11  |  Fundamental Theorem of Finite Abelian Groups 213

The Isomorphism Classes

of Abelian Groups
The Fundamental Theorem is extremely powerful. As an application,
we can use it as an algorithm for constructing all Abelian groups of any
order. Let’s look at groups whose orders have the form pk, where p is
prime and k # 4. In general, there is one group of order pk for each set of
positive integers whose sum is k (such a set is called a partition of k);
that is, if k can be written as
k 5 n1 1 n2 1 ? ? ? 1 nt,
where each ni is a positive integer, then
Zp n1 % Zp n2 % ? ? ? % Zp nt
is an Abelian group of order pk.

Possible direct
Order of G Partitions of k products for G
p 1 Zp
2
p 2 Zp2
1 1 1 Zp % Zp
3
p 3 Zp3
2 1 1 Zp2 % Zp
1 1 1 1 1 Zp % Zp % Zp
4
p 4 Z p4
3 1 1 Zp3 % Zp
2 1 2 Zp2 % Zp2
2 1 1 1 1 Zp2 % Zp % Zp
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Zp % Zp % Zp % Zp

Furthermore, the uniqueness portion of the Fundamental Theorem

guarantees that distinct partitions of k yield distinct isomorphism
classes. Thus, for example, Z9 % Z3 is not isomorphic to Z3 % Z3 % Z3.
A reliable mnemonic for comparing external direct products is the can-
cellation property: If A is finite, then
A % B L A % C    if and only if    B L C  (see [1]).
Thus, Z4 % Z4 is not isomorphic to Z4 % Z2 % Z2, because Z4 is not
isomorphic to Z2 % Z2.
To appreciate fully the potency of the Fundamental Theorem, con­trast
the ease with which the Abelian groups of order pk, k # 4, were