Maceren, Marsha Ella L.

Modern Abstract Algebra 1

Problem Set
Directions: Answer the following as indicated and in the given order. In each case, show
your complete solution.

I. Answer each item. For true or false items, explain why or give a counterex-
ample if your answer if F. (3 pts each for items 1 to 6)

1. True or False: The element (4; 2) of Z12  Z8 has order 12.

Answer: TRUE.
The order of an element (a; b) in Z12  Z8 is the least common multiple (LCM) of the orders
of a 2 Z12 and b 2 Z8 .

• Order of 4 Z12 is 3
in
• Order of 2 in Z8 is 4

The LCM of 3 and 4 is 12. Thus, the order of (4; 2) is 12.

2. True or False: The order of the coset 14 + h8i in the factor group Z24 =h8i is 3.
Answer: TRUE
The order of a coset a + h8i is the smallest positive integer k such that ka 2 h8i. We know
h8i = f0; 8; 16g in Z24.
• 14k mod 24 must be in f0; 8; 16g.
• 14k mod 8 0 mod 8, which simplifies to 6k 0 mod 8. This implies k = 3.

Thus, the order is 3.

3. True or False: 12Z is a maximal ideal of 3Z.

Answer: FALSE
An ideal I is maximal if there are no other proper ideals strictly between I and the ring itself.
In this case, 12Z is not maximal because there exists another ideal, 6Z, which is between
12Z and 3Z.

4. True or False: There is a homomorphism of the symmetric group S3 into Z6 .

Answer: FALSE
For a homomorphism to exist from S3 to Z6 , the order of the image of each element must
divide the order of the element itself.
- The group Z6 is abelian (commutative), while S3 is non-abelian. This means that
if there were a homomorphism from S3 to Z6 , it would map a non-abelian group (where
multiplication doesn’t commute) to an abelian group (where multiplication does commute).
- A non-abelian group cannot be homomorphically mapped to an abelian group because
the non-commutative property of S3 would be lost in the mapping. Specifically, for any
two elements g; h 2 S3 , if g 6= h, it’s impossible for '(g ) and '(h) to maintain the non-
commutative relations of S3 in an abelian setting like Z6 .
Thus, no homomorphism exists from S3 to Z6 .

5. Let G and H be groups. What is the kernel of the homomorphism

':GH !G
given by the map (g; h) 7! g ?

Answer:
The kernel of a homomorphism is the set of elements mapped to the identity element of the
target group. Here, the target group is G, and the identity element is eG .
 Thus, we need to find all pairs (g; h) such that '(g; h) = g = eG .

ker(') = f(eG; h) j h 2 H g = H:
Therfore, the kernel is feG g  H .
6. Define ideal of a ring and prime ideal, and give examples of each.
Answer:

• Ideal: A subset I of a ring R is an ideal if:

1. I is a subgroup of R under addition.

2. For any r 2 R and a 2 I , both ra 2 I and ar 2 I .
• Example: In Z, 2 Z (the set of even integers) is an ideal.
• Prime Ideal: An ideal P in a commutative ring R is prime if:

1. P 6= R.
2. If ab 2 P , then either a 2 P or b 2 P .

• Example: In Z, the set pZ for any prime p (e.g., 5 Z) is a prime ideal.

7. Give an example of a relation on Z that is not symmetric. (2 pts)
Answer:
A relation R on Z is symmetric if (a; b) 2 R implies (b; a) 2 R.
An example of a relation that is not symmetric is:

R = f(a; b) j a < bg:

Here, if a < b, it does not imply b < a, so the relation is not symmetric.

II. Do all. Explain all work. (10 pts each)

1. Let g = (1 4), h = (2 1 5), and f = (3 4) be permutations in S5 .

(a) Write ghf as a single permutation.

1 !f 1 !h 5 !g 5; so ! 5;
1

2 ! 2 ! 1 ! 4; so 2 ! 4;
f h g

3 ! 4 ! 4 ! 1; so 3 ! 1;
f h g

4 ! 3 ! 3 ! 3; so 4 ! 3;
f h g

5 ! 5 ! 2 ! 2; so 5 ! 2:
f h g

Therefore, ghf = (1 5 2 4 3).

(b) Is ghf odd or even?

The parity of a permutation is determined by the number of transpositions in its
decomposition. A 5-cycle, such as (1 5 2 4 3), can be written as a product of 4
transpositions, e.g.,
(1 5 2 4 3) = (1 5)(1 2)(1 4)(1 3):

Since 4 is even, ghf is an even permutation.

(c) What is the inverse of gf ?

gf = (1 4)(3 4) = (3 1 4). Then, (gf ) 1
= (3 1 4) 1
= (1 3 4)
(d) What is the order of hf ?
First, we compute hf :

1 !f 1 !h 5; so ! 5;
1

2 ! 2 ! 1; so 2 ! 1;
f h

3 ! 4 ! 4; so 3 ! 4;
f h

4 ! 3 ! 3; so 4 ! 3;
f h

5 ! 5 ! 2; so 5 ! 2:
f h

Thus, hf = (1 5 2)(3 4), which is a product of a 3-cycle and a 2-cycle.

The order of a permutation is the least common multiple (lcm) of the lengths of its
disjoint cycles. Here, the cycle lengths are 3 and 2:

lcm(3; 2) = 6:

Therefore, the order of hf is 6.

2.

(a) State Lagrange’s Theorem.

Lagrange’s Theorem states that

If G is a finite group and H is a subgroup of G; then the order of H divides the order of G:

Moreover,
jGj = jH j
[G : H ];
where [G : H ] is the index of H in G, i.e., the number of distinct cosets of H in G.

(b) Give one of its corollaries.

If G is a finite group and g 2 G, then the order of g divides jGj.

That is, the order of any element g in a finite group G divides the order of G.

(c) Give a proof of either Lagrange’s Theorem or the corollary you stated in (b).

Proof of Lagrange’s Theorem:

Let G be a finite group and H a subgroup of G. Consider the set of left cosets of H in
G, denoted as:
G=H = fgH : g 2 Gg:
Each coset gH is defined as:

gH = fgh : h 2 H g:
Two cosets g1 H and g2 H are either disjoint or identical, which implies that the cosets
partition G.
The size of each coset gH is equal to the size of H , since the map h 7! gh is a bijection.
Hence, the order of G is the product of the number of distinct cosets [G : H ] and the
order of H :
jGj = jH j
[G : H ]:
Thus, the order of H divides the order of G, as required.
 3.

(a) Solve for x in the equation

x3 + 2x2 3x = 0

in the ring (Z11 ; +;
).

The given equation is:
x3 + 2x2 3x = 0 :

Factoring out x, we get:

x(x2 + 2x 3) = 0:

In Z11 , we solve x = 0 and x2 + 2x 3=0 modulo 11.

1. x = 0 is clearly a solution.
2. Solve x2 + 2x 3  0 (mod 11):
x2 + 2x 3 0 (mod 11):

Rewrite as:
x2 + 2x  3 (mod 11):

Adding 1 to both sides, we complete the square:

(x + 1)
2
4 (mod 11):

The solutions to y 2  4 (mod 11) (where y = x + 1) are y  2 (mod 11). Thus:

x + 1  2 (mod 11) or x + 1  2  9 (mod 11):
Subtracting 1, we find:

x1 (mod 11) or x  8 (mod 11):

Therefore, the solutions are:

x 2 f 0; 1; 8g (mod 11):

(b) Find the group of units (U (Z18 );
) in the ring Z18 under addition and multiplication
modulo 10.

The group of units U (Z18 ) consists of all integers a 2 Z18 such that gcd(a; 18) = 1. We
list all such elements:
a 2 f1; 5; 7; 11; 13; 17g:
These are the elements of U (Z18 ). The operation is multiplication modulo 18.

(c) What group is (U (Z18 );
) isomorphic to?

The order of U (Z18 ) is (18), where  is Euler’s totient function:
 1
 1

(18) = 18 1 1 = 6:
2 3

Since the group U (Z18 ) has order 6, it is isomorphic to C6 , the cyclic group of order 6,
because any group of order 6 is either cyclic or isomorphic to S3 , and U (Z18 ) is abelian,
ruling out S3 .
Thus:
U (Z18 ) 
= C6 :
4. Let G = Z4  Z4 , under component-wise addition modulo 4. Let H h
= (1; 2) i.
(a) List down the elements of H and G=H .
The group H is the cyclic subgroup of G generated by (1; 2), so we compute the powers
of (1; 2) under addition modulo 4:

(1; 2) + (1; 2) = (2; 4) = (2; 0) (mod 4);

(1; 2) + (2; 0) = (3; 2) (mod 4);

(1; 2) + (3; 2) = (4; 4) = (0; 0) (mod 4):

Thus, H = f(0; 0); (1; 2); (2; 0); (3; 2)g.

To find the cosets of G=H , we choose representatives from G not already in H . The
elements of G = Z4  Z4 are:

(0; 0); (1; 0); (2; 0); (3; 0); (0; 1); (1; 1); (2; 1); (3; 1); (0; 2); (1; 2); (2; 2); (3; 2); (0; 3); (1; 3); (2; 3); (3; 3):

Choosing representatives (0; 0); (1; 0); (0; 1); (1; 1), we form the cosets:

(0; 0) + H = f(0; 0); (1; 2); (2; 0); (3; 2)g;

(1; 0) + H = f(1; 0); (2; 2); (3; 0); (0; 2)g;

(0; 1) + H = f(0; 1); (1; 3); (2; 1); (3; 3)g;

(1; 1) + H = f(1; 1); (2; 3); (3; 1); (0; 3)g:

Thus, G=H has 4 cosets.

(b) Is (2; 1) + H = (3; 3) + H ? Why or why not?

We check whether the cosets (2; 1) + H and (3; 3) + H are equal.
(2; 1) + H = f(2; 1); (3; 3); (0; 1); (1; 3)g,
(3; 3) + H = f(3; 3); (0; 1); (1; 3); (2; 1)g.

Since the sets are identical, we conclude that (2; 1) + H = (3; 3) + H . Therefore, the
answer is yes.

(c) To which known group is G=H isomorphic, and why?

The quotient group G=H is isomorphic to Z4 . The cosets of G=H are:

f(0; 0) + H; (1; 0) + H; (0; 1) + H; (1; 1) + H g:

These cosets behave similarly to the cyclic group Z4 under addition. Specifically, the
addition of cosets in G=H follows the same pattern as the addition in Z4 , and the order
of the quotient group is 4, which matches the order of Z4 . Therefore, we have:

G=H = Z :4

5. Let  : G ! G0 be a homomorphism, where G and G0 are finite groups.

(a) Show that the kernel of  is a subgroup of G.

The kernel of a homomorphism ' : G ! G0 , denoted ker(), is defined as the set of
elements in G that map to the identity element of G0 . That is:

ker() = fg 2 G j (g) = e0g;

where e0 is the identity element of G0 .
 Now, let g1 ; g2 2 ker(), then '(g ) = e0 and (g ) = e0.
1 2
Then,

(g1 g2 1 ) = (g1 )(g2 1 )

= (g1 )(g2 )
1

0 0 1
= e (e )
=e
0

2 ker() and so by subgroup criterion kernel of  is a subgroup of G

Thus, g1 g2 1
(b) Show that j(G)j divides both jG0 j and jGj.

By the First Isomorphism Theorem, we know that:

jG= ker()j = j(G)j:
jGj , we have:
Since jG= ker()j = j ker()j
jGj :
j(G)j = j ker()j
This implies that j(G)j divides jGj.
Next, since (G) is a subgroup of G0 , it follows that j(G)j divides jG0 j, because the
order of any subgroup divides the order of the group. Thus, we have:
j(G)j j jG0j:
Therefore, j(G)j divides both jGj and jG0 j.
6. Let G be a group with identity e for which x2 = e for all x 2 G.
(a) Show that G is abelian.

We are given that for every element x 2 G, x2 = e. This implies that x = x 1

for all
x 2 G, meaning every element in G is its own inverse.
Now, we prove that G is abelian. Consider two elements a; b 2 G. We want to show
that ab = ba. Consider the product (ab)2 :

(ab) =
2
ab
ab = a
b
a
b:
Since x2 = e for all x 2 G, we have:

a2 = e and b2 = e:
Thus:

a
b
a
b = a
a
b
b = e
e = e:
This shows that (ab)2 = e, which implies that ab is its own inverse. Therefore:

(ab) ab:
1
=

But since the inverse of a product of elements satisfies:

(ab)
1
= b 1

a 1
;
and since a = a 1
and b = b 1 , we have:

ab = ba:
Thus, G is abelian.
 (b) Show that for any elements a; b; c; d 2 G, if ab = cd, then ac = bd.

We are given that ab = cd, and we want to show that ac = bd.

First, from the assumption that ab = cd, we can multiply both sides of this equation
on the right by d 1 and on the left by c 1 :

c 1

ab
d 1
= c 1

cd
d 1
:
Simplifying both sides:

c 1

ab
d 1
= a
b (since c 1

c = e);
c 1

cd
d 1
= e (since d 1

d = e ):
Thus, we have:

ac = bd:
Therefore, we have shown that if ab = cd, then ac = bd.

7. Let  : Z8 !Z 24 be the homomorphism satisfying (7) = 4.

(a) Find the kernel of , and the images of all the elements of Z8 .

First, recall that Z8 = f0; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7g and Z 4 = f0; 1; 2; 3g. We are given that
(7) = 4.
Since  is a homomorphism, we can use the fact that:

(a + b) = (a) + (b) mod 4:

We start by finding the images of each element of Z8 under . Using the property that
(7) = 4, we can compute the other values.
- (0) = 0 - (1) = 1 (since 1 generates Z8 modulo 4) - (2) = 2 - (3) = 3 - (4) = 0
(since 4 + 4 = 8  0 mod 4) - (5) = 1 - (6) = 2 - (7) = 4
To find the kernel of , we look for elements x 2 Z8 such that (x) = 0. From the list
above, we find:

ker() = f0; 4g:

Thus, the kernel of  is f0; 4g.

(b) State the 1st Isomorphism Theorem for Groups.

The First Isomorphism Theorem states that if  : G ! H is a homomorphism between

two groups G and H , then the quotient group G= ker() is isomorphic to the image of
G under , i.e.,

G= ker() 
= (G):