Abstract Algebr Review Problem PDF

ABSTRACT ALGEBRA:
REVIEW PROBLEMS
ON GROUPS AND
GALOIS THEORY
John A. Beachy
Northern Illinois University
2000
ii J.A.Beachy
This is a supplement to
Abstract Algebra, Second Edition

by John A. Beachy and William D. Blair
ISBN 0881338664, Copyright 1996
Waveland Press, Inc.
P.O. Box 400
Prospect Heights, Illinois 60070
847 / 634-0081
www.waveland.com
John
c A. Beachy 2000
Permission is granted to copy this document in electronic form, or to print it for

personal use, under these conditions:
it must be reproduced in whole;
it must not be modified in any way;
it must not be used as part of another publication.
Formatted October 15, 2002, at which time the original was available at:
http://www.math.niu.edu/ beachy/abstract algebra/
Contents
PREFACE iv
7 STRUCTURE OF GROUPS 1
7.0 Some Examples 2
7.1 Isomorphism theorems 8
7.2 Conjugacy 12
7.3 Group actions 13
7.4 The Sylow theorems 16
7.5 Finite abelian groups 17
7.6 Solvable groups 19
7.7 Simple groups 20
8 GALOIS THEORY 23
8.0 Splitting fields 23
8.1 Galois groups 27
8.2 Repeated roots 29
8.3 The fundamental theorem 30
8.4 Solvability by radicals 32
SOLVED PROBLEMS: 34
7 Group Theory Solutions 35
8 Galois Theory Solutions 51
BIBLIOGRAPHY 61
INDEX 62
iii
iv J.A.Beachy PREFACE
PREFACE
My goal is to provide some help in reviewing Chapters 7 and 8 of our book
Abstract Algebra. I have included summaries of most of these sections, together
with some general comments. The review problems are intended to have relatively
short answers, and to be more typical of exam questions than of standard textbook
exercises.
By assuming that this is a review, I have been able make some minor changes
in the order of presentation. The first section covers various examples of groups.
In presenting these examples, I have introduced some concepts that are not studied
until later in the text. I think it is helpful to have the examples collected in one
spot, so that you can refer to them as you review.
A complete list of the definitions and theorems in the text can be found on the
web site www.math.niu.edu/ beachy/aaol/ . This site also has some group
multiplication tables that arent in the text. I should note two minor changes in
notationIve used 1 to denote the identity element of a group (instead of e), and
Ive used the abbreviation iff for if and only if.
Abstract Algebra begins at the undergraduate level, but Chapters 79 are written
at a level that we consider appropriate for a student who has spent the better part
of a year learning abstract algebra. Although it is more sharply focused than the
standard graduate level textbooks, and does not go into as much generality, I hope
that its features make it a good place to learn about groups and Galois theory, or
to review the basic definitions and theorems.
Finally, I would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of Northern Illinois
University while writing this review. As part of the recognition as a Presidential
Teaching Professor, I was given leave in Spring 2000 to work on projects related
to teaching.
DeKalb, Illinois John A. Beachy

May 2000
7
STRUCTURE OF GROUPS
The goal of a structure theory is to find the basic building blocks of the subject and
then learn how they can be put together. In group theory the basic building blocks
are usually taken to be the simple groups, and they fit together by stacking one
on top of the other, using factor groups.
To be more precise about this, we need to preview Definition 7.6.9. Let G be
a group. A chain of subgroups G = N0 N1 . . . Nk is called a composition
series for G if
(i) Ni is a normal subgroup of Ni1 for i = 1, 2, . . . , k,
(ii) Ni1 /Ni is simple for i = 1, 2, . . . , k, and
(iii) Nk = h1i
The factor groups Ni1 /Ni are called the composition factors of the series.
We can always find a composition series for a finite group G, by choosing N1
to be a maximal normal subgroup of G, then choosing N2 to be a maximal normal
subgroup of N1 , and so on. The Jordan-Holder theorem (see Theorem 7.6.10)
states that any two composition series for a finite group have the same length.
Furthermore, there exists a one-to-one correspondence between composition factors
of the two composition series, under which corresponding factors are isomorphic.
Unfortunately, the composition factors of a group G do not, by themselves,
completely determine the group. We still need to know how to put them together.
That is called the extension problem: given a group G with a normal subgroup
N such that N and G/N are simple groups, determine the possibilities for the
1
2 J.A.Beachy 7. STRUCTURE OF GROUPS
structure of G. The most elementary possibility for G is that G = N K, for some

normal subgroup K with K = G/N , but there are much more interesting ways to
construct G that tie the groups N and G/N together more closely.
What is known as the Holder program for classifying all finite groups is this:
first classify all finite simple groups, then solve the extension problem to determine
the ways in which finite groups can be built out of simple composition factors. This
attack on the structure of finite groups was begun by Otto Holder (18591937) in
a series of papers published during the period 18921895.
The simple abelian groups are precisely the cyclic groups of prime order, and
groups whose simple composition factors are abelian form the class of solvable
groups, which plays an important role in Galois theory. Galois himself knew that
the alternating groups An are simple, for n 5, and Camille Jordan (18381922)
discovered several classes of simple groups defined by matrices over Zp , where p is
prime. Holder made a search for simple nonabelian groups, and showed that for
order 200 or less, the only ones are A5 , of order 60, and the group GL3 (Z2 ) of all
invertible 3 3 matrices with entries in Z2 , which has order 168.
7.0 Some Examples

Summary: It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of examples.
Since this is a review of material you have already covered, it makes sense to
group together the examples you have worked with. It is important to use them to
deepen your understanding of the definitions and theorems. They can also be used
to help you generate ideas on how to solve specific exercises and exam questions.
Cyclic groups
Cyclic groups are classified in Theorem 3.5.2: if G is infinite, then the powers
of its generator are distinct, and G is isomorphic to the group Z; if G is cyclic of
order n, with generator a, then am = ak iff k m (mod n), and G is isomorphic
to Zn . Since every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic, the nonzero subgroups
of Z correspond to the cyclic subgroups generated by the positive integers. The
nonzero subgroups of Zn correspond to the proper divisors of n. In multiplicative
terminology, if G is cyclic of order n, with generator a, then the subgroup generated
by am coincides with the subgroup generated by ad , where d = gcd(m, n), and so this
subgroup has order n/d. (This subgroup structure is described in Proposition 3.5.3.)
Figure 7.0.1 gives the subgroups of Z12 . Any path from Z12 to h0i produces a
composition series for Z12 . In fact, there are the following three choices.
Z12 h3i h6i h0i
Z12 h2i h6i h0i

Z12 h2i h4i h0i
7.0. SOME EXAMPLES J.A.Beachy 3
Figure 7.0.1
Z12
@
h3i h2i
@ @
h6i h4i
@
h0i
All composition series for Zn can be determined from the prime factorization of n.
How can you recognize that a given group is cyclic? Of course, if you can
actually produce a generator, that is conclusive. Another way is to compute the
exponent of G, which is the smallest positive integer n such that g n = 1, for all
g G. Proposition 3.5.8 (a) states that a finite abelian group is cyclic if and
only if its exponent is equal to its order. For example, in Theorem 6.5.10 this
characterization of cyclic groups is used to prove that the multiplicative group of
any finite field is cyclic.
Direct products
Recall that the direct product of two groups G1 and G2 is the set of all ordered
pairs (x1 , x2 ), where x1 G1 and x2 G2 , with the componentwise operation
(x1 , x2 ) (y1 , y2 ) = (x1 y1 , x2 y2 ) (see Definition 3.3.3). This construction can be
extended to any finite number of groups, and allows us to produce new examples
from known groups. Note that when the groups involved are abelian, and are
written additively, many authors use A1 A2 instead of A1 A2 .
The opposite of constructing a new group from known groups is to be able to
recognize when a given group can be constructed from simpler known groups, using
the direct product. In the case of the cyclic group Zn , we have the following result
from Proposition 3.4.5. If the positive integer n has a factorization n = km, as a
product of relatively prime positive integers, then Zn = Zk Zm .
This is proved by defining a group homomorphism : Zn Zk Zm by
setting ([x]n ) = ([x]k , [x]m ). Since the two sets have the same number of elements,
it suffices to show either that is onto or that ker() = {[0]n }. The statement
that is onto is precisely the statement of the Chinese remainder theorem (see
Theorem 1.3.6 for the statement and proof). That the kernel is zero follows from
elementary number theory: if k | x and m | x, then km | x, since k and m are
relatively prime.
The above result can be extended to show that any finite cyclic group is isomor-
phic to a direct product of cyclic groups of prime power order. (See Theorem 3.5.4,
whose proof uses the prime factorization of |G|.) This is a special case of the struc-
ture theorem for finite abelian groups, and Figure 7.0.2 uses this approach to give
another way to view the subgroups of the cyclic group Z12 , and to find a composition
series for it.
Figure 7.0.2
Z4 Z3
@
Z4 h0i h2i Z3
@ @
h2i h0i h0i Z3
@
h(0, 0)i
Using the decomposition Z12

= Z4 Z3 , we have the following composition
series.
Z4 Z3 Z4 h0i h2i h0i h(0, 0)i
Z4 Z3 h2i Z3 h2i h0i h(0, 0)i
Z4 Z3 h2i Z3 h0i Z3 h(0, 0)i
Theorem 7.1.3 gives one possible way to recognize a direct product. Let G be
a group with normal subgroups H, K such that HK = G and H K = h1i. Then
G = H K. Note that the conditions of the theorem imply that any element of H
must commute with any element of K.
With the above notation, it may happen that H K = h1i and HK = G,
even though only one of the subgroups is normal in G. This situation defines what
is called the semidirect product of H and K, and provides an important tool in
classifying finite groups. Unfortunately, the use of semidirect products is beyond
the scope of our text.
Finite abelian groups
The simplest way to approach the structure of a finite abelian group is to re-
member that it can be written as a direct product of cyclic groups. Just saying this
much does not guarantee any uniqueness. There are two standard ways to do this
decomposition in order to achieve a measure of uniqueness. The cyclic groups can
each be broken apart as much as possible, yielding a decomposition into groups of
prime power order. These are unique up to their order in the direct product. A
second method arranges the cyclic groups into a direct product in which the order
of each factor is a divisor of the order of the previous factor. This is illustrated by
the following two decompositions of the group Z12 Z18 , which has order 23 33 .
Z12 Z18
= Z4 Z2 Z9 Z3
= Z36 Z6
The symmetric groups Sn
The symmetric group Sn is defined as the set of all permutations of the set
{1, . . . , n} (see Definition 3.1.4). These groups provided the original motivation for
the development of group theory, and a great many of the general theorems on
the structure of finite groups were first proved for symmetric groups. This class of
groups is the most basic of all, in the sense that any group of order n is isomorphic
to a subgroup of Sn . Recall that this is the statement of Cayleys theorem, which
can be proved using the language of group actions, by simply letting the group act
on itself via the given multiplication. One important fact to remember about Sn is
that two permutations are conjugate in Sn iff they have the same number of cycles,
of the same length.
The alternating groups An
Any permutation in Sn can be written as a product of transpositions, and al-

though the expression is not unique, the number of transpositions is well-defined,
modulo 2. In fact, if we define : Sn Z by setting () = 1 if is even and
() = 1 if is odd, then is a well-defined group homomorphism whose kernel
is the set An of even permutations in Sn .
For n = 3, the series S3 A3 h1i is a composition series. Theorem 7.7.4
shows that the alternating group An is simple if n 5, so in this case we have
the composition series Sn An h1i. Review Problem 7.0.4 shows that S4 has a
normal subgroup N2 A4 with S4 /N2 = S3 and N2 = Z2 Z2 , and so it has a
composition series
S4 A4 N2 N3 h1i
with A4 /N2 = Z3 , N2 /N3
= Z2 , and N3
= Z2 .
It is also possible to give some information about the conjugacy classes of An .
Let An , let CA () be the centralizer of in An , and let CS () be the cen-
tralizer of in Sn . If CS () An , then CS () = CA (), and in this case has
| An |/|CS ()| conjugates, representing half as many conjugates as it has in Sn . On
the other hand, if CS () contains an odd permutation, then CA () has half as many
elements as CS (), and so has the same conjugates in An as in Sn .
The dihedral groups Dn
The dihedral group Dn is defined for n 3 in Definition 3.6.3 as the group

of rigid motions of a regular n-gon. In terms of generators and relations, we can
describe Dn as generated by an element a of order n, and an element b of order 2,
subject to the relation ba = a1 b. The elements can then be put in the standard
form ai bj , where 0 i < n and 0 j < 2. The important formula to remember is
that bai = ai b. A composition series for Dn can be constructed by using the fact
that hai is a maximal normal subgroup with hai = Zn .
The conjugacy classes of Dn can be computed easily, and provide excellent ex-
amples of this crucial concept. Exercise 7.2.10 of the text shows that am is conjugate
to itself and am , while am b is conjugate to am+2k b, for any k Z. Thus if n is

odd, the center of Dn is trivial, and if n is even, it contains 1 and an/2 . In the first
case the centralizer of b contains only b and 1, while in the second it contains the
center as well. Thus in the second case b is conjugate to exactly half of the elements
of the form ai b.
The general linear groups GLn (F )
The general linear groups over finite fields provide the typical examples of finite
groups. To be more specific, we start with a finite field F . The set of nn invertible
matrices with entries in F forms a group under multiplication that is denoted by
GLn (F ). (You will find that other authors may use the notation GL(n, F ).)
It is quite common to begin the study of nonabelian groups with the symmetric
groups Sn . Of course, this class contains all finite groups as subgroups, but the size
also quickly gets out of hand. On the other hand, Review Problem 7.0.1 shows that
GLn (F ) also contains a copy of each group of order n, and working with matrices
allows use of ideas from linear algebra, such as the determinant and the trace.
Review Problem 7.0.8 asks you to verify the formula for the order of GLn (F ).
The first step in constructing a composition series for GLn (F ) is to use the de-
terminant. Since the determinant preserves products, it defines a group homomor-
phism : GLn (F ) F from GLn (F ) onto the multiplicative group of the field F .
We use the notation SLn (F ) for the set of invertible matrices with determinant 1,
so we have SLn (F ) = ker(). The group F is cyclic, so GLn (F )/ SLn (F ) = Zq1 ,
where |F | = q.
We note two special cases. First, Example 3.4.5 shows that GL2 (Z2 ) = S3 ,
and it is obvious that SL2 (Z2 ) = GL2 (Z2 ). Secondly, the group GL2 (Z3 ) has
(32 1)(32 3) = 48 elements (see Review Problem 7.0.8). The center of GL2 (Z3 )
consists of scalar matrices, and these all have determinant 1. This gives us a series
of normal subgroups
GL2 (Z3 ) SL2 (Z3 ) Z(GL2 (Z3 ))
in which SL2 (Z3 )/Z(GL2 (Z3 )) has 12 elements. By Exercise 7.7.13 in the text, this
factor group is isomorphic to A4 , and with this knowledge it is possible to refine
the above series to a composition series for GL2 (Z3 ).
The special linear groups SLn (F )
The group SLn (F ) is called the special linear group over F . It has a normal
subgroup SLn (F ) Z(GLn (F )), which can be shown to be the center Z(SLn (F )).
The center may be trivial in certain cases, but in any event, Z(SLn (F )) is isomorphic
to a subgroup of the additive group of the field, so it is an abelian group, and we
can construct a composition series for it as before.
In constructing a composition series for GLn (F ), we have the following series,
GLn (F ) SLn (F ) Z(SLn (F )) h1i ,

in which the factors GLn (F )/ SLn (F ) and Z(SLn (F )) are abelian. These two fac-
tors can be handled easily since they are abelian, so the real question is about
SLn (F )/Z(SLn (F )), which is called the projective special linear group, and is de-
noted by PSLn (F ). The following theorem is beyond the scope of our text; we only
prove the special case n = 2 (see Theorem 7.7.9). You can find the proof of the
general case in Jacobsons Basic Algebra I.
Theorem. If F is a finite field, then PSLn (F ) is a simple group, except for the
special cases n = 2 and |F | = 2 or |F | = 3.
REVIEW PROBLEMS: SECTION 7.0
1. Prove that if G is a group of order n, and F is any field, then GLn (F ) contains
a subgroup isomorphic to G.
2. What is the largest order of an element in Z

200 ?
3. Let G be a finite group, and suppose that for any two subgroups H and K
either H K or K H. Prove that G is cyclic of prime power order.
4. Let G = S4 and N = {(1), (1, 2)(3, 4), (1, 3)(2, 4), (1, 4)(2, 3)}. Prove that N
is normal, and that G/N
= S3 .
5. Find the center of the alternating group An .
6. In a group G, any element of the form xyx1 y 1 , with x, y G, is called a

commutator of G.
(a) Find all commutators in the dihedral group Dn . Using the standard de-
scription of Dn via generators and relations, consider the cases x = ai or
x = ai b and y = aj or y = aj b.
(b) Show that the commutators of Dn form a normal subgroup N of Dn , and
that Dn /N is abelian.
7. Prove that SL2 (Z2 )

= S3 .
8. Show that if F is a finite field with |F | = q, then the order of the general
linear group is | GLn (F )| = (q n 1)(q n q) (q n q n1 ).

1 0 0
9. Let G be the subgroup of GL3 (Z3 ) defined by the set a 1 0 such
b c 1

that a, b, c Z3 . Show that each element of G has order 3.
10. For a commutative ring R with identity, define GL2 (R) to be the set of in-
vertible 2 2 matrices with entries in R. Prove that GL2 (R) is a group.

m b
11. Let G be the subgroup of GL2 (Z4 ) defined by the set such that
0 1
b Z4 and m = 1. Show that G is isomorphic to a known group of order 8.
Hint: The answer is either D4 or the quaternion group (see Example 3.3.7).

1 0 0
b c 1

that a, b, c Z2 . Show that G is isomorphic to a known group of order 8.
7.1 Isomorphism theorems

Summary: This section investigates some useful applications of the fundamental
homomorphism theorem.
The first step is to review the definition of a factor group, given in Section 3.8.
Let H be a subgroup of the group G, and let a G. The set aH = {ah | h H}
is called the left coset of H in G determined by a. The right coset of H in G
determined by a is defined similarly as Ha. The number of left cosets of H in G is
called the index of H in G, and is denoted by [G : H].
The subgroup N of G is called normal if gxg 1 N , for all g G and all
x N . The subgroup N is normal iff its left and right cosets coincide, and in this
case the set of cosets of N forms a group under the coset multiplication given by
aN bN = abN , for all a, b G. The group of left cosets of N in G is called the
factor group of G determined by N , and is denoted by G/N . The natural projection
mapping : G G/N defined by (x) = xN , for all x G, is a homomorphism,
with ker() = N .
Here are some elementary facts about normal subgroups (prove any that raise
questions in your mind).
(i) Any intersection of normal subgroups is again normal.
(ii) If N is normal in G and H is a subgroup of G, then N H is normal in H.
(iii) If N is normal in H and H is normal in G, this doesnt in general force N
to be normal in G.
(iv) The center Z(G) = {x G | gx = xg g G} of G is a normal subgroup.
Let G be a group with normal subgroup N . The next list of statements contains
some good problems on which to test your understanding of factor groups.
(i) If a G has finite order, then the order of the coset aN in G/N is a divisor
of the order of a.
(ii) The factor group G/N is abelian iff aba1 b1 N , for all a, b G.
(iii) If N is a subgroup of Z(G), and G/N is cyclic, then G must be abelian.
At this stage, the right way to think of normal subgroups is to view them as
kernels of group homomorphisms. If N = ker(), for the group homomorphism
7.1. ISOMORPHISM THEOREMS J.A.Beachy 9
: G1 G2 , then for any y G2 the solutions in G1 of the equation (x) = y form

the coset x1 N , where x1 is any particular solution, with (x1 ) = y. The elements of
each left coset aN can be put in a one-to-one correspondence with N . This shows
how neatly the algebraic properties of set up a one-to-one correspondence between
elements of the image (G1 ) and cosets of ker(). (The one-to-one correspondence
is defined by setting (aN ) = (a).) The fundamental homomorphism theorem
shows that preserves the group multiplications that are defined respectively on
the elements of the image of and on the cosets of ker(). The formal statement
is given next.
Theorem 3.8.8 (Fundamental homomorphism theorem) If : G1 G2 is a

group homomorphism with K = ker(), then the factor group G1 /K is isomorphic
to the image (G1 ) of .
The accompanying diagram, in Figure 7.1.0, shows how can be written as

= i , where is an onto homomorphism, is an isomorphism, and i is a one-
to-one homomorphism. This diagram is often given without the inclusion mapping
i, so the figure shows both versions.
Figure 7.1.0

G1 - G2 G1 - G2
6i
*

? ?
G1 /K - (G1 ) G1 /K
Proposition 3.8.6 (b) states that if N is a normal subgroup of G, then there

is a one-to-one correspondence between subgroups of G/N and subgroups H of G
with H N . Under this correspondence, normal subgroups correspond to normal
subgroups.
It is very important to understand this proposition. The function that deter-
mines the correspondence between subgroups that contain N and subgroups of G/N
is the one that maps a subgroup H N to its image (H), where : G G/N is
the natural projection. In more concrete terms, the function just maps an element
a H to the corresponding coset aN . The inverse function assigns to a subgroup
of cosets the union of all of the elements that belong to the cosets. It is particularly
important to understand this relationship in the case G = Z and N = nZ.
The first1 isomorphism theorem shows that any factor group of G/N can actually
be realized as a factor group of G. Any normal subgroup of G/N has the form H/N ,
where H is a normal subgroup of G that contains N . Factoring out H/N can then
be shown to be equivalent to G/H.
1 Oops! We should have followed van der Waerdens numbering, which is the reverse of ours.
Theorem 7.1.1 (First isomorphism theorem) Let G be a group with normal

subgroups N and H such that N H. Then H/N is a normal subgroup of G/N ,
and (G/N ) / (H/N )
= G/H .
The proof of the first isomorphism theorem makes use of the fundamental homo-
morphism theorem. We need to define a homomorphism from G/N onto G/H,
in such a way that ker() = H/N . We can use the natural mapping defined by
(aN ) = aH for all a G, and this gives the isomorphism (see Figure 7.1.1.).
Figure 7.1.1

G/N - G/H
*

?
(G/N ) / (H/N )
The second isomorphism theorem also deals with the relationship between sub-
groups of G and subgroups of G/N , where N is a normal subgroup of G. If H is
any subgroup of G, then the image of H under the natural projection : G G/N
is (H) = HN/N . To see this, note that the set (H) consists of all cosets of
N of the form aN , for some a H. The corresponding subgroup of G is HN
(under the correspondence given in Theorem 3.8.6 (b)), and then the one-to-one
correspondence shows that (H) = HN/N .
Theorem 7.1.2 (Second isomorphism theorem) Let G be a group, let N be a

normal subgroup of G, and let H be any subgroup of G. Then HN is a subgroup
of G, H N is a normal subgroup of H, and (HN ) / N
= H / (H N ) .
Figure 7.1.2
G
HN i
@ H - G - G/N
N
H 6
@ ? i
H N H/(H N ) - HN/N
h1i
The proof of the second isomorphism theorem also uses the fundamental homo-
morphism theorem. Let i : H G be the inclusion, and let : G G/N be
7.1. ISOMORPHISM THEOREMS J.A.Beachy 11
the natural projection (see Figure 7.1.2.). The composition of these mappings is
a homomorphism whose image is HN/N , and whose kernel is H N . Therefore
H/(H N ) = (HN )/N .
Let G be a group. An isomorphism from G onto G is called an automorphism
of G. An automorphism of G of the form ia , for some a G, where ia (x) = axa1
for all x G, is called an inner automorphism of G. The set of all automorphisms
of G will be denoted by Aut(G) and the set of all inner automorphisms of G will
be denoted by Inn(G).
Proposition 7.1.4 justifies part of the definition, showing that if G is a group,
then for any a G the function ia : G G defined by ia (x) = axa1 for all
x G is an automorphism. Propositions 7.1.6 and 7.1.8 show that Aut(G) is a
group under composition of functions, and Inn(G) is a normal subgroup of Aut(G),
with Inn(G) = G/Z(G). The automorphisms of a group play an important role in
studying its structure.
In the case of a cyclic group, it is possible to give a good description of the
automorphism group. The automorphism group Aut(Zn ) of the cyclic group on n
elements is isomorphic to the multiplicative group Z n . To show this, first note that
every element Aut(Zn ) must have the form ([m]) = [(1)m], for all [m] Zn .
Then (1) must be relatively prime to n, and it can be verified that Aut(Zn ) = Zn.
1. Let G1 and G2 be groups of order 24 and 30, respectively. Let G3 be a

nonabelian group that is a homomorphic image of both G1 and G2 . Describe
G3 , up to isomorphism.
2. Prove that a finite group whose only automorphism is the identity map must
have order at most two.
3. Let H be a nontrivial subgroup of Sn . Show that either H An , or exactly

half of the permutations in H are odd.
4. Let p be a prime number, and let A be a finite abelian group in which every
element has order p. Show that Aut(A) is isomorphic to a group of matrices
over Zp .
5. Let G be a group and let N be a normal subgroup of G of finite index. Suppose

that H is a finite subgroup of G and that the order of H is relatively prime
to the index of N in G. Prove that H is contained in N .
6. Let G be a finite group and let K be a normal subgroup of G such that

gcd(|K|, [G : K]) = 1. Prove that K is a characteristic subgroup of G.
Note: Recall the definition given in Exercise 7.6.6 of the text. The subgroup
K is a characteristic subgroup if (K) K for all Aut(G).
7. Let N be a normal subgroup of a group G. Suppose that |N | = 5 and |G| is

odd. Prove that N is contained in the center of G.
7.2 Conjugacy
Summary: Counting the elements of a finite group via its conjugacy classes leads to
the class equation and provides a surprising amount of information about the group.
Let G be a group, and let N be a subgroup of G. By definition, N is normal in

G if axa1 N , for all x N and all a G. Definition 7.2.1 states that an element
y G is conjugate to the element x G if there exists a G with y = axa1 . This
defines an equivalence relation on G (Proposition 7.2.2), whose equivalence classes
are called the conjugacy classes of G. It follows immediately from the definition of
a normal subgroup that a subgroup N is normal in G iff it is a union of conjugacy
classes, since if x N then all conjugates of x must also belong to N .
At this point we switch to a somewhat more sophisticated point of view. Since
looking at elements of the form axa1 is so important, a deeper analysis shows that
we should work with the functions : G G of the form (x) = axa1 , for all
x G. We introduce the following notation. Let G be a group and let a G. The
function ia : G G defined by ia (x) = axa1 for all x G is an isomorphism.
Since an isomorphism from G onto G is called an automorphism of G, this defines
an automorphism of G, is called an inner automorphism of G.
The set of all automorphisms of G is denoted by Aut(G) and the set of all inner
automorphisms of G is denoted by Inn(G). By Proposition 7.1.6, Aut(G) is a group
under composition of functions, and Inn(G) is a normal subgroup of Aut(G). By
Proposition 7.1.8, for any group G, we have Inn(G) = G/Z(G). To understand
this isomorphism, simply assign to each element a G the inner automorphism
ia . Then ia ib = iab , and the kernel of the mapping is the center Z(G), since ia
is the identity function iff axa1 = x for all x G, or equivalently, iff ax = xa
for all x G. We also need the definition of the centralizer of x in G, denoted by
C(x) = {g G | gxg 1 = x}. Proposition 7.2.4 shows that C(x) is a subgroup.
Proposition 7.2.5 gives us an important connection. If x is an element of the
group G, then the elements of the conjugacy class of x are in one-to-one correspon-
dence with the left cosets of the centralizer C(x) of x in G.
Example 7.2.3 shows that two permutations in the symmetric group Sn , are
conjugate iff they have the same cycle structure. That is, iff they have the same
number of disjoint cycles, of the same lengths. The crucial argument is that if
is a cycle in Sn , then 1 ( (i)) = ((i)) for all i, and thus 1 is the cycle
constructed applying to the entries of . The result is a cycle of the same length.
The next theorem provides the main tool in this section.
7.3. GROUP ACTIONS J.A.Beachy 13
Theorem 7.2.6 If G is a finite group, then the conjugacy class equation is stated
as follows: X
|G| = |Z(G)| + [G : C(x)]
where the sum ranges over one element x from each nontrivial conjugacy class.
Recall that a group of order pn , with p a prime number and n 1, is called a

p-group. The class equation has important applications to these groups. Burnsides
theorem (Theorem 7.2.8) states that the center of any p-group is nontrivial (p is
prime). It can then be shown that any group of order p2 is abelian (p is prime). As
another consequence of the conjugacy class equation, Cauchys theorem (Theorem
7.2.10) states that if G is a finite group and p is a prime divisor of the order of G,
then G contains an element of order p.
1. Prove that if the center of the group G has index n, then every conjugacy
class of G has at most n elements.
2. Let G be a group with center Z(G). Prove that G/Z(G) is abelian iff for each
element x 6 Z(G) the conjugacy class of x is contained in the coset Z(G)x.
3. Find all finite groups that have exactly two conjugacy classes.
4. Let G be the dihedral group with 12 elements, given by generators a, b with
|a| = 6, |b| = 2, and ba = a1 b. Let H = {1, a3 , b, a3 b}. Find the normalizer
of H in G and find the subgroups of G that are conjugate to H.
5. Write out the class equation for the dihedral group Dn . Note that you will
need two cases: when n is even, and when n is odd.
6. Show that for all n 4, the centralizer of the element (1, 2)(3, 4) in Sn has
order 8 (n 4)!. Determine the elements in CSn ((1, 2)(3, 4)) explicitly.
7.3 Group actions

Summary: This section introduces the notion of a group action, and shows that a
generalized class equation holds. Clever choices of group actions allow this class
equation to be mined for information.
One possible approach in studying the structure of a given group is to find

ways to represent it via a concrete group of permutations. To be more precise,
given the group G we would like to find group homomorphisms : G Sym(S),
where Sym(S) is the group of all permutations on the set S. If we can find a
homomorphism like this, note that for any g G the value (g) is a permutation of
S, so it acts as a function on S. We can use the shorthand notation [(g)](x) = g x,
for g G and x S. This shorthand notation can really simplify things if (g) has
a complicated definition.
For example, for any group G we have the homomorphism : G Aut(G)
defined by (a) = ia , where ia is the inner automorphism defined by a, given by
ia (x) = axa1 , for all x G. The shorthand notation in this case is to define
a x = axa1 . Then we can use the notation Gx = {a x | a G} for the conjugacy
class of x, since Gx consists of all elements of the form axa1 , for a G. Note that
since Aut(G) is a subgroup of Sym(G), we actually have : G Sym(G).
This idea leads to the notion of a group acting on a set (Definition 7.3.1). Let
G be a group and let S be a set. A multiplication of elements of S by elements of G
(defined by a function from G S S) is called a group action of G on S provided
for each x S: (i) a(bx) = (ab)x for all a, b G, and (ii) 1 x = x for the identity
element 1 of G.
It is interesting to see when ax = bx, for some a, b G and x S. If b = ah
for some h G such that hx = x, then bx = (ah)x = a(hx) = ax. Actually, this
is the only way in which ax = bx, since if this equation holds, then x = (a1 b)x,
and b = ah for h = a1 b. This can be expressed in much more impressive language,
using the concepts of orbit and stabilizer.
We need to look at a couple of examples. First, if G is a subgroup of a group
S, then G acts in a natural way on S by just using the group multiplication in S.
Secondly, if G is the multiplicative group of nonzero elements of a field, and V is
any vector space over the field, then the scalar multiplication on V defines an action
of G on V .
There is a close connection between group actions and certain group homo-
morphisms, as shown by Proposition 7.3.2. Let G be a group and let S be a set.
Any group homomorphism from G into the group Sym(S) of all permutations of S
defines an action of G on S. Conversely, every action of G on S arises in this way.
Definition 7.3.3 and Propositions 7.3.4 and 7.3.5 establish some of the basic
notation and results. Let G be a group acting on the set S. For each element
x S, the set Gx = {ax | a G} is called the orbit of x under G, and the set
Gx = {a G | ax = x} is called the stabilizer of x in G. The orbits of the various
elements of S form a partition of S. The stabilizer is a subgroup, and there is a
one-to-one correspondence between the elements of the orbit Gx of x under the
action of G and the left cosets of the stabilizer Gx of x in G. If G is finite, this
means that the number of elements in an orbit Gx is equal to the index [G : Gx ] of
the stabilizer.
The conjugacy class equation has a direct analog for group actions. First we
need to define the set S G = {x S | ax = x for all a G} which is called the
subset of S fixed by G.
7.3. GROUP ACTIONS J.A.Beachy 15
Theorem 7.3.6 (The generalized class equation) Let G be a finite group acting
on the finite set S. Then
|S| = |S G | + [G : Gx ] ,
P
where is a set of representatives of the orbits Gx for which |Gx| > 1.
Lemma 7.3.7 gives an interesting result when G is a p-group acting on a finite

set S. In this case, |S G | |S| (mod p). With a clever choice of the group and
the set, this simple result can be used to give another proof of Cauchys theorem.
(Check out the proof of Theorem 7.3.8.) Finally, we have a result that is very useful
in showing that a group G is not a simple group. (This proposition is not given in
the text.)
Proposition Let G be a group of order n, and assume that G acts nontrivially on

a set S with k elements. If n is not a divisor of k!, then G has a proper nontrivial
normal subgroup.
Proof: The given action of G on S defines a homomorphism : G Sym(S).
Since the action is nontrivial, ker() is a proper normal subgroup of G. We cannot
have ker() = h1i, because this would mean that G is isomorphic to a subgroup of
Sym(S), and hence n would be a divisor of | Sym(S)| = k!. 2
Here is one strategy to use in proving that a group G is not simple. If you can
find a large enough subgroup H of G, let G act on the set of left cosets of H via
g aH = (ga)H. If H has index [G : H] = k, and |G| is not a divisor of k!, then G
cannot be simple. On the other hand, if you can find a subgroup H with a small
number of conjugate subgroups, then you can let G act on the set of conjugates
of H by setting g aHa1 = (ga)H(ga)1 . If H has k conjugates, and |G| is not
a divisor of k!, then G cannot be simple. (Actually the second situation can be
handled like the first, since the number of conjugates of H is the same as the index
in G of the normalizer of H.)
1. Let G be a group which has a subgroup of index 6. Prove that G has a normal
subgroup whose index is a divisor of 720.
2. Let G act on the subgroup H by conjugation, let S be the set of all conjugates
of H, and let : G Sym(S) be the corresponding homomorphism. Show
that ker() is the intersection of the normalizers N (aHa1 ) of all conjugates.
3. Let F = Z3 , G = GL2 (F ), and S = F 2 . Find the generalized class equation

(see Theorem 7.3.6) for the standard action of G on S.
4. Let F = Z3 , G = GL2 (F ), and let N be the center of G. Prove that G/N = S4

by defining an action of G on the four one-dimensional subspaces of F 2 .
7.4 The Sylow theorems

Summary: Our goal is to give a partial converse to Lagranges theorem.
Lagranges theorem states that if G is a group of order n, then the order of any
subgroup of G is a divisor of n. The converse of Lagranges theorem is not true,
as shown by the alternating group A4 , which has order 12, but has no subgroup of
order 6. The Sylow theorems give the best attempt at a converse, showing that if p
is a prime power that divides |G|, then GR has a subgroup of order p . The proofs
in the text use group actions (they are simpler than the original proofs). Before
studying the proofs, make sure you are comfortable with group actions. Otherwise
the machinery may confuse you rather than enlighten you.
Let G be a finite group, and let p be a prime number. A subgroup P of G is
called a Sylow p-subgroup of G if |P | = p for some integer 1 such that p
is a divisor of |G| but p+1 is not. The statements of the second and third Sylow
theorems use this definition, and their proofs require Lemma 7.4.3, which states
that if |G| = mp , where 1 and p 6 | m, and P is a normal Sylow p-subgroup,
then P contains every p-subgroup of G.
Theorems 7.4.1, 7.4.4 (The Sylow theorems) Let G be a finite group, and let
p be a prime number.
(a) If p is a prime such that p is a divisor of |G| for some 0, then G contains
a subgroup of order p .
(b) All Sylow p-subgroups of G are conjugate, and any p-subgroup of G is
contained in a Sylow p-subgroup.
(c) Let n = mp , with gcd(m, p) = 1, and let k be the number of Sylow p-
subgroups of G. Then k 1 (mod p) and k is a divisor of m.
In the review problems the notation np (G) will be used to denote the number
of Sylow p-subgroups of the finite group G.
1. By direct computation, find the number of Sylow 3-subgroups and the number
of Sylow 5-subgroups of the symmetric group S5 . Check that your calculations
are consistent with the Sylow theorems.
2. How many elements of order 7 are there in a simple group of order 168?
7.5. FINITE ABELIAN GROUPS J.A.Beachy 17
3. Prove that a group of order 48 must have a normal subgroup of order 8 or 16.
4. Let G be a group of order 340. Prove that G has a normal cyclic subgroup of
order 85 and an abelian subgroup of order 4.
5. Show that any group of order 100 has a normal subgroup of order 25.
6. Show that there is no simple group of order 200.
7. Show that a group of order 108 has a normal subgroup of order 9 or 27.
8. If p is a prime number, find all Sylow p-subgroups of the symmetric group Sp .

1 0
9. Let G be the group of matrices such that x Z7 and a Z
7.
x a
(a) Find a Sylow 7-subgroup of G; find n7 (G).
(b) Find a Sylow 3-subgroup of G; find n3 (G).
10. Prove that if G is a group of order 56, then G has a normal Sylow 2-subgroup
or a normal Sylow 7-subgroup.
11. Prove that if N is a normal subgroup of G that contains a Sylow p-subgroup

of G, then the number of Sylow p-subgroups of N is the same as that of G.
and a normal Sylow 7-subgroup.
7.5 Finite abelian groups

Summary: The goal of this section is to prove that any finite abelian group is iso-
morphic to a direct product of cyclic groups of prime power order.
Any finite abelian group is a direct product of cyclic groups. To obtain some
uniqueness for this decomposition, we can either split the group up as far as possible,
into cyclic groups of prime power order, or we can combine some factors so that the
cyclic groups go from largest to smallest, and the order of each factor is a divisor of
the previous one. In splitting the group up into cyclic groups of prime power order,
the first step is to split it into its Sylow subgroups. This decomposition is unique,
because each Sylow p-subgroup consists precisely of the elements whose order is a
power of p. Theorem 7.5.1 states that any finite abelian group is the direct product
of its Sylow p-subgroups.
Lemma 7.5.3 is important in understanding the general decomposition. Its proof
is rather technical, so if you need to learn it, go back to the text. The statement is
the following. Let G be a finite abelian p-group. If hai is a maximal cyclic subgroup
of G, then there exists a subgroup H with G = hai H. We finally come to the

fundamental theorem of finite abelian groups.
Theorem 7.5.4 Any finite abelian group is isomorphic to a direct product of cyclic
groups of prime power order. Any two such decompositions have the same number
of factors of each order.
Proposition 7.5.5 gives a different way to write the decomposition. If G is a

finite abelian group, then G is isomorphic to a direct product of cyclic groups
Zn1 Zn2 Znk
such that ni | ni1 for i = 2, 3, . . . , k. The proof of Proposition 7.5.5 is best

understood by looking at an example. Suppose that |G| = 3456 = 27 33 . Also
suppose that we have enough additional information to write G in the following
form.
G = Z8 Z4 Z4 Z9 Z3
As long as two subscripts are relatively prime, we can recombine them. Taking the
largest pairs first, we can rewrite G in the following form.
G
= (Z8 Z9 ) (Z4 Z3 ) Z4
= Z72 Z12 Z4
The factors are still cyclic, and now each subscript is a divisor of the previous one.
1. Find all abelian groups of order 108 (up to isomorphism).

2. Let G and H be finite abelian groups, and assume that G G is isomorphic
to H H. Prove that G is isomorphic to H.
3. Let G be an abelian group which has 8 elements of order 3, 18 elements of
order 9, and no other elements besides the identity. Find (with proof) the
decomposition of G as a direct product of cyclic groups.
4. Let G be a finite abelian group such that |G| = 216. If |6G| = 6, determine
G up to isomorphism.
5. Apply both structure theorems to give the two decompositions of the abelian
group Z
216 .
6. Let G and H be finite abelian groups, and assume that they have the following
property. For each positive integer m, G and H have the same number of
elements of order m. Prove that G and H are isomorphic.
7.6. SOLVABLE GROUPS J.A.Beachy 19
7.6 Solvable groups

Summary: This section introduces the concept of a composition series for a finite
group. The terms in the composition series are simple groups, and the list of compo-
sition factors is completely determined by G. A group is solvable iff the composition
factors are abelian.
A polynomial equation is solvable by radicals iff its Galois group is solvable (see
Section 8.4). This provided the original motivation for studying the class of solvable
groups.
A chain of subgroups G = N0 N1 . . . Nn such that
(i) Ni is a normal subgroup in Ni1 for i = 1, 2, . . . , n,
(ii) Ni1 /Ni is simple for i = 1, 2, . . . , n, and
(iii) Nn = h1i
is called a composition series for G. The factor groups Ni1 /Ni are called the
composition factors determined by the series.
For this idea of a composition series to be useful, there needs to be some unique-
ness to the composition factors. The composition series itself does not determine
the groupyou also need to know how to put the factors together. For example, the
same composition factors occur in S3 and Z6 .
Z6 2Z6 {0} S3 A3 h1i
Theorem 7.6.10 (JordanHolder) Any two composition series for a finite group
have the same length. Furthermore, there is a one-to-one correspondence between
composition factors of the two composition series under which corresponding com-
position factors are isomorphic.
By definition, the group G is said to be solvable if there exists a finite chain of

subgroups G = N0 N1 . . . Nn such that
(i) Ni is a normal subgroup in Ni1 for i = 1, 2, . . . , n,
(ii) Ni1 /Ni is abelian for i = 1, 2, . . . , n, and
(iii) Nn = h1i.
By Proposition 7.6.2, a finite group is solvable iff it has a composition series in
which each composition factor is abelian. Theorem 7.6.3 produces a large class of
examples: any finite p-group is solvable (p is prime).
An element g of the group G is called a commutator if g = aba1 b1 for ele-
ments a, b G. The smallest subgroup that contains all commutators of G is called
the commutator subgroup or derived subgroup of G, and is denoted by G0 . Proposi-
tion 7.6.5 shows that G0 is normal in G, and that G/G0 is abelian. Furthermore, G0
is the smallest normal subgroup for which the factor group is abelian. The higher
derived subgroups G(k) are defined inductively, and give another way to characterize
solvable groups.
Theorem 7.6.7 states that a group G is solvable iff G(n) = h1i for some positive
integer n. As a corollary of the theorem, it is possible to show that if G is solvable,
then so is any subgroup or homomorphic image of G. Furthermore, if N is a normal
subgroup of G such that both N and G/N are solvable, then G is solvable.
1. Let p be a prime and let G be a nonabelian group of order p3 . Show that the
center Z(G) of G equals the commutator subgroup G0 of G.
2. Prove that Dn is solvable for all n.
3. Prove that any group of order 588 is solvable, given that any group of order
12 is solvable.
4. Let G be a group of order 780 = 22 3 5 13. Assume that G is not solvable.
What are the composition factors of G? (Assume that the only nonabelian
simple group of order 60 is A5 .)
7.7 Simple groups

Summary: This section deals with two classes of groups: the alternating groups An ,
and the projective special linear groups PSL2 (F ), which provide examples of simple
groups. These can be used to classify all simple groups of order 200.
Theorem 7.7.2 The symmetric group Sn is not solvable for n 5.
Theorem 7.7.4 The alternating group An is simple if n 5.
Let F be a field. The set of all n n matrices with entries in F and determinant
1 is called the special linear group over F , and is denoted by SLn (F ). For any field
F , the center of SLn (F ) is the set of nonzero scalar matrices with determinant 1.
The group SLn (F ) modulo its center is called the projective special linear group
and is denoted by P SLn (F ).
Theorem 7.7.9 If F is a finite field with |F | > 3, then the projective special linear
group P SL2 (F ) is simple.
It may be useful to review some of the tools you can use to show that a finite
group G is not simple.
(1) It may be possible to use the Sylow theorems to show that some Sylow p-
subgroup of G is normal. Recall that if |G| = pk m, where p 6 | m, then the number of
7.7. SIMPLE GROUPS J.A.Beachy 21
Sylow p-subgroups is congruent to 1 modulo p and is a divisor of m. This approach

works in Review Problem 1 below.
(2) If you can define a nontrivial homomorphism : G G0 such that |G| is not
a divisor of |G0 |, then cannot be one-to-one, and so ker() is a proper nontrivial
subgroup of G, which shows that G is not simple. One way to do this is to define
a group action of G on a set S, and then use the corresponding homomorphism
from G into Sym(S). This approach depends on finding an action on a set S with
n elements, for which |G| is not a divisor of n!. (See the proposition on page 15.)
To use this method, you need to find an action of G on a comparatively small
set. One way to define a group action is to let G act by conjugation on the set of
conjugates of a particular Sylow p-subgroup. The number of conjugates of a Sylow
p-subgroup H is equal to the index of the normalizer N (H) in G, so if you prefer,
you can let G act by multiplication on the left cosets of N (H). In either case you
need a Sylow p-subgroup with a number of conjugates that is small compared to
|G|. This approach works in Review Problem 4 below.
(3) In some cases you can count the number of elements in the various Sylow
p-subgroups and show that for at least one of the primes factors of |G| there can be
only 1 Sylow p-subgroup. The solution to Review Problem 5 below combines this
approach with the previous one.
You must be very careful in counting the elements that belong to a Sylow p-
subgroup and its conjugates. If |G| has m subgroups of order p, then these subgroups
can only intersect in the identity element, so you can count m (p 1) elements.
But if G has Sylow p-subgroups of order p2 , for example, these may have nontrivial
intersection.
For example, the dihedral group | D6 | has 3 Sylow 2-subgroups (each of order
4). They are {1, a3 , b, a3 b}, {1, a3 , ab, a4 b}, and {1, a3 , a2 b, a5 b}. The intersection of
these Sylow 2-subgroups is the center {1, a3 }, and so having 3 Sylow 2-subgroups
of order 4 only accounts for a total of 7 elements. Note that the Sylow 3-subgroup
is {1, a2 , a4 }, and the elements a and a5 , which have order 6, do not belong to any
Sylow subgroup.
As a further example, we can now show that the smallest nonabelian simple
group has order 60. The special cases of Burnsides theorem given in Exercise 7.6.5
of the text take care of all cases except 24 = 23 3, 30 = 2 3 5, 36 = 22 32 ,
42 = 2 3 7, 48 = 24 3, and 56 = 23 7. The cases 30, 36, 48, and 56 are covered by
Example 7.4.2, and Exercises 7.4.11, 7.4.10, and 7.4.8 in the text, respectively. If
|G| = 24, the number of Sylow 2-subgroups is 1 or 3, and if 3 we get an embedding
into S3 , a contradiction. If |G| = 42, the Sylow 7-subgroup must be normal.
Exercise 7.7.1 in the text shows that there are no simple groups of order 2m,
where m is odd. Review Problem 2 below shows that if G is a simple group that
contains a subgroup of index n, where n > 2, then G can be embedded in the
alternating group An . These results, together with the techniques mentioned above,
can be used to show that a simple group of order < 200 can only have one of these
possible orders: 60, 120, 144, 168, or 180. We know that there are simple groups
of order 60 and 168. The arguments needed to eliminate 120, 144, and 180 are
somewhat more complicated, but arent really beyond the level of the text. In case
you want to tackle some more challenging problems, try these last three cases.
1. Prove that there are no simple groups of order 200.

2. Sharpen Exercise 7.7.3 (b) of the text by showing that if G is a simple group
that contains a subgroup of index n, where n > 2, then G can be embedded
in the alternating group An .
3. Prove that if G contains a nontrivial subgroup of index 3, then G is not simple.
8
GALOIS THEORY
The theory of solvability of polynomial equations developed by Galois began with

the attempt to find formulas for the solutions of polynomial equations of degree
five. After the discovery of the fundamental theorem of algebra, the question of
proving the existence of solutions changed to determining the form of the solutions.
The question was whether or not the solutions could be expressed in a reasonable
way by extracting square roots, cube roots, etc., of combinations of the coefficients
of the polynomial. Galois saw that this involved a comparison of two fields, by
determining how the field generated by the coefficients sits inside the larger field
generated by the solutions of the equation.
8.0 Splitting fields

Summary: The first step in finding the Galois group of an polynomial over a field
is to find the smallest extension of the field that contains all of the roots of the
polynomial.
Beginning with a field K, and a polynomial f (x) K, we need to construct

the smallest possible extension field F of K that contains all of the roots of f (x).
This will be called a splitting field for f (x) over K. The word the is justified by
23
24 J.A.Beachy 8. GALOIS THEORY
proving that any two splitting fields are isomorphic. The first step in this section
is to review a number of definitions and results from Chapter 6.
Let F be an extension field of K and let u F . If there exists a nonzero
polynomial f (x) K[x] such that f (u) = 0, then u is said to be algebraic over K.
If not, then u is said to be transcendental over K.
Proposition 6.1.3 If F is an extension field of K, and u F is algebraic over

K, then there exists a unique monic irreducible polynomial p(x) K[x] such that
p(u) = 0. It is the monic polynomial of minimal degree that has u as a root, and if
f (x) is any polynomial in K[x] with f (u) = 0, then p(x) | f (x).
Alternate proof: The proof in the text uses some elementary ring theory. Ive
decided to include a proof that depends only on basic facts about polynomials.
Assume that u F is algebraic over K, and let I be the set of all polynomials
f (x) K[x] such that f (u) = 0. The division algorithm for polynomials can be
used to show that if p(x) is a nonzero monic polynomial in I of minimal degree,
then p(x) is a generator for I, and thus p(x) | f (x) whenever f (u) = 0.
Furthermore, p(x) must be an irreducible polynomial, since if p(x) = g(x)h(x)
for g(x), h(x) K[x], then g(u)h(u) = p(u) = 0, and so either g(u) = 0 or h(u) = 0
since F is a field. From the choice of p(x) as a polynomial of minimal degree that
has u as a root, we see that either g(x) or h(x) has the same degree as p(x), and so
p(x) must be irreducible. 2
In the above proof, the monic polynomial p(x) of minimal degree in K[x] such
that p(u) = 0 is called the minimal polynomial of u over K, and its degree is called
the degree of u over K.
Let F be an extension field of K, and let u1 , u2 , . . ., un F . The smallest sub-
field of F that contains K and u1 , u2 , . . . , un will be denoted by K(u1 , u2 , . . . , un ).
It is called the extension field of K generated by u1 , u2 , . . . , un . If F = K(u) for a
single element u F , then F is said to be a simple extension of K.
Let F be an extension field of K, and let u F . Since K(u) is a field, it must
contain all elements of the form
a0 + a1 u + a2 u2 + . . . + am um
,
b0 + b 1 u + b2 u 2 + . . . + bn u n
where ai , bj K for i = 1, . . . , m and j = 1, . . . , n. In fact, this set describes K(u),
and if u is transcendental over K, this description cannot be simplified. On the
other hand, if u is algebraic over K, then the denominator in the above expression
is unnecessary, and the degree of the numerator can be assumed to be less than the
degree of the minimal polynomial of u over K.
If F is an extension field of K, then the multiplication of F defines a scalar
multiplication, considering the elements of K as scalars and the elements of F as
vectors. This gives F the structure of a vector space over K, and allows us to make
use of the concept of the dimension of a vector space. The next result describes the
structure of the extension field obtained by adjoining an algebraic element.
8.0. SPLITTING FIELDS J.A.Beachy 25
Proposition 6.1.6 Let F be an extension field of K and let u F be an element

algebraic over K.
(a) K(u) = K[x]/ hp(x)i, where p(x) is the minimal polynomial of u over K.
(b) If the minimal polynomial of u over K has degree n, then K(u) is an n-
dimensional vector space over K.
Alternate proof: The standard proof uses the ring homomorphism : K[x] F
defined by evaluation at u. Then the image of is K(u), and the kernel is the
ideal of K[x] generated by the minimal polynomial p(x) of u over K. Since p(x)
is irreducible, ker() is a prime ideal, and so K[x]/ ker() is a field because every
nonzero prime ideal of a principal ideal domain is maximal. Thus K(u) is a field
since K(u) = K[x]/ ker().
The usual proof involves some ring theory, but the actual ideas of the proof are
much simpler. To give an elementary proof, define : K[x]/ hp(x)i K(u) by
([f (x)]) = f (u), for all congruence classes [f (x)] of polynomials (modulo p(x)).
This mapping makes sense because K(u) contains u, together with all of the ele-
ments of K, and so it must contain any expression of the form a0 +a1 u+. . .+am um ,
where ai K, for each subscript i. The function is well-defined, since it is also
independent of the choice of a representative of [f (x)]. In fact, if g(x) K[x] and
f (x) is equivalent to g(x), then f (x) g(x) = q(x)p(x) for some q(x) K[x], and
so f (u) g(u) = q(u)p(u) = 0, showing that ([f (x)]) = ([g(x)]).
Since the function simply substitutes u into the polynomial f (x), and it is
not difficult to show that it preserves addition and multiplication. It follows from
the definition of p(x) that is one-to-one. Suppose that f (x) represents a nonzero
congruence class in K[x]/ hp(x)i. Then p(x) 6 | f (x), and so f (x) is relatively prime
to p(x) since it is irreducible. Therefore there exist polynomials a(x) and b(x) in
K[x] such that a(x)f (x) + b(x)p(x) = 1. It follows that [a(x)][f (x)] = [1] for the
corresponding equivalence classes, and this shows that K[x]/ hp(x)i is a field. Thus
the image E of in F must be subfield of F . On the one hand, E contains u and K,
and on the other hand, we have already shown that E must contain any expression
of the form a0 + a1 u + . . . + am um , where ai K. It follows that E = K(u), and
we have the desired isomorphism.
(b) It follows from the description of K(u) in part (a) that if p(x) has degree n,
then the set B = {1, u, u2 , . . . , un1 } is a basis for K(u) over K. 2
Let F be an extension field of K. The dimension of F as a vector space over K

is called the degree of F over K, denoted by [F : K]. If the dimension of F over K
is finite, then F is said to be a finite extension of K. Let F be an extension field of
K and let u F . The following conditions are equivalent: (1) u is algebraic over
K; (2) K(u) is a finite extension of K; (3) u belongs to a finite extension of K.
Never underestimate the power of counting: the next result is crucial. If we have
a tower of extensions K E F , where E is finite over K and F is finite over E,
then F is finite over K, and [F : K] = [F : E][E : K]. This has a useful corollary,
which states that the degree of any element of F is a divisor of [F : K].
Let K be a field and let f (x) = a0 + a1 x + . . . + an xn be a polynomial in K[x]

of degree n > 0. An extension field F of K is called a splitting field for f (x) over
K if there exist elements r1 , r2 , . . . , rn F such that
(i) f (x) = an (x r1 )(x r2 ) (x rn ) and
(ii) F = K(r1 , r2 , . . . , rn ).
In this situation we usually say that f (x) splits over the field F . The elements
r1 , r2 , . . . , rn are roots of f (x), and so F is obtained by adjoining to K a complete
set of roots of f (x). An induction argument (on the degree of f (x)) can be given
to show that splitting fields always exist. Theorem 6.4.2 states that if f (x) K[x]
is a polynomial of degree n > 0, then there exists a splitting field F for f (x) over
K, with [F : K] n!.
The uniqueness of splitting fields follows from two lemmas. Let : K L be
an isomorphism of fields. Let F be an extension field of K such that F = K(u) for
an algebraic element u F . Let p(x) be the minimal polynomial of u over K. If v
is any root of the image q(x) of p(x) under , and E = L(v), then there is a unique
way to extend to an isomorphism : F E such that (u) = v and (a) = (a)
for all a K. The required isomorphism : K(u) L(v) must have the form
(a0 + a1 u + . . . + an1 un1 ) = (a0 ) + (a1 )v + . . . + (an1 )v n1 .
The second lemma is stated as follows. Let F be a splitting field for the polynomial
f (x) K[x]. If : K L is a field isomorphism that maps f (x) to g(x) L[x] and
E is a splitting field for g(x) over L, then there exists an isomorphism : F E
such that (a) = (a) for all a K. The proof uses induction on the degree of
f (x), together with the previous lemma.
Theorem 6.4.5 states that the splitting field over the field K of a polynomial
f (x) K[x] is unique up to isomorphism. Among other things, this result has
important consequences for finite fields.

1. Find the splitting field over Q for the polynomial x4 + 4.
2. Let p be a prime number. Find the splitting field over Q for xp 1.
3. Find the degree of the splitting field over Z2 for the polynomial
(x3 + x + 1)(x2 + x + 1).
4. Let F be an extension field of K. Show that the set of all elements of F that
are algebraic over K is a subfield of F .
5. Let F be a field generated over the field K by u and v of relatively prime
degrees m and n, respectively, over K. Prove that [F : K] = mn.
6. Let F E K be extension fields. Show that if F is algebraic over E and
E is algebraic over K, then F is algebraic over K.
8.1. GALOIS GROUPS J.A.Beachy 27
7. Show that if F is an extension field of K of degree 2, then F is the splitting

field over K for some polynomial.
8. Let F K be an extension field, with u F . Show that if [K(u) : K] is an
odd number, then K(u2 ) = K(u).
9. Find the degree [F : Q], where F is the splitting field of the polynomial x3 11
over the field Q of rational numbers.
10. Determine the splitting field over Q for x4 + 2.
11. Determine the splitting field over Q for x4 + x2 + 1.
12. Factor x6 1 over Z7 ; factor x5 1 over Z11 .
8.1 Galois groups

Summary: This section gives the definition of the Galois group and some results
that follow immediately from the definition. We can give the full story for Galois
groups of finite fields.
We use the notation Aut(F ) for the group of all automorphisms of F , that is, all
one-to-one functions from F onto F that preserve addition and multiplication. The
smallest subfield containing the identity element 1 is called the prime subfield of F .
If F has characteristic zero, then its prime subfield is isomorphic to Q, and if F
has characteristic p, for some prime number p, then its prime subfield is isomorphic
to Zp . In either case, for any automorphism of F we must have (x) = x for all
elements in the prime subfield of F .
To study solvability by radicals of a polynomial equation f (x) = 0, we let K be
the field generated by the coefficients of f (x), and let F be a splitting field for f (x)
over K. Galois considered permutations of the roots that leave the coefficient field
fixed. The modern approach is to consider the automorphisms determined by these
permutations. The first result is that if F is an extension field of K, then the set
of all automorphisms : F F such that (a) = a for all a K is a group under
composition of functions. This justifies the following definitions.
Definition 8.1.2 Let F be an extension field of K. The set
{ Aut(F ) | (a) = a for all a K}
is called the Galois group of F over K, denoted by Gal(F/K).
Definition 8.1.3 Let K be a field, let f (x) K[x], and let F be a splitting field
for f (x) over K. Then Gal(F/K) is called the Galois group of f (x) over K, or the
Galois group of the equation f (x) = 0 over K.
Proposition 8.1.4 states that if F is an extension field of K, and f (x) K[x],

then any element of Gal(F/K) defines a permutation of the roots of f (x) that lie
in F . The next theorem is extremely important.
Theorem 8.1.6 Let K be a field, let f (x) K[x], and let F be a splitting field for
f (x) over K. If f (x) has no repeated roots, then | Gal(F/K)| = [F : K].
This result can be used to compute the Galois group of any finite extension of
any finite field, but first we need to review the structure of finite fields. If F is a
finite field of characteristic p, then it is a vector space over its prime subfield Zp ,
and so it has pn elements, where [F : Zp ] = n. The structure of F is determined by
the following theorem
Theorem 6.5.2 If F is a finite field with pn elements, then F is the splitting field
n
of the polynomial xp x over the prime subfield of F .
n
The description of the splitting field of xp x over Zp shows that for each prime
p and each positive integer n, there exists a field with pn elements. The uniqueness
of splitting fields shows that two finite fields are isomorphic iff they have the same
number of elements. The field with pn elements is called the Galois field of order
pn , denoted by GF (pn ). Every finite field is a simple extension of its prime subfield,
since the multiplicative group of nonzero elements is cyclic, and this implies that for
each positive integer n there exists an irreducible polynomial of degree n in Zp [x].
n
If F is a field of characteristic p, and n Z+ , then {a F | ap = a} is a subfield
of F , and this observation actually produces all subfields. In fact, Proposition 6.5.5
has the following statement. Let F be a field with pn elements. Each subfield of F
has pm elements for some divisor m of n. Conversely, for each positive divisor m of
n there exists a unique subfield of F with pm elements.
If F is a field of characteristic p, consider the function : F F defined by
(x) = xp . Since F has characteristic p, we have (a + b) = (a + b)p = ap + bp =
(a) + (b), because in the binomial expansion of (a + b)p each coefficient except
those of ap and bp is zero. (The coefficient (p!)/(k!(p k)!) contains p in the
numerator but not the denominator since p is prime, and so it must be equal to
zero in a field of characteristic p.) It is clear that preserves products, and so is
a ring homomorphism. Furthermore, since it is not the zero mapping, it must be
one-to-one. If F is finite, then must also be onto, and so in this case is called
2
the Frobenius automorphism of F . Note that 2 (x) = ((x))p = (xp )p = xp .
Using an appropriate power of the Frobenius automorphism, we can prove that
the Galois group of any finite field must be cyclic.
Corollary 8.1.7 Let K be a finite field and let F be an extension of K with

[F : K] = m. Then Gal(F/K) is a cyclic group of order m.
Outline of the proof: We start with the observation that F has pn elements, for
some positive integer n. Then K has pr elements, for r = n/m, and F is the
8.2. REPEATED ROOTS J.A.Beachy 29
n
splitting field of xp x over its prime subfield, and hence over K. Since f (x) has
no repeated roots, we may apply Theorem 8.1.6 to conclude that | Gal(F/K)| = m.
Now define : F F to be the rth power of the Frobenius automorphism. That
r
is, define (x) = xp . To compute the order of in Gal(F/K), first note that m is
rm n
the identity since m (x) = xp = xp = x for all x F . But cannot have lower
degree, since this would give a polynomial with too many roots. It follows that is
a generator for Gal(F/K).
1. Determine the group of all automorphisms of a field with 4 elements.
2. Let F be the splitting field in C of x4 + 1.

(a) Show that [F : Q] = 4.

(b) Find automorphisms of F that have fixed fields Q( 2), Q(i), and Q( 2i),
respectively.
3. Find the Galois group over Q of the polynomial x4 + 4.
4. Find the Galois groups of x3 2 over the fields Z5 and Z11 .
5. Find the Galois group of x4 1 over the field Z7 .
8.2 Repeated roots

Summary: In computing the Galois group of a polynomial, it is important to know
whether or not it has repeated roots. A field F is called perfect if no irreducible
polynomial over F has repeated roots. This section includes the results that any
field of characteristic zero is perfect, and that any finite field is perfect.
In the previous section, we showed that the order of the Galois group of a
polynomial with no repeated roots is equal to the degree of its splitting field over
the base field. The first thing in this section is to develop methods to determine
whether or not a polynomial has repeated roots.
Let f (x) be a polynomial in K[x], and let F be a splitting field for f (x) over K.
If f (x) has the factorization f (x) = (x r1 )m1 (x rt )mt over F , then we say
that the root ri has multiplicity mi . IfPmi = 1, then ri is called a simple root.
t
Let f (x) K[x], with f (x) = k=0 ak xk . The formal derivative f 0 (x) of
t
f (x) is defined by the formula f 0 (x) = k1
P
k=0 kak x , where kak denotes the
sum of ak added to itself k times. It is not difficult to show from this definition
that the standard differentiation formulas hold. Proposition 8.2.3 shows that the
polynomial f (x) K[x] has no multiple roots iff it is relatively prime to its formal
derivative f 0 (x). Proposition 8.2.4 shows that f (x) has no multiple roots unless
char(K) = p 6= 0 and f (x) has the form f (x) = a0 + a1 xp + a2 x2p + . . . + an xnp .
A polynomial f (x) over the field K is called separable if its irreducible factors
have only simple roots. An algebraic extension field F of K is called separable over
K if the minimal polynomial of each element of F is separable. The field F is called
perfect if every polynomial over F is separable.
Theorem 8.2.6 states that any field of characteristic zero is perfect, and a field
of characteristic p > 0 is perfect if and only if each of its elements has a pth root
in the field. It follows immediately from the theorem that any finite field is perfect
(just look at the Frobenius automorphism).
To give an example of a field that is not perfect, let p be a prime number, and
let K = Zp . Then in the field K(x) of rational functions over K, the element x has
no pth root (see Exercise 8.2.6 in the text). Therefore this rational function field is
not perfect.
The extension field F of K is called a simple extension if there exists an element
u F such that F = K(u). In this case, u is called a primitive element. Note that
if F is a finite field, then Theorem 6.5.10 shows that the multiplicative group F
is cyclic. If the generator of this group is a, then it is easy to see that F = K(a)
for any subfield K. Theorem 8.2.8 shows that any finite separable extension is a
simple extension.
1. Let f (x) Q[x] be irreducible over Q, and let F be the splitting field for f (x)
over Q. If [F : Q] is odd, prove that all of the roots of f (x) are real.

2. Find an element with Q( 2, i) = Q().
3. Find the Galois group of x6 1 over Z7 .
8.3 The fundamental theorem

Summary: In this section we study the connection between subgroups of Gal(F/K)
and fields between K and F . This is a critical step in proving that a polynomial is
solvable by radicals if and only if its Galois group is solvable.
Let F be a field, and let G be a subgroup of Aut(F ). Then
{a F | (a) = a for all G}

8.3. THE FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM J.A.Beachy 31
is called the G-fixed subfield of F , or the G-invariant subfield of F , and is denoted

by F G . (Proposition 8.3.1 shows that F G is actually a subfield.) If F is the splitting
field over K of a separable polynomial and G = Gal(F/K), then Proposition 8.3.3
shows that F G = K. Artins lemma (Lemma 8.3.4) provides the first really signifi-
cant result of the section. It states that if G is a finite group of automorphisms of
the field F , and K = F G , then [F : K] |G|.
Let F be an algebraic extension of the field K. Then F is said to be a normal
extension of K if every irreducible polynomial in K[x] that contains a root in F
is a product of linear factors in F [x]. With this definition, the following theorem
and its corollary can be proved from previous results. Some authors say that F is
a Galois extension of K if the equivalent conditions of Theorem 8.2.6 are satisfied.
Theorem 8.3.6 The following are equivalent for an extension field F of K:

(1) F is the splitting field over K of a separable polynomial;
(2) K = F G for some finite group G of automorphisms of F ;
(3) F is a finite, normal, separable extension of K.
As a corollary, we obtain the fact that if F is an extension field of K such that

K = F G for some finite group G of automorphisms of F , then G = Gal(F/K).
The next theorem is the centerpiece of Galois theory. In the context of the fun-
damental theorem, we say that two intermediate subfields E1 and E2 are conjugate
if there exists Gal(F/K) such that (E1 ) = E2 . Proposition 8.3.9 states that
if F is the splitting field of a separable polynomial over K, and K E F , with
H = Gal(F/E), then Gal(F/(E)) = H1 , for any Gal(F/K).
Theorem 8.3.8. (The fundamental theorem of Galois theory) Let F be the

splitting field of a separable polynomial over the field K, and let G = Gal(F/K).
(a) There is a one-to-one order-reversing correspondence between subgroups of
G and subfields of F that contain K:
(i) The subfield F H corresponds to the subgroup H, and H = Gal(F/F H ).
(ii) If K E F , then the corresponding subgroup is Gal(F/E), and
E = F Gal(F/E) .
(b) [F : F H ] = |H| and [F H : K] = [G : H], for any subgroup H.
(c) Under the above correspondence, the subgroup H is normal iff F H is a
normal extension of K. In this case, Gal(E/K) = Gal(F/K) / Gal(F/E).
1. Prove that if F is a field and K = F G for a finite group G of automorphisms

of F , then there are only finitely many subfields between F and K.
2. Let F be the splitting field over K of a separable polynomial. Prove that if
Gal(F/K) is cyclic, then for each divisor d of [F : K] there is exactly one field
E with K E F and [E : K] = d.
3. Let F be a finite, normal extension of Q for which | Gal(F/Q)| = 8 and each

element of Gal(F/Q) has order 2. Find the number of subfields of F that
have degree 4 over Q.
4. Let F be a finite, normal, separable extension of the field K. Suppose that

the Galois group Gal(F/K) is isomorphic to D7 . Find the number of distinct
subfields between F and K. How many of these are normal extensions of K?

5. Show that F = Q(i, 2) is normal over Q; find its Galois group over Q, and
find all intermediate fields between Q and F .

6. Let F = Q( 2, 3 2). Find [F : Q] and prove that F is not normal over Q.
7. Find the order of the Galois group of x5 2 over Q.
8.4 Solvability by radicals

Summary: We must first determine the structure of the Galois group of a polynomial
of the form xn a. Then we will make use of the fundamental theorem of Galois
theory to see what happens when we successively adjoin roots of such polynomials.
An extension field F of K is called a radical extension of K if there exist elements

u1 , u2 , . . . , um F such that (i) F = K(u1 , u2 , . . . , um ), and (ii) un1 1 K and
uni i K(u1 , . . . , ui1 ) for i = 2, . . . , m and n1 , n2 , . . . , nm Z. For f (x) K[x],
the polynomial equation f (x) = 0 is said to be solvable by radicals if there exists a
radical extension F of K that contains all roots of f (x).
Proposition 8.4.2 gives the first major result. If F is the splitting field of xn 1
over a field K of characteristic zero, then Gal(F/K) is an abelian group.
The roots of the polynomial xn 1 are called the nth roots of unity. Any
generator of the group of all nth roots of unity is called a primitive nth root of
unity. At this point we look ahead to one of the results from Section 8.5.
The complex roots of the polynomial xn 1 are the nth roots of unity. If we let
be the complex number = cos + i sin , where = 2/n, then 1, , 2 , . . .,
n1 are each roots of xn 1, and since they are distinct they must constitute the
set of all nth roots of unity. Thus we have
n1
Y
n
x 1= (x k ) .
k=0
The set of nth roots of unity is a cyclic subgroup of C of order n. Thus there
are (n) generators of the group, which are the primitive nth roots of unity. If
d|n, then any element of order d generates a subgroup of order d, which has (d)
generators. Thus there are precisely (d) elements of order d.
8.4. SOLVABILITY BY RADICALS J.A.Beachy 33
If p is prime, then every nontrivial pth root of unity is primitive, and is a root of
the irreducible polynomial xp1 + xp2 + . . . + x + 1, which is a factor of xp 1. The
situation is more complicated when n is not prime. The nth cyclotomic polynomial.
Y
n (x) = (x k )
(k,n)=1, 1k<n
where n is a positive integer, and = cos + i sin , with = 2/n. (See Defini-
tion 8.5.1.)
n
Q The following conditions hold for n (x): (a) deg(n (x)) = (n); (b) x 1 =
d|n d (x); (c) n (x) is monic, with integer coefficients; and (d) n (x) is irreducible
over Q. (See Proposition 8.5.2 and Theorem 8.5.3.) Condition (b) shows how to
compute n (x) inductively.
The Galois group of the nth cyclotomic polynomial is computed in Theorem 8.5.4.
This theorem states that for every positive integer n, the Galois group of the nth
cyclotomic polynomial n (x) over Q is isomorphic to Z n . Theorem 8.4.3 shows
more generally that if K is a field of characteristic zero that contains all nth roots
of unity, a K, and F is the splitting field of xn a over K, then Gal(F/K) is a
cyclic group whose order is a divisor of n.
We have finally reached our goal, stated in the following two theorems.
Theorem 8.4.6. Let f (x) be a polynomial over a field K of characteristic zero.

The equation f (x) = 0 is solvable by radicals if and only if the Galois group of f (x)
over K is solvable.
Theorem 8.4.8. There exists a polynomial of degree 5 with rational coefficients

that is not solvable by radicals.
Theorem 7.7.2 shows that Sn is not solvable for n 5, and so to give an example
of a polynomial equation of degree n that is not solvable by radicals, we only need to
find a polynomial of degree n whose Galois group over Q is Sn . As a special case of a
more general construction, it can be shown that f (x) = (x2 +2)(x+2)(x)(x2)2 =
x5 2x3 8x 2 has Galois group S5 because it has precisely three real roots. This
requires the following group theoretic lemma: Any subgroup of S5 that contains
both a transposition and a cycle of length 5 must be equal to S5 itself.
1. Let f (x) be irreducible over Q, and let F be its splitting field over Q. Show
that if Gal(F/Q) is abelian, then F = Q(u) for all roots u of f (x).
2. Find the Galois group of x9 1 over Q.
3. Show that x4 x3 + x2 x + 1 is irreducible over Q, and use it to find the
Galois group of x10 1 over Q.
4. Show that p(x) = x5 4x + 2 is irreducible over Q, and find the number of

real roots. Find the Galois group of p(x) over Q, and explain why the group
is not solvable.
7
Group Theory Solutions
SOLUTIONS: 7.0 Examples
1. Prove that if G is a group of order n, and F is any field, then GLn (F ) contains
a subgroup isomorphic to G.
Solution: Given a permutation Sn , we can consider to be a permutation
of the standard basis for the n-dimensional vector space F n . As such, it
determines a matrix, which can also be described by letting permute the
columns of the identity matrix. In short, the set of permutation matrices
in GLn (F ) is a subgroup isomorphic to Sn . Cayleys theorem shows that G is
isomorphic to a subgroup of Sn , and therefore G is isomorphic to a subgroup
of GLn (F ).
2. What is the largest order of an element in Z

200 ?
Solution: Recall that Zn is the multiplicative group of elements relatively
prime to n, and its order is given by the Euler -function. Since Z200 =
Z4 Z25 , we have Z
200 = Z4 Z25 , and Z4 = Z2 .
Since |Z 2
25 | = 5 5 = 20, by the fundamental structure theorem for finite
abelian groups (Theorem 7.5.4) we either have Z
200 = Z2 Z4 Z5 or Z200 =
Z2 Z2 Z2 Z5 . In the first case, the largest possible order is 20, and in the
second case it is 10. In either case, the answer depends on the largest order of
35
36 J.A.Beachy 7. GROUP THEORY SOLUTIONS
an element in Z
25 . The first guess might be to check the order of the element
2. We have 25 = 32 7, so 210 49 1 (mod 25), and thus 2 has order
20.
Alternate solution: A proof can also be given using Corollary 7.5.11, which
states that Z
n is cyclic if n is a power of an odd prime.
3. Let G be a finite group, and suppose that for any two subgroups H and K
either H K or K H. Prove that G is cyclic of prime power order.
Solution: Since G is finite, it has an element of maximal order, say a. Then
hai cannot be properly contained in any other cyclic subgroup, so it follows
that hbi hai for every b G, and thus every element of G is a power of
a. This shows that G is cyclic, say G = hai. Now suppose that |G| has two
distinct prime divisors p and q. Then there will be corresponding subgroups
of G of order p and q, and neither can be contained in the other, contradicting
the hypothesis.
4. Let G = S4 and N = {(1), (1, 2)(3, 4), (1, 3)(2, 4), (1, 4)(2, 3)}. Prove that N
is normal, and that G/N
= S3 .
Solution: The set {(1, 2)(3, 4), (1, 3)(2, 4), (1, 4)(2, 3)} forms a conjugacy class
of S4 , which shows that N is normal. The subgroup H of S4 generated by
(1, 2, 3) and (1, 2) is isomorphic to S3 , and does not contain any elements of H.
The inclusion : H G followed by the projection : G G/N has trivial
kernel since H N = h1i. Thus |(H)| = 6, so we must have (H) = G/N ,
and thus G/N =H = S3 .
5. Find the center of the alternating group An .
Solution: In the case n = 3, we have Z(A3 ) = A3 since A3 is abelian. If n 4,
then Z(An ) = {(1)}. One way to see this is to use conjugacy classes, since
showing that the center is trivial is equivalent to showing that the identity is
the only element whose conjugacy class consists of exactly one element. The
comments in this section of the review material show that a conjugacy class of
An is either a conjugacy class of Sn or half of a conjugacy class of Sn . Since a
conjugacy class of Sn consists of all permutations with a given cycle structure,
if n 4 every conjugacy class contains more than 2 elements (except for the
conjugacy class of the identity).
Alternate proof: We can also use the deeper theorem that if n 5, then An
is simple and nonabelian. Since the center is always a normal subgroup, this
forces the center to be trivial for n 5. That still leaves the case n = 4. A
direct computation shows that (abc) does not commute with (abd) or (ab)(cd).
Since every nontrivial element of A4 has one of these two forms, this implies
that the center of A4 is trivial.
6. In a group G, any element of the form xyx1 y 1 , with x, y G, is called a

commutator of G.
J.A.Beachy 37
(a) Find all commutators in the dihedral group Dn . Using the standard de-
scription of Dn via generators and relations, consider the cases x = ai or
x = ai b and y = aj or y = aj b.
Solution: Case 1: If x = ai and y = aj , the commutator is trivial.
Case 2: If x = ai and y = aj b, then xyx1 y 1 = ai aj bai aj b = ai aj ai baj b =
ai aj ai aj b2 = a2i , and thus each even power of a is a commutator.
Case 3: If x = aj b and y = ai , we get the inverse of the element in Case 2.
Case 4: If x = ai b and y = aj b, then xyx1 y 1 = ai baj bai baj b, and so we get
xyx1 y 1 = ai aj b2 ai aj b2 = a2(ij) , and again we get even powers of a.

the subgroup hai. If n is even, then
If n is odd, then the commutators form
the commutators form the subgroup a2 .
(b) Show that the commutators of Dn form a normal subgroup N of Dn , and
that Dn /N is abelian.
Solution: If x = a2i , then conjugation by y = aj b yields yxy 1 = aj ba2i aj b =
aj a2i b2 aj = a2i = x1 , which is again in the subgroup. It follows that
the commutators form a normal subgroup. The corresponding factor group
has order 2 or 4, so it must be abelian.
7. Prove that SL2 (Z2 )

= S3 .
Solution: Every invertible matrix over Z2 has determinant 1, so SL2 (Z2 )
coincides with GL2 (Z2 ). Example 3.4.5 shows that GL2 (Z2 )
= S3 .
The problem can also be solved by quoting the result that any nonabelian
group of order 6 is isomorphic to S3 .
8. Show that if F is a finite field with |F | = q, then the order of the general
linear group is | GLn (F )| = (q n 1)(q n q) (q n q n1 ).
Solution: We need to count the number of ways in which an invertible matrix
can be constructed. This is done by noting that we need n linearly independent
rows. The first row can be any nonzero vector, so there are q n 1 choices.
There are q n possibilities for the second row, but to be linearly independent
of the first row, it cannot be a scalar multiple of that row. Since we have q
possible scalars, we need to omit the q multiples of the first row. Therefore
the total number of ways to construct a second row independent of the first
is q n q.
For the third row, we need to subtract q 2 , which is the number of vectors
in the subspace spanned by the first two rows that we have chosen. Thus
there are q n q 2 possibilities for the third row. The argument is continued
by induction.

1 0 0
b c 1

that a, b, c Z3 . Show that each element of G has order 3.
Solution: We have the following computation.
2
1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
a 1 0 = a 1 0 a 1 0 = 2a 1 0
b c 1 b c 1 b c 1 2b + ac 2c 1
3 2
1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
a 1 0 = a 1 0 a 1 0 = 3a 1 0 = 0 1 0
b c 1 b c 1 b c 1 3b + 3ac 3c 1 0 0 1
10. For a commutative ring R with identity, define GL2 (R) to be the set of in-
vertible 2 2 matrices with entries in R. Prove that GL2 (R) is a group.
Solution: The fact that R is a ring, with addition and multiplication, allows
us to define matrix multiplication. The associative and distributive laws in R
can be used to show that multiplication is associative (the question only asks
for the 2 2 case). Since R has an identity, the identity matrix serves as the
identity element. Finally, if A GL2 (R), then A1 exists, and A1 GL2 (R)
since (A1 )1 = A.

m b
11. Let G be the subgroup of GL2 (Z4 ) defined by the set such that
0 1
b Z4 and m = 1. Show that G is isomorphic to a known group of order 8.
Hint: The answer is either D4 or the quaternion group (see Example 3.3.7).

1 1 1 0
Solution: Let a = and b = . Then it is easy to check that
0 1 0 1
1 1 1 0 1 1
a has order 4 and b has order 2. Since aba = =
0 1 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 0
= = b, we have the identity ba = a1 b.
0 1 0 1 0 1
Finally, each element has the form ai b, so the group is isomorphic to D4 .

1 0 0
b c 1

that a, b, c Z2 . Show that G is isomorphic to a known group of order 8.
Solution: The computation in Review Problem 9 shows the following.
4 2 2
1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
1 1 0 = 0 1 0 = 0 1 0 and 0 1 0 = 0 1 0
0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
As the following computation shows, we have an element of order 4 and an
element of order 2 that satisfy the relations of D4 (just as in the solution of
the previous problem).
J.A.Beachy 39

1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 = 1 1 0 1 1 0 = 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1
SOLUTIONS: 7.1 Isomorphism theorems
1. Let G1 and G2 be groups of order 24 and 30, respectively. Let G3 be a

nonabelian group that is a homomorphic image of both G1 and G2 . Describe
G3 , up to isomorphism.
Solution: The order of G3 must be a common divisor of 24 and 30, so it must
be a divisor of 6. Since any group of order less than 6 is abelian, G3 must be
isomorphic to the symmetric group S3 .
2. Prove that a finite group whose only automorphism is the identity map must
have order at most two.
Solution: All inner automorphisms are trivial, so G is abelian. Then (x) =
x1 is an automorphism, so it is trivial, forcing x = x1 for all x G. If G
is written additively, then G has a vector space structure over the field Z2 .
(Since every element of G has order 2, it works to define 0 x = 0 and 1 x = x,
for all x G.) With this vector space structure, any group homomorphism
is a linear transformation (and vice versa), so the automorphism group of G
is a group of invertible matrices. Therefore Aut(G) is nontrivial, unless G is
zero or one-dimensional.
3. Let H be a nontrivial subgroup of Sn . Show that either H An , or exactly
half of the permutations in H are odd.
Solution: Look at the composition of the inclusion from H to Sn followed by
the projection of Sn onto Sn / An . Since Sn / An has only 2 elements, this
composition either maps H to the identity, in which case H An , or else it
maps onto Sn / An , in which case the kernel H An has index 2 in H.
4. Let p be a prime number, and let A be a finite abelian group in which every
element has order p. Show that Aut(A) is isomorphic to a group of matrices
over Zp .
Solution: The first step in seeing this is to recognize that if every element of
A has order p, then the usual multiplication na, for integers n Z, actually
define a scalar multiplication on A, for scalars in Zp . Thus A is a vector space
over Zp , and as such it has some dimension, say n. Every automorphism of A
is a linear transformation, so Aut(A) is isomorphic to the general linear group
GLn (Zp ).
5. Let G be a group and let N be a normal subgroup of G of finite index. Suppose
that H is a finite subgroup of G and that the order of H is relatively prime
to the index of N in G. Prove that H is contained in N .
Solution: Let : G G/N be the natural projection. Then (H) is a

subgroup of G/N , so its order must be a divisor of |G/N |. On the other hand,
|(H)| must be a divisor of |H|. Since gcd(|H|, [G : N ]) = 1, we must have
|(H)| = 1, which implies that H ker() = N .
6. Let G be a finite group and let K be a normal subgroup of G such that
gcd(|K|, [G : K]) = 1. Prove that K is a characteristic subgroup of G.
Note: Recall the definition given in Exercise 7.6.6 of the text. The subgroup
K is a characteristic subgroup if (K) K for all Aut(G).
Solution: Let be any automorphism of G. Then (K) is a subgroup of G,
with |K| elements. Since gcd(|K|, [G : K]) = 1, we can apply the result in the
previous problem, which implies that (K) K.
7. Let N be a normal subgroup of a group G. Suppose that |N | = 5 and |G| is
odd. Prove that N is contained in the center of G.
Solution: Since |N | = 5, the subgroup N is cyclic, say N = hai. We want to
show that a has no other conjugates, so we first note that since N is normal
in G, any conjugate of a must be in N . We next note that if x is conjugate to
y, which we will write x S y, then xn y n . Finally, we note that the number
of conjugates of a must be a divisor of G.
Case 1. If a a2 , then a2 a4 , and a4 a8 = a3 .
Case 2. If a a3 , then a3 a9 = a4 , and a4 a12 = a2 .
Case 3. If a a4 , then a2 a8 = a3 .
In the first two cases a has 4 conjugates, which contradicts the assumption
that G has odd order. In the last case, a has either 2 or 4 conjugates, which
again leads to the same contradiction.
SOLUTIONS: 7.2 Conjugacy
1. Prove that if the center of the group G has index n, then every conjugacy
class of G has at most n elements.
Solution: The conjugacy class of a G has [G : C(a)] elements. Since the
center Z(G) is contained in C(a), we have [G : C(a)] [G : Z(G)] = n. (In
fact, [G : C(a)] must be a divisor of n.)
2. Let G be a group with center Z(G). Prove that G/Z(G) is abelian iff for each
element x 6 Z(G) the conjugacy class of x is contained in the coset Z(G)x.
Solution: First suppose that G/Z(G) is abelian and x G but x 6 Z(G).
For any a G we have ax = zxa for some z Z(G), since Z(G)ax = Z(G)xa
in the factor group G/Z(G). Thus axa1 = zx for some z Z(G), showing
that the conjugate axa1 belongs to the coset Z(G)x.
J.A.Beachy 41
Conversely, assume the given condition, and let x, y G. Then yxy 1

Z(G)x, so yx Z(G)xy, which shows that Z(G)yx = Z(G)xy, and thus
G/Z(G) is abelian.
3. Find all finite groups that have exactly two conjugacy classes.
Solution: Suppose that |G| = n. The identity element forms one conjugacy
class, so the second conjugacy class must have n1 elements. But the number
of elements in any conjugacy class is a divisor of |G|, so the only way that
n 1 is a divisor of n is if n = 2.
4. Let G be the dihedral group with 12 elements, given by generators a, b with

|a| = 6, |b| = 2, and ba = a1 b. Let H = {1, a3 , b, a3 b}. Find the normalizer
of H in G and find the subgroups of G that are conjugate to H.
Solution: The normalizer of H is a subgroup containing H, so since H has
index 3, either NG (H) = H or NG (H) = G. Choose any element not in H to
do the first conjugation.
aHa1 = {1, a(a3 )a5 , aba5 , a(a3 b)a5 } = {1, a3 , a2 b, a5 b}
This computation shows that a is not in the normalizer, so NG (H) = H.
Conjugating by any element in the same left coset aH = {a, a4 , ab, a4 b} will
give the same subgroup. Therefore it makes sense to choose a2 to do the next
computation.
a2 Ha2 = {1, a3 , a2 ba4 , a2 (a3 b)a4 } = {1, a3 , a4 b, ab}
It is interesting to note that we had shown earlier that b, a2 b, and a4 b form
one conjugacy class, while ab, a3 b, and a5 b form a second conjugacy class. In
the above computations, notice how the orbits of individual elements combine
to give the orbit of a subgroup.
5. Write out the class equation for the dihedral group Dn . Note that you will
need two cases: when n is even, and when n is odd.
Solution: When n is odd the center is trivial and elements of the form ai b
are all conjugate. Elements of the form ai are conjugate in pairs; am 6= am
since a2m 6= 1. We could write the class equation in the following form.
n1
|G| = 1 + 2+n
2
When n is even, the center has two elements. (The element an/2 is conjugate
to itself since an/2 = an/2 , so Z(G) = {1, an/2 }.) Therefore elements of the
form ai b split into two conjugacy classes. In this case the class equation has
the following form.
n2 n
|G| = 2 + 2+2
2 2
6. Show that for all n 4, the centralizer of the element (1, 2)(3, 4) in Sn has
order 8 (n 4)!. Determine the elements in CSn ((1, 2)(3, 4)) explicitly.
Solution: The conjugates of a = (1, 2)(3, 4) in Sn are the permutations of the
form (a, b)(c, d). The number of ways to construct such a permutation is
n(n 1) (n 2)(n 3) 1
,
2 2 2
and dividing this into n! gives the order 8 (n 4)! of the centralizer.
We first compute the centralizer of a in S4 . The elements (1, 2) and (3, 4)
clearly commute with (1, 2)(3, 4). Note that a is the square of b = (1, 3, 2, 4);
it follows that the centralizer contains hbi, so b3 = (1, 4, 2, 3) also belongs.
Computing products of these elements shows that we must include (1, 3)(2, 4)
and (1, 4)(2, 3), and this gives the required total of 8 elements.
To find the centralizer of a in Sn , any of the elements listed above can be
multiplied by any permutation disjoint from (1, 2)(3, 4). This produces the
required total |C(a)| = 8 (n 4)!.
SOLUTIONS: 7.3 Group actions

1. Let G be a group which has a subgroup of index 6. Prove that G has a normal
subgroup whose index is a divisor of 720.
Solution: Suppose that H is a subgroup with index 6. Letting G act by
multiplication on the left cosets of H produces a homomorphism from G into
S6 . The order of the image must be a divisor of | S6 | = 720, and so the index
of the kernel is a divisor of 720.
2. Let G act on the subgroup H by conjugation, let S be the set of all conjugates
of H, and let : G Sym(S) be the corresponding homomorphism. Show
that ker() is the intersection of the normalizers N (aHa1 ) of all conjugates.
Solution: We have x ker() iff x(aHa1 )x1 = aHa1 for all a G.
3. Let F = Z3 , G = GL2 (F ), and S = F 2 . Find the generalized class equation
(see Theorem 7.3.6) for the standard action of G on S.
Solution: There are only two orbits, since the zero vector is left fixed, and
any nonzero vector can be mapped by G to any other
nonzero vector. Thus
1
|S| = 9, |S G | = 1, and [G : Gx ] = 8 for x = , so the generalized class
0
equation is 9 = 1 + 8.
To double check this, we can compute Gx . A direct computation shows that
1 a
the elements of Gx must have the form , where a 6= b since the
1 b
matrix must have nonzero determinant. There are 6 matrices of this type, so
[G : Gx ] = 8 since |G| = 48, as noted in Section 7.0.
J.A.Beachy 43
4. Let F = Z3 , G = GL2 (F ), and let N be the center of G. Prove that G/N = S4

by defining an action of G on the four one-dimensional subspaces of F 2 .
Solution: In the previous problem, F 2 contains 4 one-dimensional subspaces.
(You can easily write out the list.) Each matrix in G represents an isomor-
phism of F 2 , and so it simply permutes these one-dimensional subspaces. Thus
we can let S be the set of one-dimensional subspaces, and let G act on them as
described above. Multiplying by a scalar leaves each one-dimensional subspace
fixed, and this is the only linear transformation to do so. Thus the action of
G defines a homomorphism into S4 whose kernel is the scalar matrices, which
is precisely the center N . The group G = GL2 (Z3 ) has (32 1)(33 3) ele-
ments (see Review problem 7.0.8). The center consists of two scalar matrices,
so |G/N | = 24. It follows that the homomorphism must map G/N onto S4 ,
since | S4 | = 4! = 24.
SOLUTIONS: 7.4 The Sylow theorems
1. By direct computation, find the number of Sylow 3-subgroups and the number
of Sylow 5-subgroups of the symmetric group S5 . Check that your calculations
are consistent with the Sylow theorems.
Solution: In S5 there are (5 4 3)/3 = 20 three cycles. These will split up
into 10 subgroups of order 3. This number is congruent to 1 mod 3, and is a
divisor of 5 4 2.
There are (5!)/5 = 24 five cycles. These will split up into 6 subgroups of order
5. This number is congruent to 1 mod 5, and is a divisor of 4 3 2.
2. How many elements of order 7 are there in a simple group of order 168?
Solution: First, 168 = 23 3 7. The number of Sylow 7-subgroups must be
congruent to 1 mod 7 and must be a divisor of 24. The only possibilities are
1 and 8. If there is no proper normal subgroup, then the number must be 8.
The subgroups all have the identity in common, leaving 8 6 = 48 elements of
order 7.
3. Prove that a group of order 48 must have a normal subgroup of order 8 or 16.
Solution: The number of Sylow 2-subgroups is 1 or 3. In the first case there
is a normal subgroup of order 16. In the second case, let G act by conjugation
on the Sylow 2-subgroups. This produces a homomorphism from G into S3 .
Because of the action, the image cannot consist of just 2 elements. On the
other hand, since no Sylow 2-subgroup is normal, the kernel cannot have 16
elements. The only possibility is that the homomorphism maps G onto S3 ,
and so the kernel is a normal subgroup of order 48/6 = 8.
4. Let G be a group of order 340. Prove that G has a normal cyclic subgroup of
order 85 and an abelian subgroup of order 4.
Solution: First, 340 = 22 5 17. There exists a Sylow 2-subgroup of order 4,
and it must be abelian. No divisor of 68 = 22 17 is congruent to 1 mod 5, so
the Sylow 5-subgroup is normal. Similarly, then Sylow 17-subgroup is normal.
These subgroups have trivial intersection, so their product is a direct product,
and hence must be cyclic of order 85 = 5 17. The product of two normal
subgroups is again normal, so this produces the required normal subgroup of
order 85.
5. Show that any group of order 100 has a normal subgroup of order 25.
Solution: The number of Sylow 5-subgroups is congruent to 1 modulo 5 and
a divisor of 4, so it must be 1.
6. Show that there is no simple group of order 200.

Solution: Since 200 = 23 52 , the number of Sylow 5-subgroups is congruent
to 1 mod 5 and a divisor of 8. Thus there is only one Sylow 5-subgroup, and
it is a proper nontrivial normal subgroup.
7. Show that a group of order 108 has a normal subgroup of order 9 or 27.
Solution: Let S be a Sylow 3-subgroup of G. Then [G : S] = 4, since
|G| = 22 33 , so we can let G act by multiplication on the cosets of S. This
defines a homomorphism : G S4 , so it follows that |(G)| is a divisor of
12, since it must be a common divisor of 108 and 24. Thus | ker()| 9, and
it follows from Exercise 7.3.1 of the text that ker() S, so | ker()| must be
a divisor of 27. It follows that | ker()| = 9 or | ker()| = 27.
8. If p is a prime number, find all Sylow p-subgroups of the symmetric group Sp .

Solution: Since | Sp | = p!, and p is a prime number, the highest power of p
that divides | Sp | is p. Therefore the Sylow p-subgroups are precisely the cyclic
subgroups of order p, each generated by a p-cycle. There are (p 1)! = p!/p
ways to construct a p-cycle (a1 , . . . , ap ). The subgroup generated by a given p-
cycle will contain the identity and the p 1 powers of the cycle. Two different
such subgroups intersect in the indentity, since they are of prime order, so the
total number of subgroups of order p in Sp is (p 2)! = (p 1)!/(p 1).

1 0
9. Let G be the group of matrices such that x Z7 and a Z7.
x a
(a) Find a Sylow 7-subgroup of G; find n7 (G).
Solution: The group has order 42 = 6 7, so a Sylow 7-subgroup must have
1 0
7 elements. The set of matrices of the form forms a subgroup of
x 1
order 7.
J.A.Beachy 45
In any group of order 42 there is only one Sylow 7-subgroup.

(b) Find a Sylow 3-subgroup of G; find n3 (G).
Solution: The number of Sylow 3-subgroups
is 1 (mod 3) and a divisor of
1 0
14, so it must be 1 or 7. The element has order 3, so it generates a
0 2
1 0 1 0
Sylow 3-subgroup H. Conjugating this element by gives ,
1 1 1 2
so H is not normal, and therefore there must 7 Sylow 3-subgroups.
or a normal Sylow 7-subgroup.
Solution: The number of Sylow 7-subgroups is either 1 or 8. Eight Sylow 7-
subgroups would yield 48 elements of order 7, and so the remaining 8 elements
would constitute the (unique) Sylow 2-subgroup.
11. Prove that if N is a normal subgroup of G that contains a Sylow p-subgroup

of G, then the number of Sylow p-subgroups of N is the same as that of G.
Solution: Suppose that N contains the Sylow p-subgroup P . Then since N
is normal it also contains all of the conjugates of P . But this means that N
contains all of the Sylow p-subgroups of G, since they are all conjugate. We
conclude that N and G have the same number of Sylow p-subgroups.
and a normal Sylow 7-subgroup.
Solution: Use the previous problem. Since 105 = 3 5 7, we have n3 = 1
or 7, n5 = 1 or 21, and n7 = 1 or 15 for the numbers of Sylow subgroups.
Let P be a Sylow 5-subgroup and let Q be a Sylow 7-subgroup. At least
one of these subgroups must be normal, since otherwise we would have 21 4
elements of order 5 and 156 elements of order 7. Therefore P Q is a subgroup,
and it must be normal since its index is the smallest prime divisor of |G|, so
we can apply Review Problem 11. Since P Q is normal and contains a Sylow
5-subgroup, we can reduce to the number 35 when considering the number of
Sylow 5-subgroups, and thus n5 (G) = n5 (P Q) = 1. Similarly, since P Q is
normal and contains a Sylow 7-subgroup, we have n7 (G) = n7 (P Q) = 1.
SOLUTIONS: 7.5 Finite abelian groups
1. Find all abelian groups of order 108 (up to isomorphism).

Solution: The prime factorization is 108 = 22 33 . There are two possible
groups of order 4: Z4 and Z2 Z2 . There are three possible groups of order
27: Z27 , Z9 Z3 , and Z3 Z3 Z3 . This gives us the following possible

groups:
Z4 Z27 Z2 Z2 Z27
Z4 Z9 Z3 Z2 Z2 Z9 Z3
Z4 Z3 Z3 Z3 Z2 Z2 Z3 Z3 Z3 .
2. Let G and H be finite abelian groups, and assume that G G is isomorphic

to H H. Prove that G is isomorphic to H.
Solution: Let p be a prime divisor of |G|, and let q = p be the order of
a cyclic component of G. If G has k such components, then G G has 2k
components of order q. An isomorphism between G G and H H must
preserve these components, so it follows that H also has k cyclic components
of order q. Since this is true for every such q, it follows that G
= H.
3. Let G be an abelian group which has 8 elements of order 3, 18 elements of

order 9, and no other elements besides the identity. Find (with proof) the
decomposition of G as a direct product of cyclic groups.
Solution: We have |G| = 27. First, G is not cyclic since there is no element
of order 27. Since there are elements of order 9, G must have Z9 as a factor.
To give a total of 27 elements, the only possibility is G
= Z9 Z3 .
Check: The elements 3 and 6 have order 3 in Z9 , while 1 and 2 have order
3 in Z3 . Thus the following 8 elements have order 3 in the direct product:
(3, 0), (6, 0), (3, 1), (6, 1), (3, 2), (6, 2), (0, 1), and (0, 2).
4. Let G be a finite abelian group such that |G| = 216. If |6G| = 6, determine
G up to isomorphism.
Solution: We have 216 = 23 33 , and 6G = Z2 Z3 . Let H be the Sylow
2-subgroup of G. Then multiplication by 3 defines an automorphism of H, so
we only need to consider 2H. Since 2H = Z2 , we know that there are elements
not of order 2, and that H is not cyclic, since 2Z8
= Z4 . We conclude that
H = Z4 Z2 . A similar argument shows that the Sylow 3-subgroup K of G
must be isomorphic to Z9 Z3 . Thus G = Z4 Z2 Z9 Z3 , or G = Z36 Z6 .
5. Apply both structure theorems to give the two decompositions of the abelian
group Z216 .
Solution: Z
216= Z Z
8 27= Z2 Z2 Z 27
Since 27 is a power of an odd prime, it follows from Corollary 7.5.11 that Z
27
is cyclic. This can also be shown directly by guessing that 2 is a generator.
Since Z 3 2
27 has order 3 3 = 18, an element can only have order 1, 2, 3, 6, 9
or 18. We have 2 = 4, 2 = 8, 26 82 10, and 29 23 26 8 10 1,
2 3
so it follows that 2 must be a generator.

We conclude that Z
216 = Z2 Z2 Z2 Z9 = Z18 Z2 Z2 .
J.A.Beachy 47
6. Let G and H be finite abelian groups, and assume that they have the following
property. For each positive integer m, G and H have the same number of
elements of order m. Prove that G and H are isomorphic.
Solution: We give a proof by induction on the order of |G|. The statement is
clearly true for groups of order 2 and 3, so suppose that G and H are given,
and the statement holds for all groups of lower order. Let p be a prime divisor
of |G|, and let Gp and Hp be the Sylow p-subgroups of G and H, respectively.
Since the Sylow subgroups contain all elements of order a power of p, the
induction hypothesis applies to Gp and Hp . If we can show that Gp = Hp for
all p, then it will follow that G
= H, since G and H are direct products of
their Sylow subgroups.
Let x be an element of Gp with maximal order q = p . Then hxi is a direct
factor of Gp by Lemma 7.5.3, so there is a subgroup G0 with Gp = hxi G0 .
By the same argument we can write Hp = hyi H 0 , where y has the same
order as x.
Now consider hxp i G0 and hy p i H 0 . To construct each of these subgroups
we have removed elements of the form (xk , g 0 ), where xk has order q and g 0 is
any element of G0 . Because x has maximal order in a p-group, in each case
the order of g 0 is a divisor of q, and so (xk , g 0 ) has order q since the order of
an element in a direct product is the least common multiple of the orders of
the components. Thus to construct each of these subgroups we have removed
(p p1 ) |G0 | elements, each having order q. It follows from the hypothesis
that we are left with the same number of elements of each order, and so the
induction hypothesis implies that hxp i G0 and hy p i H 0 are isomorphic. But
then G0
= H 0 , and so Gp = Hp , completing the proof.
SOLUTIONS: 7.6 Solvable groups
1. Let p be a prime and let G be a nonabelian group of order p3 . Show that the
center Z(G) of G equals the commutator subgroup G0 of G.
Solution: Since G is nonabelian, by Exercise 7.2.13 of the text we have
|Z(G)| = p. (The center is nontrivial by Theorem 7.2.8, and if |Z(G)| = p2 ,
then G/Z(G) is cyclic, and Exercise 3.8.14 of the text implies that G is
abelian.) On the other hand, any group of order p2 is abelian, so G/Z(G)
is abelian, which implies that G0 Z(G). Since G is nonabelian, G0 6= h1i,
and therefore G0 = Z(G).
2. Prove that Dn is solvable for all n.

Solution: By Review Problem 7.0.6, with the standard description of the
dihedral group the commutator subgroup Dn0 is either hai or a2 . In either

case, the commutator subgroup is abelian, so Dn00 = h1i.

3. Prove that any group of order 588 is solvable, given that any group of order
12 is solvable.
Solution: We have 588 = 22 372 . Let S be the Sylow 7-subgroup. It must be
normal, since 1 is the only divisor of 12 that is 1 (mod 7). By assumption,
G/S is solvable since |G/S| = 12. Furthermore, S is solvable since it is a p-
group. Since both S and G/S are solvable, it follows from Corollary 7.6.8 (b)
that G is solvable.
4. Let G be a group of order 780 = 22 3 5 13. Assume that G is not solvable.
What are the composition factors of G? (Assume that the only nonabelian
simple group of order 60 is A5 .)
Solution: The Sylow 13-subgroup N is normal, since 1 is the only divisor of
60 that is 1 (mod 13). Using the fact that the smallest simple nonabelian
group has order 60, we see that the factor G/N must be simple, since otherwise
each composition factor would be abelian and G would be solvable. Thus the
composition factors are Z13 and A5 .
SOLUTIONS: 7.7 Simple groups
7.7.1. Let G be a group of order 2m, where m is odd. Show that G is not simple.
Solution: Since this problem from the text is very useful, it seemed worthwhile to
include a solution.
Let |G| = 2m, where m is odd and m > 1, and assume that G is simple. Let
: G Sym(G) be defined for all g G by (g) = g , where g : G G
is given by g (x) = gx for all x G. Since G is simple, ker() = h1i, and so
G Sym(G) = S2m . Since |G| = 2m, it follows from Exercise 21 of Section 3.1
of the text that there exists a G with a2 = 1 but a 6= 1. For each x G we
have a (x) = ax and a (ax) = a2 x = x, which implies that a is a product of m
transpositions (x, ax). Hence a is an odd permutation since m is odd. Let H =
{x G | (x) = x is even}. Then H is a subgroup of G, and since a G H, it
is easy to check that [G : H] = 2, and so H is normal, contradicting the assumption
that G is simple.
REVIEW PROBLEMS

Solution: Suppose that |G| = 200 = 23 52 . The number of Sylow 5 subgroups
must be a divisor of 8 and congruent to 1 modulo 5, so it can only be 1, and
this gives us a proper nontrivial normal subgroup.
2. Sharpen Exercise 7.7.3 (b) of the text by showing that if G is a simple group
that contains a subgroup of index n, where n > 2, then G can be embedded
in the alternating group An .
J.A.Beachy 49
Solution: Assume that H is a subgroup with [G : H] = n, and let G act

by multiplication on the left cosets of H. This action is nontrivial, so the
corresponding homomorphism : G Sn is nontrivial. Therefore ker() is
trivial, since G is simple. Thus G can be embedded in Sn . Then An (G)
is a normal subgroup of (G), so since G is simple, either (G) An , or
An (G) = hei. The second case implies |G| = 2, since the square of any
odd permutation is even, and this cannot happen since n > 2.
3. Prove that if G contains a nontrivial subgroup of index 3, then G is not simple.

Solution: If G is simple and contains a subgroup of index 3, then G can be
embedded in A3 . If the subgroup of index 3 is nontrivial, then |G| > 3 = | A3 |,
a contradiction.

Solution: Suppose that |G| = 96 = 25 3. Then the Sylow 2-subgroup of G
has index 3, and so the previous problem shows that G cannot be simple.
An alternate proof is to observe that |G| is not a divisor of 3!.

Solution: Since 132 = 22 3 11, for the number of Sylow subgroups we have
n2 = 1, 3, 11, or 33; n3 = 1, 4, or 22; and n11 = 1 or 12. We will focus on
n3 and n11 . If n3 = 4 we can let the group act on the Sylow 3-subgroups to
produce a homomorphism into S4 . Because 132 is not a divisor of 24 = | S4 |
this cannot be one-to-one and therefore has a nontrivial kernel. If n3 = 22
and n11 = 12 we get too many elements: 44 of order 3 and 120 of order 11.
Thus either n3 = 1 or n11 = 1, and the group has a proper nontrivial normal
subgroup.

Solution: Suppose that |G| = 160 = 25 5. Then the Sylow 2-subgroup of G
has index 5, and 25 5 is not a divisor of 5! = 120, so G must have a proper
nontrial normal subgroup.

Solution: Since 280 = 23 5 7, in this case for the number of Sylow subgroups
we have n2 = 1, 5, 7, or 35; n5 = 1 or 56; and n7 = 1 or 8. Suppose that
n5 = 56 and n7 = 8, since otherwise either there is 1 Sylow 5-subgroup or
1 Sylow 7-subgroup, showing that the group is not simple. Since the corre-
sponding Sylow subgroups are cyclic of prime order, their intersections are
always trivial. Thus we have 8 6 elements of order 7 and 56 4 elements of
order 5, leaving a total of 8 elements to construct all of the Sylow 2-subgroups.
It follows that there can be only one Sylow 2-subgroup, so it is normal, and
the group is not simple in this case.

Solution: We have 1452 = 22 3 112 , so we must have n11 = 1 or 12. In
the second case, we can let the group act by conjugation on the set of Sylow
11-subgroups, producing a nontrivial homomorphism from the group into S12 .
But 1452 is not a divisor of | S12 | = 12! since it has 112 as a factor, while 12!
does not. Therefore the kernel of the homomorphism is a proper nontrivial
normal subgroup, so the group cannot be simple.
8
Galois Theory Solutions
SOLUTIONS: 8.0 Splitting fields
1. Find the splitting field over Q for the polynomial x4 + 4.

Solution: It is useful to first recall Eisensteins irreducibility criterion. Let
f (x) = an xn + an1 xn1 + . . . + a0
be a polynomial with integer coefficients. If there exists a prime number p

such that
an1 an2 . . . a0 0 (mod p)
but an 6 0 (mod p) and a0 6 0 (mod p2 ), then f (x) is irreducible over the
field of Q rational numbers.
We have the factorization x4 + 4 = (x2 + 2x + 2)(x2 2x + 2), where the
factors are irreducible by Eisensteins criterion (p = 2). The roots are 1 i,
so the splitting field is Q(i), which has degree 2 over Q.
An alternate solution
is to solve x4 = 4. To find oneroot,
use DeMoivres
theorem to get 1 = 12 + 12 i, and then multiply by 4 4 = 2, to get 1 + i.
4
The other roots are found by multiplying by the powers of i, because it is a

primitive 4th root of unity.
51
52 J.A.Beachy 8. GALOIS THEORY SOLUTIONS
2. Let p be a prime number. Find the splitting field over Q for xp 1.

Solution: We have xp 1 = (x 1)(xp1 + + x + 1), and the second
factor is irreducible over Q by Corollary 4.3.7 (substitute x + 1 and then
apply Eisensteins criterion, using the prime p). Any root 6= 1 is a primitive
pth root of unity, so Q() contains the other pth roots of unity and therefore
is a splitting field of degree p 1 over Q.
3. Find the degree of the splitting field over Z2 for the polynomial
(x3 + x + 1)(x2 + x + 1).
Solution: The two polynomials are irreducible (you can check that they have
no roots). Therefore the splitting field must have subfields of degree 3 and of
degree 2, so the degree of the splitting field over Z2 must be 6.
4. Let F be an extension field of K. Show that the set of all elements of F that
are algebraic over K is a subfield of F .
Solution: The solution is actually given in Corollary 6.2.7, but it is worth
repeating. Whatever you do, dont try to start with two elements and work
with their respective minimal polynomials.
If u, v are algebraic elements of F , then K(u, v) is a finite extension of K.
Since u + v, u v, and uv all belong to the finite extension K(u, v), these
elements are algebraic. The same argument applies to u/v, if v 6= 0.
5. Let F be a field generated over the field K by u and v of relatively prime

degrees m and n, respectively, over K. Prove that [F : K] = mn.
Solution: Since F = K(u, v) K(u) K, where [K(u) : K] = m and
[K(u, v) : K(u)] n, we have [F : K] mn. But [K(v) : K] = n is a divisor
of [F : K], and since gcd(m, n) = 1, we must have [F : K] = mn.
6. Let F E K be extension fields. Show that if F is algebraic over E and

E is algebraic over K, then F is algebraic over K.
Solution: We need to show that each element u F is algebraic over K. It is
enough to show that u belongs to a finite extension of K. You need to resist
your first reaction to work with E(u), because although it is a finite extension
of E, you cannot conclude that E(u) is a finite extension of K, since E need
not be a finite extension of K.
Going back to the definition of an algebraic element, we can use the fact that
u is a root of some nonzero polynomial f (x) = a0 + a1 x + . . . + an xn over E.
Instead of using all of E, let E 0 be the subfield K(a0 , a1 , . . . , an ) E, which
is a finite extension of K since each coefficient ai E is algebraic over K.
Now u is actually algebraic over the smaller field E 0 , so u lies in the finite
extension E 0 (u) of K. This proves that u is algebraic over K, and completes
the proof that F is algebraic over K.
J.A.Beachy 53
7. Show that if F is an extension field of K of degree 2, then F is the splitting

field over K for some polynomial.
Solution: Let u F , but u 6 K, and let f (x) be its minimal polynomial over
K. Then f (x) has degree 2 over K, so f (x) splits over F since it has a root
in F . Thus F = K(u) is the splitting field of f (x) over K.
8. Let F K be an extension field, with u F . Show that if [K(u) : K] is an

odd number, then K(u2 ) = K(u).
Solution: Since u2 K(u), we have K(u) K(u2 ) K. Suppose that
u 6 K(u2 ). Then x2 u2 is irreducible over K(u2 ) since it has no roots in
K(u2 ), so u is a root of the irreducible polynomial x2 u2 over K(u2 ). Thus
[K(u) : K(u2 )] = 2, and therefore 2 is a factor of [K(u) : K]. This contracts
the assumption that [K(u) : K] is odd.
9. Find the degree [F : Q], where F is the splitting field of the polynomial x3 11
over the field Q of rational numbers.

Solution: The roots of the polynomial are 3 11, 3 11, and 2 3 11, where
is aprimitive cube root of unity. Since is not real, it cannot belong
to Q( 3 11). Since is a root of x2 + x + 1 and F = Q( 3 11, ), we have
[F : Q] = 6.
10. Determine the splitting field over Q for x4 + 2.

Solution: To get the splitting field F , we need to adjoin the 4th roots of
2, which have the form i 4 2, where is a primitive 8th root
of unity and
i = 1, 3, 5, 7. To construct the roots we only need to adjoin 4 2 and i.
To show this, using the
polar

form cos + i sin of the complex

numbers,

we can see that = 22 + 22 i, 3 = 22 + 22 i, 5 = 22 22 i, and

7 = 22 22 i. Thus 4 2 2 = 4 2 + 7 4 2 must belong to F , and then the

cube of this element, which is 4 4 2, must also belong to F . Therefore 4 2 F
(which is somewhat
surprising) and the square of this element is 2,so it
follows that 2 F , and therefore i F . The splitting field is thus Q( 4 2, i),
which has degree 8 over Q.
Note: This is the same field as in Example 8.3.2 of the text, which computes
the Galois group of x4 2 over Q.
11. Determine the splitting field over Q for x4 + x2 + 1.

Solution: Be careful herethis polynomial is not irreducible. In fact, x6 1
factors in two ways, and provides an important clue. Note that x6 1 =
(x3 )2 1 = (x3 1)(x3 +1) = (x1)(x2 +x+1)(x+1)(x2 x+1) and x6 1 =
(x2 )3 1 = (x2 1)(x4 + x2 + 1). Thus x4 + x2 + 1 = (x2 + x + 1)(x2 x + 1),
and the roots of the first factor are the primitive 3rd roots of unity, while the
roots of the second factor are the primitive 6th roots of unity. Adjoining a
root of x2 x + 1 gives all 4 roots, and so the splitting field Q() has degree
2 over Q.

Comments Since 21 + 23 i is a primitive 6th root of unity, the splitting field is

contained in Q( 3, i), but not equal to it, since the latter field
has degree 4
over Q. However, the splitting field could be described as Q( 3i). It is also
interesting that you also obtain the splitting field by adjoining a primitive
cube root of unity.
12. Factor x6 1 over Z7 ; factor x5 1 over Z11 .

Solution: Since the multiplicative group Z7 has order 6, each nonzero element
of Z7 is a root of x6 1. Thus Z7 itself is the splitting field of x6 1. (Of
course, this can also be proved directly from Theorem 6.5.2.) Thus we have
the factorization x6 1 = x(x 1)(x + 1)(x 2)(x + 2)(x 3)(x + 3).
In solving the second half of the problem, looking for roots of x5 1 in Z11 is
the same as looking for elements of order 5 in the multiplicative group Z 11 .
Theorem 6.5.10 states that the multiplicative group F is cyclic if F is a finite
field, so Z
11 is cyclic of order 10. Thus it contains 4 elements of order 5, which
means the x5 1 must split over Z11 . To look for a generator, we might as
well start with 2. The powers of 2 are 22 = 4, 23 = 8, 24 = 5, 25 = 1, so 2
must be a generator. The even powers of 2 have order 5, and these are 4, 5,
26 = 9, and 28 = 3. Therefore x5 1 = (x 1)(x 3)(x 4)(x 5)(x 9).
Comment: The proof that the multiplicative group of a finite field is cyclic
is an existence proof, rather than a constructive one. There is no known
algorithm for finding a generator for the group.
SOLUTIONS: 8.1 Galois groups
1. Determine the group of all automorphisms of a field with 4 elements.

Solution: The automorphism group consists of two elements: the identity
mapping and the Frobenius automorphism.
Read on only if you need more detail. By Theorem 6.5.2, up to isomorphism
there is
only one field with 4 elements, and it can be constructed as F =
Z2 [x]/ x2 + x + 1 . Letting be the coset of x, we have F = {0, 1, , 1 + }.
Any automorphism of F must leave 0 and 1 fixed, so the only possibility for
an automorphism other than the identity is to interchange and 1 + . Is
this an automorphism? Since x2 + x + 1 0, we have x2 x 1 x + 1,
so 2 = 1 + and (1 + )2 = 1 + 2 + 2 = . Thus the function that fixes 0
and 1 while interchanging and 1 + is in fact the Frobenius automorphism
of F .
J.A.Beachy 55
2. Let F be the splitting field in C of x4 + 1.

(a) Show that [F : Q] = 4.
Solution: The polynomial x8 1 factors over Q as x8 1 = (x4 1)(x4 + 1) =
(x 1)(x + 1)(x2 + 1)(x4 + 1). The factor x4 + 1 is irreducible over Q by
Eisensteinscriterion.

The roots of x4 + 1 are thus the primitive 8th roots
2 2
of unity, 2 2 i, and adjoining one of these roots also gives the others,
together with i. Thus the splitting field is obtained in one step, by adjoining
one root of x4 + 1, so its degree over Q is 4.

It is clear that the splitting field can also beobtained by adjoining first 2
and then i, so it can also be expressed as Q( 2, i).

(b) Find automorphisms of F that have fixed fields Q( 2), Q(i), and Q( 2i),
respectively.

Solution: These subfields of Q( 2, i) are the splitting fields of x2 2, x2 + 1,
and x2 + 2, respectively. Any
automorphism musttake roots to roots, so if
is an automorphism of Q( 2, i), we must have ( 2) = 2, and (i) = i.
These possibilities must in fact define 4 automorphisms of the splitting field.

If we
define 1 ( 2) = 2 and 1 (i) = i, then the subfield fixed by 1 is
Q( 2). If we define 2 ( 2) = 2 and 2 (i)= i, then the subfield fixed by
2 is Q(i).
Finally,
for 3 = 2 1 we have 3 ( 2) = 2 and (i) = i, and
thus 3 ( 2i) = 2i, so 3 has Q( 2i) as its fixed subfield.
3. Find the Galois group over Q of the polynomial x4 + 4.

Solution: Review Problem 8.0.1 shows that the splitting field of the polyno-
mial has degree 2 over Q, and so the Galois group must be cyclic of order
2.
4. Find the Galois groups of x3 2 over the fields Z5 and Z11 .

Solution: The polynomial is not irreducible over Z5 , since it factors as x3 2 =
(x + 2)(x2 2x 1). The quadratic factor will have a splitting field of degree
2 over Z5 , so the Galois group is cyclic of order 2.
A search in Z11 for roots of x3 2 yields one and only one: x = 7. Then x3 2
can be factored as x3 2 = (x 7)(x2 + 7x + 5), and the second factor must
be irreducible.

The splitting
field has degree 2 over Z11 , and can be described
as Z11 [x]/ x2 + 7x + 5 . Thus the Galois group is cyclic of order 2.

Solution: We first need to find the the splitting field of x4 1 over Z7 . We
have x4 1 = (x 1)(x + 1)(x2 + 1). A quick check of 2 and 3 shows
that they are not roots of x2 + 1 over Z7 , so x2 + 1 is irreducible over Z7 . To
2
obtain the splitting

2 field we must adjoin a root of x + 1, so we get a splitting
field Z7 [x]/ x + 1 of degree 2 over Z7 .
It follows from Corollary 8.1.7 that the Galois group of x4 1 over Z7 is cyclic
of order 2.

Solution: In this case, x3 2 has no roots in Z7 , so it is irreducible. We first
adjoin a root of x3 2 to Z7 . The resulting extension Z7 () has degree
3 over Z7 , so it has 73 = 343 elements, and each element is a root of the
polynomial x343 x. Let be a generator of the multiplicative group of the
extension. Then ( 114 )3 = 342 = 1, showing that Z7 () contains a nontrivial
cube root of 1. It follows that x3 2 has three distinct roots in Z7 (): ,
114 , and 228 , so therefore Z7 () is a splitting field for x3 2 over Z7 .
Since the splitting field has degree 3 over Z7 , it follows from Corollary 8.1.7
that the Galois group of the polynomial is cyclic of order 3.
SOLUTIONS: 8.2 Repeated roots
1. Let f (x) Q[x] be irreducible over Q, and let F be the splitting field for f (x)
over Q. If [F : Q] is odd, prove that all of the roots of f (x) are real.
Solution: Theorem 8.2.6 implies that f (x) has no repeated roots, so Gal(F/Q)
has odd order. If u is a nonreal root of f (x), then since f (x) has rational co-
efficients, its conjugate u must also be a root of f (x). It follows that F is
closed under taking complex conjugates. Since complex conjugation defines
an automorphism of the complex numbers, it follows that restricting the auto-
morphism to F defines a homomorphism from F into F . Because F has finite
degree over Q, the homomorphism must be onto as well as one-to-one. Thus
complex conjugation defines an element of the Galois group of order 2, and
this contradicts the fact that the Galois group has odd order. We conclude
that every root of f (x) must be real.

2. Find an element with Q( 2, i) = Q().
Solution: It follows
from the solution of Review Problem 8.1.2 that we could
take = 22 + 22 i.
To give another
solution,
if we follow the proof of Theorem 8.2.8, we have
u = u1 = 2, u2 = 2, v = v1 = i, and v2 = i. The proof shows the
u + av6= ui + avj for alli and all j 6=
existence of an element a with 1. To find
such an element we need 2 + ai 6= 2 + a(i) and 2 + ai 6= 2 + a(i).
The easiest solution is to take a = 1, and so we consider the element =
1
2 + i. We haveQ Q() Q( 2, i), and since
Q(), we must have
1
( 2 + i) = ( 2 i)/3 Q(). But then 2 i belongs, and it follows
immediately that 2 and i both belong to Q(), which gives us the desired
equality Q() = Q( 2, i).
J.A.Beachy 57
3. Find the Galois group of x6 1 over Z7 .

Solution: The Galois group is trivial because x6 1 already splits over Z7 .
Comment: Recall that Z7 is the splitting field of x7 x = x(x6 1).
SOLUTIONS: 8.3 The fundamental theorem
1. Prove that if F is a field and K = F G for a finite group G of automorphisms

of F , then there are only finitely many subfields between F and K.
Solution: By Theorem 8.3.6 the given condition is equivalent to the condition
that F is the splitting field over K of a separable polynomial. Since we
must have G = Gal(F/K), the fundamental theorem of Galois theory implies
that the subfields between F and K are in one-to-one correspondence with
the subgroups of F . Because G is a finite group, it has only finitely many
subgroups.
2. Let F be the splitting field over K of a separable polynomial. Prove that if

Gal(F/K) is cyclic, then for each divisor d of [F : K] there is exactly one field
E with K E F and [E : K] = d.
Solution: By assumption we are in the situation of the fundamental theorem
of Galois theory, so that there is a one-to-one order-reversing correspondence
between subfields of F that contain K and subgroups of G = Gal(F/K).
Because G is cyclic of order [F : K], there is a one-to-one correspondence
between subgroups of G and divisors of [F : K]. Thus for each divisor d of
[F : K] there is a unique subgroup H of index d. By the fundamental theorem,
[F H : K] = [G : H], and so E = F H is the unique subfield with [E : K] = d.
Comment: Pay careful attention to the fact that the correspondence between
subfields and subgroups reverses the order.
3. Let F be a finite, normal extension of Q for which | Gal(F/Q)| = 8 and each

element of Gal(F/Q) has order 2. Find the number of subfields of F that
have degree 4 over Q.
Solution: Since F has characteristic zero, the extension is automatically sep-
arable, and so the fundamental theorem of Galois theory can be applied. Any
subfield E of F must contain Q, its prime subfield, and then [E : Q] = 4 iff
[F : E] = 2, since [F : Q] = 8. Thus the subfields of F that have degree 4
over Q correspond to the subgroups of Gal(F/Q) that have order 2. Because
each nontrivial element has order 2 there are precisely 7 such subgroups.
4. Let F be a finite, normal, separable extension of the field K. Suppose that

the Galois group Gal(F/K) is isomorphic to D7 . Find the number of distinct
subfields between F and K. How many of these are normal extensions of K?
Solution: The fundamental theorem of Galois theory converts this question

into the question of enumerating the subgroups of D7 , and determining which
are normal. If we use the usual description of D7 via generators a of order 7
and b of order 2, with ba = a1 b, then a generates a subgroup of order 7, while
each element of the form ai b generates a subgroup of order 2, for 0 i < 7.
Thus there are 8 proper nontrivial subgroups of D7 , and the only one that is
normal is hai, since it has | D7 |/2 elements. As you should recall from the
description of the conjugacy classes of D7 (see Review Problem 7.2.5), con-
jugating one of the 2-element subgroups by a produces a different subgroup,
showing that none of them are normal.

5. Show that F = Q(i, 2) is normal over Q; find its Galois group over Q, and
find all intermediate fields between Q and F .
Solution: It is clear that F is the splitting field over Q of the polynomial
(x2 + 1)(x2 2), and this polynomial is certainly separable. Thus F is a
normal extension of Q.
The work necessary to compute the Galois group over Q has already been
done in the solution to Review Problem 8.1.2, which shows the existence of
3 nontrivial elements of the Galois group, each of order 2. It follows that
the Galois group is isomorphic to Z2 Z2 . Since the Galois group has 3
proper nontrivial subgroups, there will be 3 intermediate subfields E with
Q E F . These have been found in Review Problem 8.1.2, and are
Q( 2), Q(i), and Q( 2i).
Note: Review Problem 8.1.2 begins with the splitting field of x4 + 1 over Q.

6. Let F = Q( 2, 3 2). Find [F : Q] and prove that F is not normal over Q.

Solution: The element 3 2 has minimal polynomial x3 2 over Q. Since 2
has minimal
polynomial x2 2 over Q, we see that Q( 2) cannot be contained
3
in Q( 2) since the first extension has degree 2 over Q while the second has
degree 3 over Q. It follows that [F : Q] = 6.

If F were a normal extension of Q, then since it contains one root 3 2 of the
irreducible polynomial x3 2 it would have to contain all of the roots. But
F R, while the other two roots of x3 2 are non-real, so F cannot be a
normal extension of Q.
7. Find the order of the Galois group of x5 2 over Q.
Solution: Let G be the Galois group in question, and let be a primitive 5th
root of unity. Then the roots of x5 2 are = 5
2 and j , for 1 j 5.
The splitting field over Q is F = Q( 2, ). Since p(x) = x5 2 is irreducible
5

over Q by Eisensteins criterion, it is the minimal polynomial of 5 2. The
element is a root of x5 1 = (x 1)(x4 + x3 + x2 + x + 1), so its minimal
polynomial is q(x) = x4 + x3 + x2 + x + 1. Thus [F : Q] 20, but since the
degree must be divisible by 5 and 4, it follows that [F : Q] = 20, and therefore
|G| = 20.
J.A.Beachy 59
Note: With a good deal of additional work, G can be shown to be isomorphic

to the group F20 studied in Exercises 7.1.12, 7.1.13, and 7.2.11 of the text.
Any automorphism of F must map roots to roots, for both p(x) and q(x).
Define the automorphisms ij , for 0 i 5 and 0 j 4, by setting
ij () = i and ij () = j . It can be shown that kl ij = (k+il),(jl) . If
F20 is given by generators a of order 5 and b of order 4, with the relation
ba = a2 b, define : G F20 by (ij ) = ai bj .
SOLUTIONS: 8.4 Solvability
1. Let f (x) be irreducible over Q, and let F be its splitting field over Q. Show
that if Gal(F/Q) is abelian, then F = Q(u) for all roots u of f (x).
Solution: Since F has characteristic zero, we are in the situation of the fun-
damental theorem of Galois theory. Because Gal(F/Q) is abelian, every in-
termediate extension between Q and F must be normal. Therefore if we
adjoin any root u of f (x), the extension Q(u) must contain all other roots of
f (x), since it is irreducible over Q. Thus Q(u) is a splitting field for f (x), so
Q(u) = F .
2. Find the Galois group of x9 1 over Q.

Solution: We can construct the splitting field F of x9 1 over Q by adjoining
a primitive 9th root of unity to Q. We have the factorization x9 1 =
(x3 1)(x6 + x3 + 1) = (x 1)(x2 + x + 1)(x6 + x3 + 1). Substituting x + 1 in
the last factor yields (x+1)6 +(x+1)3 +1 = x6 +6x5 +15x4 +21x3 +18x2 +9x+3.
This polynomial satisfies Eisensteins criterion for the prime 3, which implies
that the factor x6 + x3 + 1 is irreducible over Q. The roots of this factor
are the primitive 9th roots of unity, so it follows that [F : Q] = 6. The
proof of Theorem 8.4.2 (which is worth remembering) shows that Gal(F/Q)
is isomorphic to a subgroup of Z
9 . Since Z9 is abelian of order 6, it is

isomorphic to Z6 . It follows that Gal(F/Q) = Z6 .
Comment: Section 8.5 of the text contains the full story. Theorem 8.5.4 shows
that the Galois group of xn 1 over Q is isomorphic to Z n , and so the Galois
group is cyclic of order (n) iff n = 2, 4, pk , or 2pk , for an odd prime p.
3. Show that x4 x3 + x2 x + 1 is irreducible over Q, and use it to find the

Galois group of x10 1 over Q.
Solution: We can construct the splitting field F of x10 1 over Q by adjoining
a primitive 10th root of unity to Q. We have the factorization x10 1 = (x5
1)(x5 +1) = (x1)(x4 +x3 +x2 +x+1)(x+1)(x4 x3 +x2 x+1). Substituting
x 1 in the last factor yields (x 1)4 (x 1)3 + (x 1)2 (x 1) + 1 =
(x4 4x3 + 6x2 4x + 1) (x3 3x2 + 3x 1) + (x2 2x + 1) (x 1) + 1 =
x4 5x3 + 10x2 10x + 5. This polynomial satisfies Eisensteins criterion for
the prime 5, which implies that the factor x4 x3 + x2 x + 1 is irreducible

over Q.
The roots of this factor are the primitive 10th roots of unity, so it follows that
[F : Q] = 4. The proof of Theorem 8.4.2 shows that Gal(F/Q) = Z 10 , and so
the Galois group is cyclic of order 4.
4. Show that p(x) = x5 4x + 2 is irreducible over Q, and find the number of
real roots. Find the Galois group of p(x) over Q, and explain why the group
is not solvable.
Solution: The polynomial p(x) is irreducible over Q since it satisfies Eisen-
steins criterion for p = 2. Since p(2) = 22, p(1) = 5, p(0) = 2,
p(1) = 1, and p(2) = 26, we see that p(x) has a real root between 2
and 1, another between 0 and 1, and a third between 1 and 2. The deriva-
tive p0 (x) = 5x4 4 has two real roots, so p(x) has one relative maximum
and one relative minimum, and thus it must have exactly three real roots. It
follows as in the proof of Theorem 8.4.8 that the Galois group of p(x) over Q
is S5 , and so it is not solvable.
Final comments
In Sections 8.5 and 8.6, the text provides some additional information about
actually calculating Galois groups. In particular, the last section outlines
some of the results that are necessary in using a computer algebra program
to compute Galois groups (over Q) of polynomials of low degree.
You can find additional information in Sections 14.6 and 14.8 of the text by
Dummit and Foote. To calculate the Galois group of a polynomial in more
difficult situations, you need to learn about the discriminant of a polynomial,
reduction modulo a prime, and about transitive subgroups of the symmetric
group.
BIBLIOGRAPHY J.A.Beachy 61
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abstract Algebra (undergraduate)

Artin, M., Algebra, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1991
Fraleigh, J., A First Course in Abstract Algebra (6th ed.). Reading, Mass.: Addison-
Wesley Publishing Co., 1999.
Gallian, J., Contemporary Abstract Algebra (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Co., 1998
Herstein, I. N., Abstract Algebra. (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
1996.
, Topics in Algebra (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1975.
Abstract Algebra (graduate)

Clark, A., Elements of Abstract Algebra. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1984.
Dummit, D., and R. Foote, Abstract Algebra (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 1999.
Hungerford, T., Algebra. New York: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 1980.
Jacobson, N. Basic Algebra I (2nd ed.). San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Company
Publishers, 1985.
Van der Waerden, B. L., Algebra (7th ed.). vol. 1. New York: Frederick Unger
Publishing Co., Inc., 1970.
Linear Algebra
Herstein, I. N. and D. J. Winter, Matrix Theory and Linear Algebra. New York:
Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1988.
Hoffman, K. and Kunze, R., Linear Algebra (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971.
Group Theory
Rotman, J. J., An Introduction to the Theory of Groups. (4th ed.). New York:
Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 1995.
Field Theory
Artin, E., Galois theory (2nd ed.). Dover Publications, 1998.
Garling, D.H.J., A Course in Galois Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press,
1986
62 J.A.Beachy INDEX
Index
action, of a group, 14 element, transcendental, 24
algebraic element, 24 exponent, 3
alternating group, 5, 20 extension field, splitting, 26
alternating group, 5 extension problem, 1
Artins lemma, 31 extension, finite, 25
automorphism group, 27 extension, Galois, 31
automorphism group, of a cyclic group, 11 extension, normal, 21
automorphism, Frobenius, 28 extension, radical, 32
automorphism, inner, 11 extension, separable, 30
automorphism, of a group, 12 extension, simple, 28
Burnsides theorem, 13 factor, of a composition series, 1, 19
Cauchys theorem, 13 factor group, 8
Cayleys theorem, 5 field extension, simple, 23
center, 8 field, finite, 28
centralizer, of an element, 12 field, Galois, 28
characteristic subgroup, 11, 40 field, of rational functions, 30
Chinese remainder theorem, 3 field, perfect, 29
class equation, for Dn , 13, 41 field, splitting, 23
class equation, generalized, 15 finite abelian group, 4
class equation, 13 finite extension, 25
commutator, 7, 19, 36 finite field, 28
commutator, in Dn , 7, 36 first isomorphism theorem, for groups, 10
commutator subgroup, 19 fixed subfield, 31
composition factor, 1, 19 fixed subset, 14
composition series, 1, 19 Frobenius automorphism, 28, 54
conjugacy class equation, 13 fundamental theorem, of finite abelian
conjugacy class, 12 groups, 18
conjugacy in Sn , 12 fundamental theorem, of Galois theory, 31
conjugate element, in a group, 12 fundamental theorem, of group
conjugate permutations, 12 homomorphisms, 9
conjugate, of a subfield, 31 G-fixed subfield, 31
coset, left, 8 G-invariant subfield, 31
coset, right, 8 Galois extension, 31
criterion, of Eisenstein, 51 Galois field, 28
cyclic group, 2 Galois group, of an equation, 27
cyclotomic polynomial, 33 Galois group, of an extension field, 27
degree, of a field extension, 25 Galois theory, fundamental theorem of, 31
degree, of an element, 24 Galois, 2, 23
derivative, formal, 29 general linear group, 6
derived subgroup, 19 general linear group, order of, 7, 37
dihedral group, 5 generalized class equation, 15
direct product, 3 generator, of a cyclic group, 2
Eisensteins irreducibility criterion, 51 group, alternating, 5, 20
element, algebraic, 24 group, cyclic, 2
element, primitive, 30 group, dihedral, 5
INDEX J.A.Beachy 63
group, factor, 8 projective special linear group, 7, 20

group, finite abelian, 4 quintic, insolvability of, 33
group, Galois, 27 radical extension, 32
group, general linear, 6 radicals, solvability by, 32
group, of automorphisms, 27 rational function field, 30
group, projective special linear, 7, 20 right coset, 8
group, simple, 1, 20 root, multiplicity of, 29
group, solvable, 19 root, simple, 29
group, solvable, 2 root of unity, 31
group, special linear, 6, 20 root of unity, primitive, 31
group, symmetric, 5, 20 second isomorphism theorem, for groups, 10
group action, 14 separable extension, 30
group automorphism, 11 separable polynomial, 30
Holder, 2 simple extension field, 24, 28, 30
Holder program, 2 simple group, 1, 20, 29
index, of a subgroup, 8 simplicity, of the alternating group, 20
inner automorphism, of a group, 11 simplicity, of the projective special linear
insolvability of the quintic, 33 group, 20
invariant subfield, 31 solvability, by radicals, 23, 32
irreducibility criterion, of Eisenstein, 51 solvable group, 2, 19
isomorphism theorem, first, 10 special linear group, 6, 20
isomorphism theorem, second, 10 splitting field, 23, 26, 28
Jordan, 2 stabilizer, 14
Jordan-Holder theorem, 1, 19 subfield, conjugate, 31
Lagranges theorem, 16 subfield, fixed, 31
left coset, 8 subfield, G-fixed, 31
lemma, of Artin, 31 subfield, G-invariant, 31
minimal polynomial, of an element, 24 subfield, invariant, 31
multiplicity, of a root, 29 subfield, prime, 27
natural projection, 8 subgroup, characteristic, 11, 40
normal extension, 31 subgroup, commutator, 19
normal subgroup, 8 subgroup, derived, 19
nth root of unity, 32 subgroup, normal, 8
nth root of unity, primitive, 32 subgroup, Sylow, 16
orbit, 14 Sylow, 16
p-group, 12 Sylow p-subgroup, 16
perfect field, 29 Sylows theorems, 16
permutation matrix, 35 symmetric group, 5, 20
permutations, conjugate, 12 theorem, first isomorphism, 10
polynomial, cyclotomic, 33 theorem, of Burnside, 13
polynomial, derivative of, 29 theorem, of Cauchy, 13
polynomial, Galois group of, 27 theorem, of Jordan and Holder, 1, 19
polynomial, minimal, 24 theorem, of Lagrange, 16
polynomial, separable, 30 theorem, second isomorphism, 10
prime subfield, 27 theorems, of Sylow, 16
primitive element, 30 transcendental element, 24
primitive nth root of unity, 32
projection, natural, 8

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ABSTRACT ALGEBRA:

Northern Illinois University

Abstract Algebra, Second Edition

Permission is granted to copy this document in electronic form, or to print it for

7 Group Theory Solutions 35

8 Galois Theory Solutions 51

DeKalb, Illinois John A. Beachy

structure of G. The most elementary possibility for G is that G = N K, for some

7.0 Some Examples

Z12 h3i h6i h0i

Z12 h2i h6i h0i

Using the decomposition Z12

Finite abelian groups

The symmetric groups Sn

The alternating groups An

Any permutation in Sn can be written as a product of transpositions, and al-

The dihedral groups Dn

The dihedral group Dn is defined for n 3 in Definition 3.6.3 as the group

to itself and am , while am b is conjugate to am+2k b, for any k Z. Thus if n is

The general linear groups GLn (F )

GL2 (Z3 ) SL2 (Z3 ) Z(GL2 (Z3 ))

The special linear groups SLn (F )

GLn (F ) SLn (F ) Z(SLn (F )) h1i ,

REVIEW PROBLEMS: SECTION 7.0

2. What is the largest order of an element in Z

5. Find the center of the alternating group An .

6. In a group G, any element of the form xyx1 y 1 , with x, y G, is called a

7. Prove that SL2 (Z2 )

7.1 Isomorphism theorems

: G1 G2 , then for any y G2 the solutions in G1 of the equation (x) = y form

Theorem 3.8.8 (Fundamental homomorphism theorem) If : G1 G2 is a

The accompanying diagram, in Figure 7.1.0, shows how can be written as

Proposition 3.8.6 (b) states that if N is a normal subgroup of G, then there

Theorem 7.1.1 (First isomorphism theorem) Let G be a group with normal

Theorem 7.1.2 (Second isomorphism theorem) Let G be a group, let N be a

REVIEW PROBLEMS: SECTION 7.1

1. Let G1 and G2 be groups of order 24 and 30, respectively. Let G3 be a

3. Let H be a nontrivial subgroup of Sn . Show that either H An , or exactly

5. Let G be a group and let N be a normal subgroup of G of finite index. Suppose

6. Let G be a finite group and let K be a normal subgroup of G such that

7. Let N be a normal subgroup of a group G. Suppose that |N | = 5 and |G| is

Let G be a group, and let N be a subgroup of G. By definition, N is normal in

Recall that a group of order pn , with p a prime number and n 1, is called a

REVIEW PROBLEMS: SECTION 7.2

7.3 Group actions

One possible approach in studying the structure of a given group is to find

where is a set of representatives of the orbits Gx for which |Gx| > 1.

Lemma 7.3.7 gives an interesting result when G is a p-group acting on a finite

Proposition Let G be a group of order n, and assume that G acts nontrivially on

REVIEW PROBLEMS: SECTION 7.3

3. Let F = Z3 , G = GL2 (F ), and S = F 2 . Find the generalized class equation

4. Let F = Z3 , G = GL2 (F ), and let N be the center of G. Prove that G/N = S4

7.4 The Sylow theorems

REVIEW PROBLEMS: SECTION 7.4

6. Show that there is no simple group of order 200.

8. If p is a prime number, find all Sylow p-subgroups of the symmetric group Sp .

11. Prove that if N is a normal subgroup of G that contains a Sylow p-subgroup

7.5 Finite abelian groups

of G, then there exists a subgroup H with G = hai H. We finally come to the