Modern Algebra Test

MADURA COACHING CENTRE

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Prof. Suresh - Ph: +91 8838037215.
CSIR NET/JRF | SET | TRB PG Asst., Poly. Lecturer | – MATHEMATICS

Modern Algebra – Test No. 1 with answer (explanation)

1. Which of the following is not a group?

A) G is the set of nonzero rational numbers, under multiplication.
B) G is the set of complex numbers, under addition.
C) G is the set of real numbers, under multiplication.
D) G is the set of complex numbers of absolute value 1 under multiplication.

2. Which of the following is the least integer n such that an = e for every element a  S3,
the symmetric group on three letters?
A) 3 B) 4 C) 5 D) 6

3. Let G be a group and let x, y, z  G. If xyz = e then which is need not be true?
A) yzx = e B) zxy = e C) yxz = e D) All A, B, C.

4. Using Lagrange's theorem, determine the number of subgroups of the group

{ 1, a, a 2 ,....,a p 1 | a p  1 } , where p is a prime number.
A) 1 B) 2 C) p D) p + 1.

5. Let S4 be the symmetric group on 4 letters. How many elements of S4 have order 4?
A) 4 B) 6 C) 8 D) 12

6. Let G be the group of real numbers under addition.

Let the mapping : G G be defined by (x) = x + 1 for all x Then
A) is not a homomorphism
B) is a homomorphism, which is neither 1-1 nor onto
C) is a homomorphism and 1-1, but not onto
D) is an isomorphism of G onto G.

7. In a group G, a relation R is defined as follows: For a, b G, aRb if there exists an element

c G such that b = ac. Then the relation R is:
A) Reflexive and symmetric only B) Reflexive and transitive only
C) Equivalence D) partial ordered.

8. The number of group homomorphisms from Z10 to Z20 is [CSIR NET June 2018]
A) Zero B) One C) Five D) Ten

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 Modern Algebra Test
9. Let p be a prime number. The order of p - Sylow subgroup of the group GL50(FP) of
invertible 50 x 50 matrices with entries from the finite field FP, equals:
A) p50 B) p125 C) p1250 D) p1225 [CSIR NET Dec 2011]

10. Consider the following statements:

a) There exists unique field with 121 elements
b) There exists a field with 27 elements
c) The exists 9 different fields with 9 elements
Among the above statements, which are true?
A) (a) & (b) alone B) (b) & (c) alone C) (a) alone D) (a), (b) & (c)

11. Let f (x) = and g (x) = Then over Z3 ,

A) f (x) and g (x) are irreducible B) f (x) irreducible, but g (x) is not
C) g (x) is irreducible, but f (x) is not D) Neither f (x) nor g (x) is irreducible

12. Let G denote the group of all the automorphisms of the field that consists of 2100
elements. Then the number of distinct subgroups of G is equal to
A) 4 B) 3 C) 100 D) 9

13. The number of non-singular 3 x 3 matrices over F2, (the finite field with two elements) is
A) 168 B) 384 C) 23 D) 32

14. If R is a commutative ring and a  R and let aR = {ar / r R} is [TRB POLYTECHNIC]

A) not an ideal of R B) a two sided ideal of R
C) a field of R D) not a field of R.

15. If I is a left ideal and J is a right ideal then (i) IJ is an ideal (ii) JI is an ideal
A) Both (i) & (ii) are true B) Both (i) & (ii) are false
C) Only (i) is true D) Only (ii) is true

16. An ideal M in (Z, +, .) is a maximal ideal iff

A) M = nZ, n is a positive integer B) M = pZ , p is prime
C) M = Z D) M is finite.

17. If f : R  R’ is a homomorphism of rings with identity(unity), then f is one-one if

[TRB PG]
A) ker f = {0} B) ker f  {0}
C) ker f = {1}, where 1 is the identity of R D) ker f = {1’}, where 1’ is the identity of R’

18. In an Euclidean ring with norm d, any element a is a unit iff

A) d(a) = 0 B) d (a) > 0 C) d(a) =  D) d(a) = d(1)
TRB PG Asst. | Polytechnic | CSIR NET/SET Maths – Prof. Suresh, Ph: 8838037215. 2
 Modern Algebra Test
19. Let PID, ED, UFD denote the set of all principal ideal domains, Euclidean domains,
Unique factorization domains, respectively. Then
A) UFD  ED  PID B) PID  ED  UFD C) ED  PID  UFD D) PID  UFD  ED

20. Let R[x] be the polynomial ring of commutative ring R, then

A) if R is an ID, then R[x] is an ID B) if R is a field, then R[x] is a field
C) if R is a ED, then R[x] is a ED D) if R is a PID, then R[x] is a PID.

***All the Best***

Modern Algebra Test No. 1- Key

1 C 11 B

2 D 12 D

3 C 13 A

4 B 14 B

5 B 15 C

6 A 16 B

7 C 17 A

8 D 18 D

9 D 19 C

10 A 20 A

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 Modern Algebra Test
Explanation / Short cut / Formula / Result
1. Solution (C): The element 0 in G does not have multiplicative inverse in G.

2. Solution (D): Elements of S3 are

e = (1)(2)(3), (2 3), (1 2), (1 3), (1 2 3), (1 3 2)
If a = e then a6 = e.
If a = 2-cyclc then a2 = e  (a2)3 = e3  a6 = e.
If a = 3-cyclc then a3 = e  (a3)2 = e2  a6 = e.
So, a6 = e for every element a  S3 .

3. Solution (C): xyz = e 

 yz =
 yzx =
yzx = e
Similarly zxy = e.
yxz = e need not be true.

4. Solution (B): Let G = { 1, a, a 2 ,....,a p 1 | a p  1 }.

o(G) = p , prime. p has only 2 divisors.
So by Lagrange's theorem, G can have only 2 subgroups.

5. Solution (B):
Number of elements of order 4 in S4 = Number of 4-cycles in S4
= 4P4 / 4 {Formula: Number of r-cycles in Sn = nPr / r
= 4! / 4
= 6.

6. Solution (A):
Short cut: Check (0) = 0 or not. If (0)  0 then is not a homomorphism.
Here (0) = 0 + 1 = 1  0  is not a homomorphism.

7. Solution (C):
It satisfies Reflexive, symmetric and transitive  R is an equivalence relation.

8. Solution (D):
Formula: No. of group homomorphisms from Zm Zn = gcd (m, n).
No. of group homomorphisms from Z10 Z20 = gcd (10, 20) = 10.

9. Solution (D):
∑
Formula 1: Order of GLn(Fp) = (pn -1)( pn-1 -1)...(p - 1).
∑
2: o(p-SSG) =

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 Modern Algebra Test
Let G = GL50 (Fp)
∑
o(p-SSG) = pn(n-1)/2 = p50(50-1)/2 = p25.49 = p1225

10. Solution (A): There exists unique field with pn , (p-prime) elements.
121 = 112, 27 = 33.

11. Solution (B): Z3 = {0, 1, 2}

f (x) = is a polynomial of degree 3.
Here f (0)  0, f (1)  0, f (2)  0 mod 3.
So f (x) is irreducible over Z3.
g (x) = is a polynomial of degree 2.
Here g(2) = 12 = 0 mod 3.
So g (x) is NOT irreducible over Z3.

12. Solution (D):

If |F| = pn then number of subfields of F is (n)
(100) = (22 x 52) = (2 + 1) (2 + 1) = 9.

13. Solution (A):

The number of non-singular 3 x 3 matrices over F2 is equal to o(GL(3, F2))
|GL(n, zp)| = (pn - 1)(pn - p) - (pn - pn-1)
= (23 - 1) (23 - 2) (23 - 22)
=7x6x4
=168.
14. Solution: (B)
Since R is a commutative ring, aR is left ideal iff aR is right ideal.
 aR is a two sided ideal of R.

15. Solution (C):

Result: If I is a left ideal and J is a right ideal then
(i) IJ is an ideal (ii) JI need not be an ideal. (JI need not be left or right ideal).

16. Solution (B): M = pZ = <p> is a maximal ideal iff p is prime.

17. Solution (A):

Result: If ker f = {0} then the homomorphism f is one-one.

18. Solution (D): Result a is a unit iff d(a) = d(1) . (Reference I.N Herstein Algebra book).

19. Solution (C): By direct result ED  PID  UFD.

20. Solution (A): By direct result.

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TRB PG Asst. | Polytechnic | CSIR NET/SET Maths – Prof. Suresh, Ph: 8838037215. 5