Groups Ia Practice Sheet A

Michaelmas 2014 Julia Goedecke

These questions are not supposed to form the work for one of the regular 4 groups supervisions,
but instead they give you opportunities to practise getting used to axioms and definitions in
your own time. If you find this useful, try to make similar questions for yourself on later
material of the course.
Examples of groups
1. Show that Q∗ = Q \ {0} (rational numbers without zero) is a group under multiplication.
[This means that you should use standard multiplication as the operation for the group.] Is
R+ (positive real numbers) a group under multiplication?

2. Show that R3 with (componentwise) addition (you might know it as vector addition) is a
group. What is the inverse to a general vector (x, y, z)?

3. Do the natural numbers N (with or without zero, choose which you prefer) form a group
under addition? If yes, show carefully that all axioms hold. If no, show which axioms do
not hold.

4. Is Q a group under multiplication? Again prove your answer carefully.

5. Show that Q∗ = Q \ {0} does not form a group under division. Which axioms do not hold?
[You should in particular pay attention to the identity axiom.]

6. On the integers Z define the operation n ∗ m = n + m + 1. Show that Z forms a group under
this operation. What is the identity element? Show that −(n + 2) is the inverse to n. Is the
group abelian?

7. Show that composition of functions is always an associative operation. What extra properties
might you need to get a group with composition as the group operation?

8. * This is a more involved question, but still very interesting to try.

Let X be a set. The powerset P(X) is the set of all subsets of X:

P(X) = {A | A ⊆ X}

Does P(X) form a group under the operation ∩ (intersection)? Does P(X) form a group
under the operation ∪ (union)?
The symmetric difference of two subsets A, B ⊆ X is the set of elements which are in
exactly one of A and B:
A 4 B = (A ∪ B) \ (A ∩ B).
Show that P(X) forms a group under 4. What is the identity element? For now, assume
that symmetric difference is an associative operation. You will meet a nice way of proving
it later in Numbers and Sets.
 Groups Ia Practice Sheet B
Michaelmas 2014 Julia Goedecke

These questions are not supposed to form the work for one of the regular 4 groups supervisions,
but instead they give you opportunities to practise getting used to axioms and definitions in
your own time. If you find this useful, try to make similar questions for yourself on later
material of the course.
Properties of general groups
In the following questions, let G be a group with operation ∗.

1. Without looking at your lecture notes, show that inverses are unique. That is, if g, h ∈ G
with h ∗ g = e = g ∗ h, show that h = g −1 .

2. Show that the equation a ∗ x = b has a unique solution for x in G, and find this solution.

3. For a, b, c, d ∈ G, use the associativity axiom to show that ((a ∗ b) ∗ c) ∗ d = a ∗ (b ∗ (c ∗ d)).

You will find similarly that all possible ways to bracket this product of four elements gives
the same answer. Does this extend to products of five elements?

4. What is the inverse of a ∗ b ∗ a−1 ? Simplify the expression (a ∗ b ∗ a−1 )n as much as you
can. [Here “to the power n” just means multiply (or “star”) the expression in the brackets
n times with itself.]

Subgroups

5. Show that the even numbers 2Z = {2k | k ∈ Z} form a subgroup of Z. Show also that for
any n ∈ Z, the set nZ = {nk | k ∈ Z} forms a subgroup of Z.

6. (a) Show that the rotations of a regular triangle form a subgroup of all symmetries of the
triangle. (You can also do this for a different or general n-gon if you wish.)
(b) Show that the symmetries of a regular triangle form a subgroup of the symmetries of a
regular hexagon. (How many of such subgroups are there in the symmetries of a regular
hexagon?)

7. Show that {(x, 0, 0) | x ∈ R} is a subgroup of R3 (with addition). Show also that the sets
{(x, x, x) | x ∈ R} and {(x, y, 0) | x, y ∈ R} are subgroups. Why is {(x, 1, 2) | x ∈ R} not a
subgroup?
 Groups Ia Practice Sheet C
Michaelmas 2014 Julia Goedecke

These questions are not supposed to form the work for one of the regular 4 groups supervisions,
but instead they give you opportunities to practise getting used to axioms and definitions in
your own time. If you find this useful, try to make similar questions for yourself on later
material of the course.
Homomorphisms
1. Show that f : Z −→ Z given by f (n) = 2n is a group homomorphism. Similarly show
fk : Z −→ Z with fk (n) = kn is a group homomorphism. Can you think of any others?

2. Show that f : R −→ R3 with f (x) = (x, x, x) and g : R3 −→ R with g((x, y, z)) = x are group
homomorphisms. What about h : R3 −→ R with h((x, y, z)) = x + y + z? Can you find any
more similar group homomorphisms?

3. Recall that Q∗ = Q \ {0} forms a group under multiplication. Show that f : Q∗ −→ Q∗ with
f ( ab ) = ab is a group homomorphism. A similar idea with g : G −→ G defined by g(a) = a−1
only works for abelian groups! (Why?)

4. Show that f : Z −→ Z with f (n) = n + 1 is not a group homomorphism.

5. Show that the only constant function f : G −→ H between to groups which is a group
homomorphism is the one defined by f (a) = e for all a ∈ G.

6. Let f : G −→ H be a group homomorphism. Show that f (g −1 ) = f (g)−1 . [Remember that

inverses are unique!]
 Groups Example Sheet 1
Michaelmas 2014 Julia Goedecke
Please send comments and corrections to jg352.

1. Let G be any group. Show that the identity e is the unique solution of the equation a2 = a.

2. Let H1 and H2 be two subgroups of the group G.

Show that the intersection H1 ∩ H2 is a subgroup of G.
Show that the union H1 ∪ H2 is a subgroup of G if and only if one of the Hi contains the
other.

3. Show that the set of functions on R of the form f (x) = ax + b, where a and b are real
numbers and a 6= 0, forms a group under composition of functions. Is this group abelian?

4. Let G be a finite group.

(a) Let a ∈ G. Show that there is a positive integer n such that an = e, the identity element.
(The least such positive n is the order of a.)
(b) Show that there exists a positive integer n such that an = e for all a ∈ G.
(The least such positive n is the exponent of G.)

5. Show that the set G of complex numbers of the form exp(iπt) with t rational is a group
under multiplication (with identity 1). Show that G is infinite, but that every element a of
G has finite order.

6. Let S be a finite non-empty set of non-zero complex numbers which is closed under mul-
tiplication. Show that S is a subset of the set {z ∈ C : |z| = 1}. Show that S is
a group, and deduce that for some n ∈ N, S is the set of n-th roots of unity; that is,
S = {exp(2kπi/n) : k = 0, . . . , n − 1}.

7. Let G = {x ∈ R : x 6= −1}, and let x ∗ y = x + y + xy, where xy denotes the usual product
of two real numbers. Show that (G, ∗) is a group. What is the inverse 2−1 of 2 in this group?
Solve the equation 2 ∗ x ∗ 5 = 6.

8. Let G be a group in which every element other than the identity has order two. Show that G
is abelian. Show also that if G is finite, the order of G is a power of 2. [Consider a minimal
generating set.]

9. Let G be a group of even order. Show that G contains an element of order two.

10. Let G be a finite group and f a homomorphism from G to H. Let a ∈ G. Show that the
order of f (a) is finite and divides the order of a.

11. Show that the dihedral group D12 is isomorphic to the direct product D6 × C2 . Is D16
isomorphic to D8 × C2 ?

12. How many homomorphisms D2n −→ Cn are there? How many isomorphisms Cn −→ Cn ?
 Groups Example Sheet 2
Michaelmas 2014 Julia Goedecke
Please send comments and corrections to jg352.

1. Write these permutations as products of disjoint cycles and compute their order and sign:

(a) (12)(1234)(12);
(b) (123)(235)(345)(45).

2. What is the largest possible order of an element in S5 ? And in S9 ?

Show that every element in S10 of order 14 is odd.

3. Let G be a subgroup of the symmetric group Sn . Show that if G contains any odd permu-
tations then precisely half of the elements of G are odd.

4. (a) Show that the symmetric group S4 has a subgroup of order d for each divisor d of 24,
and find two non-isomorphic subgroups of order 4.
(b) Show that the alternating group A4 has a subgroup of each order up to 4, but there is
no subgroup of order 6.

5. A finite group G is generated by a set T of elements of G if each element of G can be written

as a finite product (possibly with repetitions) of powers of elements of T . Show that the
symmetric group Sn is generated by each of the following sets of permutations:

(a) the set {(j, k) : 1 ≤ j < k ≤ n} of all transpositions in Sn ;

(b) the set {(j, j + 1) : 1 ≤ j < n};
(c) the set {(1, k) : 1 < k ≤ n};
(d) the set {(1, 2), (12 . . . n)} consisting of a transposition and an n-cycle.

6. Let H be a subgroup of the group G. Find a (natural) bijection between the set of all left
cosets and the set of all right cosets of H in G.

7. Show that if a group G contains an element of order six, and an element of order ten, then
G has order at least 30.

8. Let H be a subgroup of the (finite) group G, let K be a subgroup of H. Show that the index
|G : K| equals the product |G : H||H : K|.

9. Show that the set {1, 3, 5, 7} with multiplication modulo 8 is a group. Is this group isomor-
phic to C4 or C2 × C2 ? Justify your answer.

10. Let G be a group. If H is a normal subgroup of G and K is a normal subgroup of H, is K

a normal subgroup of G?

11. Let K be a normal subgroup of index m in the group G. Show that am ∈ K for any a ∈ G.

12. Show that any group of order 10 is either cyclic or dihedral.

13. Let D12 = hr, s | r6 = e = s2 , rs = sr−1 i be the dihedral group of order 12.

(a) Find all subgroups of D12 . Which of them are normal? [There are 16 subgroups in total.]
(b) For each proper normal subgroup N of D12 , determine what standard group the quotient
D12 /N is isomorphic to.
14. Consider a pack of 2n cards, numbered from 0 to 2n − 1. An outer perfect shuffle is a shuffle
of the cards, in which one first splits the pack in two halves of equal sizes and then interleaves
the cards of the two halves in such a way that the top and bottom card remain in the top
and bottom position. Show that the order of the outer shuffle is the multiplicative order of
2 modulo 2n − 1.
Deduce that after at most 2n − 2 repetitions of the outer shuffle we get the cards in the pack
into the original position.
What is the actual order of the outer shuffle of the usual pack of 52 cards?
(There is also an inner perfect shuffle which differs from the outer shuffle in that the inter-
leaving of the cards of the two halves is done so that neither the top nor the bottom card
remains in the same position. What is the order of this shuffle of the usual pack of 52 cards?)

2
 Groups Example Sheet 3
Michaelmas 2014 Julia Goedecke
Please send comments and corrections to jg352.

1. Let D2n be the group of symmetries of a regular n-gon. Show that any subgroup K of
rotations is normal in D2n , and identify the quotient D2n /K. (Identify means: what standard
group is it isomorphic to?)

2. Show that D2n has two conjugacy classes of reflections if n is even, but only one if n is odd.

3. Let Q be a plane quadrilateral. Show that its group G(Q) of symmetries has order at most
8. For each n in the set {1, 2, . . . , 8}, either give an example of a quadrilateral Q with G(Q)
of order n, or show that no such quadrilateral can exist.

4. List all the subgroups of the dihedral group D8 , and indicate which pairs of subgroups are
isomorphic.
Repeat for the quaternion group Q8 .

5. Find the conjugacy classes of D8 and their sizes. Show that the centre Z of the group has
order 2, and identify the quotient group D8 /Z of order 4.
Repeat with the quaternion group Q8 .

6. What is the group of all rotational symmetries of a Toblerone box, a solid triangular prism
with an equilateral triangle as a cross-section, with ends orthogonal to the longitudinal axis
of the prism? And the group of all symmetries?

7. Suppose that the group G acts on the set X. Let x ∈ X, let y = g(x) for some g ∈ G. Show
that the stabiliser Gy equals the conjugate gGx g −1 of the stabiliser Gx .

8. Let G be a finite group and let X be the set of all subgroups of G. Show that G acts on X
by g : H 7−→ gHg −1 for g ∈ G and H ∈ X, where gHg −1 = {ghg −1 : h ∈ H}. Show that the
orbit containing H in this action of G has size at most |G|/|H|. If H is a proper subgroup
of G, show that there exists an element of G which is contained in no conjugate gHg −1 of
H in G.

9. Let G be a finite group of prime power order pa , with a > 0. By considering the conjugation
action of G, show that the centre Z of G is non-trivial.
Show that any group of order p2 is abelian, and that there are up to isomorphism just two
groups of that order for each prime p.

10. Find the conjugacy classes of elements in the alternating group A5 , and determine their sizes.
Show that A5 has no non-trivial normal subgroups (so A5 is a simple group).
Show that if H is a proper subgroup of index n in A5 then n > 4. [Consider the left coset
action of A5 on the set of left cosets of H in A5 .]
 Groups Example Sheet 4
Michaelmas 2014 Julia Goedecke
Please send comments and corrections to jg352.

1. Let G be the set of all 3 × 3 matrices of the form

 
1 x y
0 1 z 
 

0 0 1
with x, y, z ∈ R. Show that G is a subgroup of the group of invertible real matrices under
multiplication. Let H be the subset of G given by those matrices with x = z = 0. Show that
H is a normal subgroup of G and identify G/H. (This G is called the Heisenberg group.)
2. Take the Heisenberg group as above, but this time with entries in Z3 . Show that every non-
identity element of this group has order 3, but the group is not isomorphic to C3 × C3 × C3 .
3. Recall that the centre of a group G consists of all those elements of G that commute with
all the elements of G. Show that the centre Z of the general linear group GL2 (C) consists
of all non-zero scalar matrices. Identify the centre of the special linear group SL2 (C).
4. Consider the set of matrices of the form ( 00 0t ) for t ∈ R∗ = R \ {0}. Show that these form
a group under matrix multiplication. More generally, show that if a set of matrices forms
a group under multiplication, then either all matrices in the set have non-zero determinant,
or all have zero determinant.
5. Let G be the set of all 3 × 3 real matrices of determinant 1 of the form
 
a 0 0
b x y  .
 

c z w

Verify that G is a group. Find a homomorphism from G onto the group GL2 (R) of all
non-singular 2 × 2 real matrices, and find its kernel.
6. Let K be a normal subgroup of order 2 in the group G. Show that K lies in the centre of
G; that is, show kg = gk for all k ∈ K and g ∈ G.
Exhibit a surjective homomorphism of the orthogonal group O(3) onto C2 and another onto
the special orthogonal group SO(3).
7. Consider the Möbius maps f (z) = e2πi/n z and g(z) = 1/z. Show that the subgroup G =
hf, gi of the Möbius group M is a dihedral group of order 2n.
8. Let g(z) = (z + 1)/(z − 1). By considering the points g(0), g(∞), g(1) and g(i), find the
image of the real axis R and of the imaginary axis I under g. What is g(Σ), where Σ is the
first quadrant in C?
9. What is the order of the Möbius map f (z) = iz? If h is any Möbius map, find the order of
hf h−1 and its fixed points. Use this to construct a Möbius map of order four that fixes 1
and −1.
10. Let G be the group of Möbius transformations which map the set {0, 1, ∞} onto itself. Find
all the elements in G. To which standard group is G isomorphic? Justify your answer.
Find the group of Möbius transformations which map the set {0, 2, ∞} onto itself. [Try to
do as little calculation as possible.]
11. Let G be as in the previous question. Show that, given σ ∈ S4 , there exists fσ ∈ G for
which, whenever z1 , z2 , z3 and z4 are four distinct points in C∞ , we have fσ ([z1 , z2 , z3 , z4 ]) =
[zσ(1) , zσ(2) , zσ(3) , zσ(4) ]. [You may want to start with σ a transposition in S4 .]
Show that the map σ 7−→ fσ−1 from S4 to G gives a homomorphism from S4 onto S3 . Find
its kernel.

12. Let G be the special linear group SL2 (5) of 2 × 2 matrices of determinant 1 over the field
F5 of integers modulo 5, so that the arithmetic in G is modulo 5. Show that G is a group of
order 120. Prove that −I is the only element of G of order 2.
* Find a subgroup of G isomorphic to Q8 , and an element of order 3 normalising it in G.
Deduce that G has a subgroup of index 5, and obtain a homomorphism from G to S5 . Deduce
that SL2 (5)/{±I} is isomorphic to the alternating group A5 .
Show that SL2 (5) has no subgroup isomorphic to A5 .