Modern Algebra 1
MATH 351
Dr. Margaret (Maggie) H. Regan
PROOF PORTFOLIO PROBLEMS
Choose 15 of the following problems to submit for your final proof portfolio. See “Proof Portfolio
Guidelines” for further details.
1 Problem 1
Prove that the set of all rational numbers of the form 3m 6n , where m and n are integers, is a group
under multiplication.
2 Problem 2
Prove that if G is a group with the property that the square of every element is the indentity, then G
is Abelian.
3 Problem 3
Suppose that G is a finite group with the property that every non-identity element has prime order (for
example, D3 and D5 ). If Z(G) is not trivial, prove that every non-identity element of G has the same
order.
4 Problem 4
Prove that U (2n ) for n ≥ 3 is not cyclic.
5 Problem 5
Suppose that |x| = n. Find a necessary and sufficient condition on r and s such that ⟨xr ⟩ ⊆ ⟨xs ⟩. Give
justification.
6 Problem 6
Let H = {β ∈ S5 | β(1) = 1 and β(3) = 3}. Prove that H is a subgroup of S5 . How many elements are
in H? Is your argument valid when 5 is replaced by any n ≥ 3? How many elements are in H when 5
is replaced by any n ≥ 3?
1
7 Problem 7
Show that if H is a subgroup of Sn , then either every member of H is an even permutation or exactly
half of the members of H are even.
8 Problem 8
Let √
G = {a + b 2 | a, b rational}
and " #
a 2b
H= | a, b rational .
b a
Show that G and H are isomorphic under addition. Prove that G and H are closed under multiplication.
Does your isomorphism preserve multiplication as well as addition?
9 Problem 9
Prove that the quaternion group is not isomorphic to the dihedral group D4 .
10 Problem 10
Supposed G is a finite group of order n and m is relatively prime to n. If g ∈ G and g m = e, prove that
g = e.
11 Problem 11
Let G be a group of order pn where p is prime. Prove that the center of G cannot have order pn−1 .
12 Problem 12
For any Abelian group G and any positive integer n, let Gn = {g n | g ∈ G}. If H and K are Abelian,
show that (H K)n = H n K n .
L L
13 Problem 13
Give an example of an infinite non-Abelian group that has exactly six elements of finite order. Provide
reasoning.
14 Problem 14
If G is a group and |G : Z(G)| = 4, prove that G/Z(G) ≈ Z2
L
Z2 .
2
15 Problem 15
Let N be a normal subgroup of a group G. If N is cyclic, prove that every subgroup of N is also normal
in G.
16 Problem 16
Suppose that H is a normal subgroup of G. If |H| = 4 and gH has order 3 in G/H, find a subgroup of
order 12 in G.
17 Problem 17
Let N be a normal subgroup of a finite group G. Use the theorems of Chapter 10 to prove that the
order of the group element gN in G/N divides the order of g.
18 Problem 18
If H and K are normal subgroups of G and H ∩ K = {e}, prove that G is isomorphic to a subgroup of
L
G/H G/K.
19 Problem 19
Let G be an Abelian group of order 16. Suppose that there are elements a and b in G such that
|a| = |b| = 4 and a2 ̸= b2 . Determine the isomorphism class of G. Provide reasoning.
20 Problem 20
Suppose that G is a finite Abelian group. Prove that G has order pn where p is prime, if and only if the
order of every element of G is a power of p.
