elements.
 10

CHAPTER WISE PREVIOUS YEARS QUESTION- GROUP THEORY

CHAPTER 1. GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
NUMBER THEORY
Q1(a) Let G be a group of order 10 and G' be a group of order 6. Examine whether there exists a homomorphism
of G onto G'. UPSC CSE 2023

Q1. Let m1 , m2 ,...., mk be positive integers and d  0 the greatest common divisor of m1 , m2 ,...., mk . Show that
there exist integers x1 , x2 ,...., xk such that d = x1m1 + x2 m2 + ... + xk mk . [1a UPSC CSE 2021]

Q2. Show that there are infinitely many subgroups of the additive group of rational numbers.

[4a UPSC CSE 2021]

Q3. Let p be a prime number. Then show that ( p −1)1 + 1  mod ( p )

Also, find the remainder when 644  ( 22 )1 + 3 is divided by 23. [1a 2020 IFoS]

Q4. If in the group G, a5 = e, aba −1 = b 2 for some a, b  G , find the order of b. [3a 2019 IFoS]

Q5. Prove that every group of order four is Abelian. [1a 2017 IFoS]

Q6. Let G be the set of all real numbers except -1 and define a * b = a + b + ab a, b  G . Examine if G is an
Abelian group under *. [2a 2017 IFoS]
Q7. Prove that the set of all bijective functions from a non-empty set X onto itself is a group with respect to
usual composition of functions. [1a 2016 IFoS]

If G is a group in which ( a  b ) = a 4  b 4 , ( a  b ) = a 5  b5 and ( a  b ) = a 6  b6 for all a, b  G , then

4 5 6
Q8.
prove that G is Abelian. [1a 2014 IFoS]
Q9. Give an example of an infinite group in which every element has finite order. [1b UPSC CSE 2013]

Q10. Prove that if every element of a group ( G,0 ) be its own inverse, then it is an abelian group.

[1b 2013 IFoS]

Q11. How many elements of order 2 are there in the group of order 16 generated by a and b such that the order
of a is 8, the order of b is 2 and bab−1 = a−1 . [1a UPSC CSE 2012]

Q12. Show that the set

G =  f1 , f 2 , f3 , f 4 , f5 , f6  of six transformations on the set of Complex numbers defined by

f1 ( z ) = z, f 2 ( z ) = 1 − z
 11

z 1
f3 ( z ) = , f4 ( z ) =
( z − 1) z

1 ( z − 1)
f5 ( z ) = and f 6 ( z ) = is a non-abelian group of order 6 w.r.t composition of mappings.
(1 − z ) z

[1a UPSC CSE 2011]

Q13. Let a and b be elements of a group with a2 = e , b6 = e and ab = b4 a . Find the order of ab , and express
its inverse in each of the forms ambn and bman . [4a UPSC CSE 2011]

Q14. Let G be a group, and x and y be any two elements of G. IF y 5 = e and yxy −1 = x 2 , then show that
O ( x ) = 31 , where e is the identity element of G and x  e . [1a 2011 IFoS]

Q15. Let G = − −1 be the set of all real numbers omitting -1. Define the binary relation * on G by
a * b = a + b + ab . Show ( G,*) is a group and it is abelian. [1a UPSC CSE 2010]

Q16. Let

a a  
G =   a  , a  0 . Show that G is group under matrix multiplication. [1a 2010 IFoS]
a a  

Q17. Show that zero and unity are only idempotent of Z n if n = p r , where p is a prime. [3a 2010 IFoS]
 12

CHAPTER 2. CYCLIC GROUPS

Q1. Let G be a finite cyclic group of order n. Then prove that G has  ( n ) generators (where  is Euler's  -
function). [2a UPSC CSE 2020]

Q2. Let G be a finite group and let p be a prime. If p m divides order of G, then show that G has a subgroup of
order p m , where m is a positive integer. [3b 2020 IFoS]

Q3. Let p be a prime number and p denote the additive group of integers modulo p. Show that every non-zero
elements of p generates p . [2b UPSC CSE 2016]

Q4. Let G be a group of order pq , where p and q are prime numbers such that p  q and q  ( p − 1) . Then
prove that G is cyclic. [2b 2016 IFoS]

Q5. How many generators are there of the cyclic group G of order 8? Explain. Taking a group e, a, b, c of
order 4, where e is the identity, construct composition tables showing that one is cyclic while the other is not.
[1a UPSC CSE 2015]

Q6. If in a group G there is an element a of order 360, what is the order of a 220 ? Show that if G is a cyclic group
of order n and m divides n, then G has a subgroup of order m. [1a 2015 IFoS]

Q7. Prove that a group of prime order is abelian. How many generators are there of the cyclic group ( G, ) of
order 8? [1e UPSC CSE 2011]
Q8. Given an example of group G in which every proper subgroup is cyclic but the group itself is not cyclic. [2a
UPSC CSE 2011]

Q9. Let G be a group of order 2 p, p prime. Show that either G is cyclic or G is generated by a, b with
relations a p = e = b2 and bab = a−1 . [3b 2011 IFoS]

Q10. Show that a cyclic group of order 6 is isomorphic to the product of a cyclic group of order 2 and a cyclic
group of order 3. Can you generalize this? Justify. [1b UPSC CSE 2010]

Q11. Determine the number of homeomorphisms from the additive group 15 to the additive group 10 .( n is
the cyclic group of order n). [1b UPSC CSE 2009]
 13

CHAPTER 3. COSETS, NORMAL SUBGROUPS & QUOTIENT GROUPS

UPDATED

Q1. Let P be a Sylow p-subgroup of a group G and H is any p-subgroup of G such that HP = PH . Then show
that H  P .

(ii) Show that every group of order 15 is cyclic. [3b IFoS 2022]

Q2. Let G be a finite group, H and K subgroups of G such that K  H . Show that ( G : K ) = ( G : H )( H : K )
. [1a UPSC CSE 2019]

Q3. Write down all quotient groups of the group Z12 . [2b UPSC CSE 2019]

Q4. Prove that a non-commutative group of order 2n , where n is an odd prime must have a subgroup of order
n. [1a 2018 IFoS]

Q5. Let H be a cyclic subgroup of a group G. If H be a normal subgroup of G, prove that every subgroup of H is
a normal subgroup of G. [4c 2018 IFoS]
Q6. Let H and K are finite normal subgroups of co-prime order of a group G. Prove that hk = khh  H and
kK . [2b 2017 IFoS]

x y
Let G be the set of all real 2  2 matrices  , where xz  0 . Show that G is a group under matrix
z 
Q7.
0
 1 a  
multiplication. Let N denote the subset    : a   . Is N a normal subgroup of G? Justify your
 0 1  
answer. [1a UPSC CSE 2014]

Q8. Prove that a non-empty subset H of a group G is normal subgroup of G  for all
x, y  H , g  G, ( gx )( gy )  H .
−1
[1a 2009 IFoS]

Q9. If G is a finite Abelian group, then show that O ( a, b ) is a divisor of 1 c.m. of O ( a ) , O ( b ) .[1d 2009 IFoS]
 14

CHAPTER 4. HOMOMORPHISM AND AUTOMORPHISMS

UPDATED

Q1. Show that the multiplicative group G = 1, −1, i, −i , where i = ( −1) , is isomorphic to the group

FG ' = (0,1, 2,3 , + 4 ) . [1a UPSC CSE 2022]

Q2. Prove that every homomorphic image of a group G is isomorphic to some quotient group of G.
[2b UPSC CSE 2022]

Q3. Let G be a finite commutative group. Let n  be such that n and order of G are relatively prime. Show
that the function  : G → G defined by  ( a ) = an , for all a  G , is an isomorphism of G onto G.
[1a IFoS 2021]
Q4. If G and H are finite groups whose orders are relatively prime, then prove that there is only one
homomorphism from G to H, the trivial one. [2a UPSC CSE 2019]

Q5. Show that the quotient group of ( , + ) modulo is isomorphic to the multiplicative group of complex
numbers on the unit circle in the complex plane. Here is the set of real numbers and is the set of
integers. [2a UPSC CSE 2018]

Q6. Find all the homeomorphisms from the group ( , + ) to ( 4 , +) . [2a 2018 IFoS]

Q7. Show that the groups 5  7 and 35 are isomorphic. [3a UPSC CSE 2017]

Q8. Let G be the group of non-zero complex numbers under multiplication, and let N be the set of complex
numbers of absolute value 1. Show that G/N is isomorphic to the group of all positive real numbers under
multiplication. [2a 2011 IFoS]

Q9. Let ( *,) be the multiplicative group of non-zero reals and ( GL ( n,

) X ) be the multiplicative group of
n  n non-singular real matrices. Show that the quotient group GL ( n, ) SL ( n, ) and ( *,) are
isomorphic where SL ( n, ) =  A  GL ( n, ) det A = 1 . What is the centre of GL ( n, ) ?

[2a UPSC CSE 2010]

Q10. Prove or disprove that ( , + ) and ( +

)
, are isomorphic groups where +
denotes the set of all positive
real numbers. [2b 2010 IFoS]

Q11. If is the set of real numbers and † is the set of positive real numbers, show that under addition
( , + ) and + under multiplication ( + ,) are isomorphic. Similarly if is the set of rational numbers
and + the set of positive rational numbers are ( , + ) and ( + ,) isomorphic? Justify your answer.

[1a UPSC CSE 2009]

 15

CHAPTER 5. PERMUTATION GROUPS

UPDATED

Q1. Find all the Sylow p-subgroups of S 4 and show that none of them is normal. [2a IFoS 2022]

Q2. Let S3 and Z 3 be permutation group on 3 symbols and group of residue classes module 3 respectively. Show
that there is no homomorphism of S3 in Z 3 except the trivial homomorphism. [1a UPSC CSE 2020]

Q3. Show that the smallest subgroup V of A4 containing (1, 2 )( 3, 4 ) , (1,3)( 2, 4 ) and (1, 4 )( 2,3) is isomorphic
to the Klein 4-group. [4a 2019 IFoS]

Q4. Let G be a group of order n. Show that G is isomorphic to a subgroup of the permutation group S n .

[1b UPSC CSE 2017]

Q5. Show that any non-abelian group of order 6 is isomorphic to the symmetric group S3 .

[2a 2016 IFoS]

Q6. What is the maximum possible order of a permutation in S8 , the group of permutations on the eight numbers
1, 2,3,...,8 ? Justify your answer. (Majority of marks will be given for the justification.) [3a 2015 IFoS]
Q7. What are the orders of the following permutations in S10 ?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
  and (1 2 3 4 5)( 6 7 ) . [2a UPSC CSE 2013]
1 8 7 3 10 5 4 2 6 9 

Q8. What is the maximal possible order of an element in S10 ? Why? Give an example of such an element. How
many elements will there be in S10 of that order? [2b UPSC CSE 2013]

Q9. How many conjugacy classes does the permutation group S5 of permutations 5 numbers have? Write down
one element in each class (preferably in terms of cycles). [2a UPSC CSE 2012]

Q10. Show that in a symmetric group S3 , there are four elements  satisfying  2 = Identity and three elements
satisfying  3 = Identity. [2a 2012 IFoS]

Q11. Show that the alternating group on four letters A4 has no subgroup of order 6. [2b UPSC CSE]

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