NCM Annual Foundational School, April-May 2020

Algebra
Exercise Set 1 : Basics of Group Theory; Permutations

1. Let G be a group and H be a subgroup of G. For g ∈ G, denote by gH the corresponding left coset
given by {gh : h ∈ H}. Also let G/H = {gH : g ∈ G} denote the set of all left cosets of H in G. Show
that any two left cosets are either disjoint or identical. Consequently, G is the disjoint union of distinct
left cosets of H in G. Use this to show that if G is finite, then |G| = |H||G/H|, and in particular,
|H| | |G|. (Lagrange’s Theorem). Deduce the following.
(i) If G is finite, then o(g) | |G| for all g ∈ G, where o(g) denotes the order of g in G.
(ii) (Euler’s Theorem) For any positive integer n, let ϕ(n) := |{m ∈ Z : 1 ≤ m ≤ n and GCD(m, n) =
1}|. Then aϕ(n) ≡ 1 (mod n) for every a ∈ Z with GCD(a, n) = 1.
(ii) (Fermat’s `ittle Theorem) If p is a prime number, then ap ≡ a (mod p) for all a ∈ Z.
2. (i) If G is a cyclic group, then show that either G is isomorphic to the additive group Z or the additive
group Z/nZ of residue classes (mod n) of integers modulo n for some positive integer n.
(ii) If G is a finite cyclic group of order n and d a positive integer that divides n, then show that G
has a unique subgroup of order d. In particular, for finite cyclic groups, the converse of Lagrange’s
Theorem is true.
(iii) If G is a finite cyclic group of order n, then determine the number of generators of G.
3. Let n be a positive integer. Show that the set (Z/nZ)× of multiplicative units in the ring Z/nZ can
be identified with the set of residue classes (mod n) of a ∈ Z with GCD(a, n) = 1. Deduce that
|(Z/nZ)× | = ϕ(n). Give an example to show that the multiplicative abelian group (Z/nZ)× need not
be cyclic.
4. Let H and K be subgroups of a group G. Show that H ∩ K is a subgroup of G. Further, the product
HK := {hk : h ∈ H, k ∈ K} is a subgroup of G if and only if HK = KH. In case, H and K are
finite, then show that |HK| = |H||K|/|H ∩ K|. Also show that if H is normal or if K is normal, then
HK is a subgroup of G. Moreover, if both H and K are normal and if H ∩ K = {e}, then show that
HK is isomorphic to the direct product H × K.
5. Let a, b be elements of a finite order in a group G such that ab = ba. If GCD(o(a), o(b)) = 1, then
show that o(ab) = o(a)o(b). Is it true, in general, that o(ab) = LCM(o(a), o(b))?

6. Given a real number θ, show that the matrix

 
cos θ − sin θ
rθ =
sin θ cos θ

defines an invertible linear transformation of R2 which corresponds to rotation by angle θ. Further

show that if n is a positive integer and if
 
0 1
r = r2π/n and s = ,
1 0

then rn = 1 = s2 and rs = sr−1 . Deduce that r and s generate a subgroup Dn of the group GL2 (R)
of 2 × 2 invertible real matrices such that |Dn | = 2n.

7. Show that if (i1 i2 . . . ir ) is a cycle of length r in the symmetric group Sn , then σ(i1 i2 . . . ir )σ −1 is the
cycle (σ(i1 )σ(i2 ) . . . σ(ir )) also of length r.

1
 8. Let n be a positive integer and Sn the symmetric group of degree n, i.e., the group of all permutations
of the set [n] := {1, . . . , n}. Prove that for any σ ∈ Sn , there is a unique partition (e1 , . . . , eh ) of n
(that is, an integer tuple satisfying e1 ≥ · · · ≥ eh ≥ 1 and e1 + · · · + eh = n) such that σ is a product
of h disjoint cycles of lengths e1 , . . . , eh . We shall call the partition (e1 , . . . , eh ) as the cycle-type of
σ. Further show that two elements of Sn are conjugate to each other if and only if they have the
same cycle-type. Deduce that the number of distinct conjugacy classes in Sn is the number p(n) of all
partitions of n.
9. If (e1 , . . . , eh ) is the cycle-type of a permutation σ ∈ Sn , then show that the order of σ is LCM(e1 , . . . , eh ).
10. Prove that the following definitions of the sign of a permuation are equivalent to one another. Wherever
necessary, show also that the given definition is “well-defined”. In the following n denotes a positive
integer and σ an arbitrary element of Sn .
(a) sgn(σ) := (−1)inv(σ) , where inv(σ) be the number of inversions in σ, that is, the number of
elements of the set {(i, j) ∈ N2 : i < j and σ(i) > σ(j)}.
(b) sgn(σ) := (−1)r if σ can be expressed as a product of r transpositions.
(c) sgn(σ) := (−1)n−h if σ can be expressed as a product of h disjoint cycles (including the 1-cycles).
11. Let n be a positive integer. Show that:
(a) Sn is generated by the transpositions (12), (13), . . . , (1n).
(b) Sn is generated by the transpositions (12), (23), . . . , (n − 1, n).
(c) Sn is generated by the cycles (12) and (123 . . . n).
12. Let n and k be positive integers with k ≤ n. A subgroup G of Sn is said to be k-fold transitive,
or simply, k-transitive if for any k-tuples (i1 , . . . , ik ) and (j1 , . . . , jk ) of distinct elements of [n], there
exists σ ∈ G such that σ(ir ) = jr for r = 1, . . . , k. Show that if n ≥ 3, then An is (n − 2)-transitive.

13. Prove that converse of Lagrange’s Theorem is not true, that is, there is a finite group G and a positive
integer d dividing |G| such that G has no subgroup of order d.
14. Let Fq denote the finite field with q elements. Determine the orders of the linear groups GLn (Fq ) and
SLn (Fq ).
15. Let n be a positive integer and K be a field. Prove that for n ≥ 3, the center of Sn is trivial and for
n ≥ 1, the center of GLn (K) consists precisely of the nonsingular scalar matrices, that is, matrices of
the form cIn where c ∈ K with c 6= 0.

Bonus Problems

1. Show that if G is a finite subgroup of the multiplicative group F ∗ of nonzero elements in a field, then
G is cyclic.
2. Prove the Chinese Remainder Theorem: If m1 , . . . , mk are pairwise coprime positive integers and if
m = m1 · · · mk , then for any b1 , . . . , bk ∈ Z, there exists b ∈ Z such that b ≡ bi (mod m)i for each i =
1, . . . , k. Use this to show that (Z/mZ)× is isomorphic to the direct product (Z/m1 Z)× · · ·×(Z/mk Z)× .
Deduce that ϕ(m1 · · · mk ) = ϕ(m1 ) · · · ϕ(mk ).
3. Determine the values of positive integers n for which the group (Z/nZ)× is cyclic.