MATH 354: Abstract Algebra I 22/23

Set 1: Group
1. Determine which of the following sets are groups under addition:

(a) the set of rational numbers in lowest terms whose denominators are odd
(b) the set of rational numbers of absolute value less than 1.
(c) the set of rational numbers with absolute value 1 or greater, including 0.

2. Consider the set Z/4Z of integers modulo 4. Determine if Z/4Z is a group under
multiplication. How about Z/5Z? Can you make a conjecture about whether Z/nZ is
a group under multiplication? Prove your conjecture.

3. Let G = {z ∈ C | z n = 1 for some n ∈ Z+ }.

(a) Prove that G is a group under multiplication, called the group of roots of unity
in C.
(b) Prove that G is not a group under addition.
√
4. Let G = {a + b 2 ∈ R | a, b ∈ Q}.

(a) Prove that G is a group under addition.

(b) Prove that the nonzero elements of G form a group under multiplication.

5. Let G be a group and a, b ∈ G. Prove that (ab)−1 = b−1 a−1 . Generalize this to show
−1 −1 −1
that (a1 a2 · · · an )−1 = a−1
n an−1 · · · a2 a1 for a1 , a2 , . . . , an ∈ G.

6. Let G be a group. Suppose that G has the following property: for all elements a, b,
and c, ab = ca ⇒ b = c. Prove that G is abelian.

7. Prove that a group G is abelian if for all a and b in G, (ab)−1 = a−1 b−1 .

8. Suppose a, b are elements of a group G and (ab)2 = a2 b2 . Prove that a and b commute.
  
 1 a b 
9. Let G =  0 1 c  a, b, c ∈ R . Show that G is a group under multiplication. 1
0 0 1
 

10. Let Rθ denote the rotation matrix

 
cos θ − sin θ
Rθ = .2
sin θ cos θ

Show that the set {Rθ | θ ∈ R} forms a group under matrix multiplication.
1
This group is called the Heisenberg group.
2
We’ve encountered this matrix in in Linear Algebra.

1
11. Let G = {x ∈ R |0 ≤ x < 1} and for x, y ∈ G, let x ∗ y be the fractional part of x + y.
This means that x ∗ y = x + y − [x + y]3

(a) Prove that ∗ is a well-defined binary operation on G.

(b) Prove that G is an abelian group under the operation ∗ (called the real numbers
modulo 1).

12. Write down the multiplication table (Cayley table) for the dihedral group D8 .

13. Suppose (G, ∗) and (H, ◦) are groups. Consider the cartesian product G×H and define
the binary operation

(g1 , h1 ) · (g2 , h2 ) = (g1 ∗ g2 , h1 ◦ h2 ).

(a) Show that this operation makes G × H into a group (the direct product of the
groups G and H).
(b) Show that the elements (g, eH ) and (eG , H) commute in G × H.

14. Let G be a finite group. Prove that G is abelian if and only if the Cayley table for G
is a symmetric matrix.

15. Suppose that G is a group with the following property:

when a, b, c ∈ G and ab = ca, then b = c. Prove that G is an abelian group.

Set 2: Subgroup
1. Show that the set {1, r2 , sr, sr3 } is a subgroup of the dihedral group D8 . Is this set a
normal subgroup of D8 ? Explain.

2. Let G be a group and H a subgroup of G. Fix an element x ∈ G. Define the set

xHx−1 = {xhx−1 | h ∈ H}.4

Prove the following statements

(a) xHx−1 is a subgroup of G

(b) If H is abelian, then xHx−1 is abelian.

3. let G be a group and H a subgroup of G. Define N (H) = {x ∈ G|xHx−1 = H}. Prove

that N (H) is a subgroup of G. (N (H) is called the normalizer of H in G, denoted
NG (H).)

4. Let H and K be subgroups of G. Prove that H ∩ K is a subgroup of G. What can

you say about the intersection of an arbitrary nonempty collection of subgroups of G?
Is it a subgroup of G? Prove your claim.
3
[a] is the greatest integer less than or equal to a.
4
xHx−1 is called the conjugate of H by x.

2
 5. Let H and K be subgroups of G. Prove that H ∪ K is a subgroup if and only if either
H ⊆ K or K ⊆ H. Give an example to show that H ∪ K is not a subgroup if the
condition H ⊆ K or K ⊆ H does not hold.

6. Consider the general linear group GL(3, R) of 3 × 3 matrices with real entries. Prove
that the set H = {(aij ) ∈ GL(3, R) | aij = 0 for all i > j} is a subgroup of GL(3, R).5

7. Let G be a group. Prove that CG (Z(G)) = G; in other words, the centralizer of the
center of the group G is all of G. Deduce that the normalizer of Z(G) is all of G.

8. Let G be a group and H a subgroup of G such that the index [G : H] = 2. Show that
H is normal in G.

9. Find the centers of the dihedral groups D6 and D8 .

10. From the previous question, formulate a conjecture about the center of D2n when n is
even or n is odd. Prove your conjecture.

11. Let H be a subgroup of a group G.

(a) Show that H ≤ NG (H). Provide an example to show that H is not necessarily a
subgroup of NG (H) if H is not a subgroup of G.
(b) Show that H ≤ CG (H) if and only if H is abelian.

12. There are five Platonic Solids, also known as regular polyhedra. These are the tetra-
hedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron. You can look them up on
the internet to see how they look like.

(a) Consider the group G of rigid motions of the tetrahedron. These operations
preserve the shape of the tetrahedron. Show that G has 12 elements. Hint:
adjacent vertices must remain adjacent after each rigid motion (or rotation)
(b) Repeat the above exercise for the rigid motions of a cube.

Set 3: Homomorphism
1. Let G be a group. Show that the set of automorphisms of G, Aut(G) and the set of
inner automorphisms of G, Inn(G) are groups. What is the relation between Inn(G)
and Aut(G)?

2. Suppose φ : Z/50Z → Z/50Z is an isomorphism of groups and φ(7) = 13. Find φ(x).

3. Suppose that f : G → H is an isomorphism of groups. Prove that H is abelian if and

only if G is abelian.

4. Determine the subgroup lattice of D8 .

5
This is called the group of upper triangular matrices.

3
 5. Suppose hai, hbi, and hci are cyclic subgroups of orders 6, 8, and 20 respectively. Find
all generators of hai, hbi, and hci.

6. Prove that a group of order 3 must be cyclic.

7. Consider the subgroups of Z. Are all of them cyclic? Why or why not?

8. Let G be a group, and a ∈ G. Show that hai is a subgroup of the centralizer of a.

9. List all elements of order 8 in Z/800Z.

  
1 n
10. Show that the set H = |n ∈ Z os a cyclic subgroup of GL(2, R).
0 1

11. Find the subgroup lattice for Z/12Z. Can you find the subgroup lattice for Z/p2 qZ,
where p and q are distinct primes?

12. Let G be a group. Show that the set of automorphisms of G, Aut(G) and the set of
inner automorphisms of G, Inn(G) are groups. What is the relation between Inn(G)
and Aut(G)?

13. Suppose φ : Z/50Z → Z/50Z is an isomorphism of groups and φ(7) = 13. Find φ(x).

14. Suppose that f : G → H is an isomorphism of groups. Prove that H is abelian if and

only if G is abelian.

15. Let G be the group of all polynomials

R with real coefficients under addition. For each
polynomial f ∈ G, define f to be the antiderivative
R of f that passes through the
point (0, 0). Show that this mapping f 7→ f from G to G is a group homomorphism
. What is the kernel of this mapping.

16. Explain why the correspondence x 7→ 3x from Z/12Z to Z/10Z is not a homomorphism.

17. Show that there is no homomorphism from Z8 ⊕ Z2 → Z4 ⊕ Z4 .

18. Suppose that N is a normal subgroup of G. Prove that every subgrop of G/N is of the
form H/N , where H is a subgroup of G.

Set 4: Permutation Group

1. Find the order of the permutation
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
α= .
7 6 1 2 3 4 5

2. Determine if the permutation (12)(134)(152) is even or odd.

3. Show that a function from a finite set S to itself is one-to-one if and only if it is onto.
Does this hold if S is no longer finite?

4
  
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
4. Write the permutation α = .
1 3 8 7 6 5 2 4
5. Show that if H is a subgroup of Sn , then either every member of H is an even permu-
tation or exactly half of the members are even.
6. Let β ∈ S7 and suppose β 4 = (2143567). Find β.
7. Let β = (123)(145). Write β 99 in disjoint cycle form.
8. Let α, β ∈ Sn . Prove that βαβ −1 and α are both even or both odd.

Set 5: Group Action

1. Let G be a group and X a set. Define the following relation ∼ on X:

x ∼ y if and only if there exists g ∈ G such that g · x = y.

Show that this defines an equivalence relation on X. What are the equivalence classes
called?
2. Consider the natural action of the symmetric group S5 on the set X = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
 
1 2 3 4 5
(a) Let σ = . What are the orbits of X and the action of σ?
2 5 4 3 1
(b) Now find the cycle decomposition of σ and compare this with the orbits of X
under the action of σ.
(c) Generalize your result above to σ ∈ Sn acting on the set X = {1, 2, . . . , n}.

3. Suppose a group G acts on a set X. Suppose that x and y are in the same orbit. Show
that the subgroups StabG (x) and StabG (y) are conjugate subgroups.6
4. Compute the action of S3 on the set of its subgroups by conjugation.
5. An action of G on X is transitive if there is only one orbit. Show that the action of G
on the set G/H of left cosets of a subgroupH in G given by

g · (aH) = (ga)H

is transitive.
6. A subgroup of Sym(X) is called transitive if it acts transitively on X. Show that the
transitive subgroups of S3 are exactly S3 and A3 .
7. Show that NG (aHa−1 ) = aNG (H)a−1 for any a ∈ G, where G is a group and H is a
subgroup of G.

6
Two subgroups H and K are conjugate in G if there exists some group element a ∈ G such that
K = aHa−1 .