FIRST MIDTERM

MATH 18.703, MIT, SPRING 13

You have 80 minutes. This test is closed book, closed notes, no calculators.
There are 7 problems, and the total number of
points is 100. Show all your work. Please make
your work as clear and easy to follow as possible.
Problem Points Score
Points will be awarded on the basis of neatness,
the use of complete sentences and the correct pre- 1 15
sentation of a logical argument.
2 15
Name: 3 15
Signature: 4 10
Student ID #: 5 20
6 10
7 10
8 10
Presentation 5
Total 100

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1. (15pts) Give the definition of a group.

Solution: A group G is a set together with a rule of multiplication

m : G G G, such that
(1) multiplication is associative, that is, (gh)k = g(hk), for every
g, h and k G.
(2) there is an identity element e G, so that eg = ge = g for
every g G.
(3) every element g G has an inverse g 1 , gg 1 = g 1 g = e.

(ii) Let G be a group and let S be a subset of G. Give the definition

of the subgroup generated by S.

Solution: The smallest subgroup which contains S.

(iii) Let G be a group and H a subgroup. Give the definition of a left

coset.

Solution: Let g G. The left coset generated by g is

gH = { gh | h H }.

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2. (15pts)
(i) Find the parity of the following element of S9 ,
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
.
4 3 5 7 1 2 6 9 4

Solution: This is equal to (1, 4, 7, 6, 2, 3, 5)(8, 9), a product of 6 + 1

transpositions. This permutation is odd.

(ii) Compute the conjugate of by , where = (1, 5, 6)(4, 3, 7, 2) and

= (1, 5)(6, 3, 2).

Solution:
(5, 1, 3)(4, 2, 7, 6).

(iii) Is it possible to conjugate to , where = (1, 5, 4)(2, 3) and

= (1, 5)(3, 4, 2)? If so, find an element so that is the conjugate
of by . Otherwise explain why it is impossible.

Solution: Yes, it is possible.

 
1 2 3 4 5
= .
3 1 5 2 4

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3. (15pts) (i) Give a description of the group D3 of symmetries of a
triangle.

Solution: Let I be the identity, R rotation through 120o and let F1 ,

F2 , F3 be the three flips. Then G = { I, R, R2 , F1 , F2 , F3 }.

(ii) List all subgroups of D3 .

Solution: {e}, {I, Fi }, i = 1, 2, 3, {I, R, R2 }, and finally the whole of

G.

(iii) Find the left cosets, for one subgroup of order two and one sub-
group of order three.

Solution: Take H = {I, F1 }. Then there are three left cosets,

[I] = H = {I, F1 } = [F1 ]
[F2 ] = F2 H = {F2 , R} = [R]
[F3 ] = F3 H = {F3 , R2 } = [R2 ]

Take H = {I, R, R2 }. Then there are two left cosets,

[I] = H = {I, R, R2 } = [R] = [R2 ]
[F1 ] = F2 H = {F1 , F2 , F3 } = [F2 ] = [F3 ].

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4. (10pts) (i) Let S be a set and let A(S) be the set of permuta-
tions of S. Show that A(S) is a group where the multiplication law is
composition of functions.

Solution: The composition of permutations is a permutation, so we do

get a well-defined multiplication. Composition of functions is associa-
tive, so multiplication is associative. The identity function IS : S S
plays the role of the identity, f IS = IS f . If f is a permutation
then the inverse function f is a permutation and this plays the role of
the inverse.

(ii) Let Aut(G) be the set of automorphisms of a group G. Show that

Aut(G) is a subgroup of A(G), the permutations of the elements of G.

Solution: The identity is an automorphism so Aut(G) is not empty

and we just have to show that the composition of two automorphisms
is an automorphism and that the inverse of an automorphism is an
automorphism. Suppose that and are two automorphisms of G.
Let = = . If g and h G then
(gh) = ((gh))
= ((g)(h))
= ((g)) ((h))
= (g)(h).
Thus is a homomorphism. We already know that that is a bijection,
so that is an automorphism and so Aut(G) is closed under products.
Let k = gh. As is a permutation, we may find g , h and k such that
(g ) = g, (h ) = h and (k) = k . As is a homomorphism,
(g h ) = (g )(h )
= gh.
Applying 1 to both sides we get g h = k , that is,
1 (gh) = 1 (g) 1 (h),
so that 1 is an automorphism and so Aut(G) is a subgroup.

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5. (20pts) (i) Let a G. Prove that the map
= a : G G given as (g) = aga1 ,
is an automorphism of G.
Solution: Let g, h G. Then
(gh) = a(gh)a1
= (aga1 )(aha1 )
= (g)(h).
Thus is a group homomorphism. It is easy to see that the inverse
of is given by conjugation with a1 , (g) = a1 ga. Thus is an
automorphism.
(ii) Let : G A(G) be the map which sends a to (a) = a . Show
that is a group homomorphism.
Solution: Let a, b G and c = ab. If g G then
c (g) = (ab)g(ab)1
= a(bgb1 )a1
= a (b (g)).
Thus c = a b and so (ab) = (a)(b) and is a homomorphism.
(iii) Show that the image H = (G) is isomorphic to G/Z, where Z is
the centre of G.
Solution: Suppose that a G is in the kernel of . Then aga1 = a
for all g G, so that ag = ga and so a Z. Conversely if a Z then
ag = ga for all g G so that aga1 = g and so a belongs to the kernel.
Thus the kernel of is Z and H G/Z by the first isomorphism
theorem.
(iv) Show that H is normal in Aut(G).
Solution: Let a G and Aut(G). Set b = (a). If g G then
g = (h), some h G and
( a 1 )(g) = (a (h))
= (aha1 )
= (a) (h) (a1 )
= bgb1 = b (g).
Thus a 1 = b H and so H is normal in Aut(G).

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6. (10pts) State and prove Fermats Theorem (in the proof of Fermats
Theorem, you may assume Lagranges Theorem).

Solution:
Fermats Theorem states that if p is a prime number and a is any
integer, then ap = a mod p.
First note that if a is not coprime to p, then p divides a. In this case
a = 0 mod p and the equation above is trivially satisfied, as it reads
zero is equal to zero.
So now suppose that p is coprime to a. We are going to prove more,
that ap1 = 1 mod p. Let G = Up be the group of units mod p. Then
G has p 1 elements. Now g = [a] defines an element of G and if k is
the order of g, then by Lagrange, k divides the order of G, that is, k
divides p 1.
But the order of an element of a group is equal to the smallest k such
that
g k = e.
As k divides p 1, there is an m such that km = p 1 and it follows
that g p1 = e. But then ap1 = 1 mod p.

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7. (10pts) Let G be a group and let Z be its centre. Prove that if G/Z
is cyclic, then G is abelian.

Solution:
Suppose that G/Z is generated by aZ. Pick x and y in G. Then
xZ = ai Z and yZ = aj Z, for some i and j and there are z and z in Z
such that x = ai z and y = aj z . We have
xy = ai zaj z
= ai aj zz
= ai+j zz .
Similarly yx = ai+j zz . Thus xy = yx and G is abelian.

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Bonus Challenge Problem
8. (10pts) Give an example of a countable group that is not finitely
generated (that is, a group which is not generated by any finite subset).

Solution:
There are two natural examples.
The first is to look at the rational numbers under addition. Q is cer-
tainly countable. Suppose that g1 , g2 , . . . , gk were a finite set of gener-
ators. Each gi is a rational number, say of the form
ai
.
bi
Now let b be the least common multiple of the b1 , b2 , . . . , bk . Then any
rational number which is a finite sum or difference of the g1 , g2 , . . . , gk
will be of the form
a
,
b
for some integer a. But most rationals are not of this form. Thus Q is
not finitely generated.
The second is to look at the group A(N) of permutations of the natural
numbers. Now this is not countable, but consider the subgroup G
consisting of all permutations that fix all but finitely many natural
numbers. Note that A(N) contains a nested sequence of copies of Sn ,
for all n, in an obvious way and that G is in fact the union of these
finite subgroups.
In particular G is countable, as it is the countable union of countable
sets. Now suppose that g1 , g2 , . . . , gk were a finite set of generators.
Then in fact there is some n such that gi Sn , for all i. As Sn is a
subgroup of G, it follows that
hg1 , g2 , . . . , gk i Sn 6= G,
a contradiction. Put differently, no finite subset generates G, since any
finite subset will only permute finitely many natural numbers.