DIRECT PRODUCTS AND FINITELY

GENERATED ABELIAN GROUPS

A project report submitted to St.Joseph’s College (Autonomous)
Devagiri, Calicut
Affiliated to the University of Calicut
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT
FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
IN
MATHEMATICS
BY
BIYA THOMAS
DVAQSMT017

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE DEVAGIRI

(AUTONOMOUS)
CALICUT-08
2016-2019

1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled DIRECT

PRODUCTS AND FINITELY GENERATED ABELIAN
GROUPS, is a bonafide record of research work done by Ms. BIYA
THOMAS, DVAQSMT017 during the academic year 2016-2019
under my guidance and supervision.

Mrs.Sangeetha M V Assistant
Professor of Mathematics

FORWARDED BY,

Dr. Baby Chacko

Head of the Department

Calicut
22.03.2019

2
 DECLARATION

I, hereby declare that this dissertation entitled DIRECT

PRODUCTS AND FINITELY GENERATED ABELIAN
GROUPS is a bonafide record of research work done by me and this
has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree,
diploma, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar title or
recognition.

BIYA THOMAS Department of

Mathematics St.Joseph’s College, Devagiri
(Autonomous) Calicut-08

Calicut
22.03.2019
Department of Mathematics
St.Joseph’s College, Devagiri (Autonomous)

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere gratitude to Dr. BABY CHACKO, Head of

the Department, and MRS.SANGEETHA M V, associate professor in
the Department of Mathematics, St.Joseph’s College, Devagiri
(Autonomous), who initiated me into this subject. With immense
pleasure, I extend my deepest gratitude to all those who helped and
supported me to mould my thoughts and words into this successful
project. But for his conscientious guidance and patience, I would not
have successfully completed this dissertation.
I also thank all other members of the Department who ignited my
curiosity in the world of Mathematics during the period of my study
in this institution.
I am grateful to the cooperation extended to me by The
Librarian, St.Joseph’s College, Devagiri (Autonomous), and other
members in the library for their timely assistance.
I cannot fail to thank my parents and friends who filled me with
their optimism.

BIYA THOMAS

4
 CONTENT

INTRODUCTION ……………………………… 6

PRILIMINARY ……………….…………….. 8

DIRECT PRODUCTS ........................................... . 11

THE SRUCTURE OF
FINITELY GERATED
ABELIAN GROUPS ……………………………… 17

COMPUTATIONAL
PROBLEMS ……………………………… 20

THEORETICAL
PROBLEMS ……………………………… 24

REFERENCES …………………………….... 27

5
 INTRODUCTION

In group theory, the direct product is an operation that takes two

groups G and H and constructs a new group, usually denoted G H.
This operation is the group-theoretic analogue of the Cartesian
product of sets and is one of several important notions of direct
product in mathematics. In the context of abelian groups, the direct
product is sometimes referred to as the direct sum, and is denoted G
H. Direct sums play an important role in the classification of abelian
groups: according to the fundamental theorem of finite abelian
groups, every finite abelian group can be expressed as the directsum
of cyclic groups.

Definition
Given groups G (with operation *) and H (with operation ∆),
the direct product G H is defined as follows:
1. The underlying set is the Cartesian product G
x H. That is, the ordered pairs (g, h), where
2. The binary operation on G H is defined component-
wise:(g1, h1) · (g2, h2) = (g1 * g2, h1 ∆ h2)
The resulting algebraic object satisfies the axioms for a group.
Specifically:

Associativity
The binary operation on G x H is indeed
associative.

Identity
The direct product has an identity element, namely (1 G, 1H), where
1G is the identity element of G and 1H is the identity element of H
axioms for a group.

6
Inverses
The inverse of an element (g, h) of G × H is the pair (g-1, h -1),
where g-1 is the inverse of g in G, and h-1 is the inverse of h in H.

ELEMENTARY PROPERTIES
 The order of a direct product G × H is the product of the
 orders of G and H.
|G × H | = |G| |H|


 The order of the each element (g ,h) is the least common
 multiple of the orders of g and h.
 | (g,h) | = lcm ( |g|, |h| )
In particular if |g| and |h| are relatively prime , then the order of
(g,h) is the product of the order of g and h.


 If G and H are cyclic groups whose orders are relatively
prime, then G × H is cyclic as well.

7
 PRELIMINARY

  BINARY OPERATION
A binary operation  on a set S is a function mapping S×S into
S. For each (a.b) S×S, we will denote the element ((a,b)) of S
by ab.

 ISOMORPHISM

Let < S, and < S’,’ >be binary algebraic structures. An
isomorphism S with S’ is a one-to-one function mapping S
onto S’ such that
( ) ( ) ( )For all x,y

S.
(Homom
orphism
property)

If such a map exist, then S and S’ are isomorphic binary

structures, which we denote by S S’, omitting the and’ from
the notation .

  GROUP
A group < G, is a set G, closed under a binary operation 
, such that the following axioms are satisfied :
G , we have (ab)c =a(bc),
G1: For all a,b,c
associativity of 
G2: There is an element e in G such that for all x g,
e x = x e = x , identity element e for 
G3: Corresponding to each a G , there is an element a’ in G such that
aa’ = a’  a = e , inverse a’ of a

  ABELIAN GROUP
A group G is abelian if its binary operation is commutative.
 8

 ORDER OF GROUP

If G is a group, then the order |G| of G is the number of
elements in G.



  SUBGROUP
If a subset H of a group G is closed under the binary operation
of G and if H with the induced operation from G is itself a
group, then H is a subgroup of G. We shall let H G or G H denote
that H is a subgroup of G ,and H< G or G > H shall mean
H G
But H G.

  PROPER,IMPROPER AND TRIVIAL SUBGROUPS

If G is a group,then the subgroup consisting of G itself is the
Improper subgroup of G. All the other subgroups are Proper
subgroups. The subgroup {e} is the Trivial subgroup.


 CYCLIC GROUPS
If G is a group and there exist an element a G such that
G ={ an | n Z },

Then G is cyclic.

  GENERATOR
An element a of a cyclic group G generates G and is a generator
for G if a = G. A group G is cyclic if there is some element a in
G that generates G.
CYCLIC SUBGROUP
If G is a group and a G, then H ={ an | n
 Z } is a subgroup of
G.This group is the cyclic subgroup a
of G generated by a.

9
  ORDER OF AN ELEMENT
If a G is of finite order m, then m is the smallest positive
integer such that am = e.

 FINITELY GENERATED GROUPS
Let G be a group and let ai G for i I.The smallest subgroup of
G containing
{ai | i I } is the subgroup generated by {ai | i I }. If this
subgroup is all of G ,then
{ai | i I } generates G and the ai are generators of G. If there is a
finite set {ai | i I } that generates G ,then G is finitely generated.

10
DIRECT PRODUCTS
Cartesian product of sets S1 S2 S3 ……. Sn is the set of all ordered n-
tuples (a1,a2,a3,………,an) , where ai i for i=1,2,……,n.

The Cartesian product is denoted by either S1 S2 S3 ……. Sn or

by ∏ .

THEOREM 1.1

Let G1, G2, G3, …, Gn be groups. For (a1,a2,a3,………,an) and

(b1,b2,b3,………,bn) to be the elements in ∏ ,
Define (a1,a2,a3,………,an) (b1,b2,b3,………,bn) to be the elements
ba b ,………,a b ) ,then is a group the direct
(a1 b1,a2
∏

2, 3 3 n n
product of the group Gi ,under this binary operation.

PROOF
Since ai i ,bi i and Gi is a group ,we have ai bi Gi .Thus ∏ is closed under binary operation.

(a1,a2,a3,………,an)[(b1,b2,b3,…,bn) (c1,c2,c3,………,cn)]
 (a1,a2,a3,………,an) (b1 c1,b2 c2,b3 c3,………,bncn)
 (a1(b1c1),a2(b2c2),a3(b3c3),………,an (bncn))
 ((a1b1)c1,(a2b2)c2,(a3b3)c3,………,(anbn)cn)
=[(a1,a2,a3,………,an)(b1,b2,b3,………,bn)](c1,c2,c3,………,cn)
∏

Therefore associative law holds in .

11

If ei is the identity element in Gi, then clearly, with multiplication with

components, (e1,e2,e3,…,en) is an identity in ∏ .
( , , ,………
An inverse of (a1,a2,a3,………,an) is , );
compute the products by components.
Hence ∏
is a group.
Note: If Si has ri elements for i=1,2,3,…..,n then ∏ has
r1r2r3……..rn elements .Since for an n-tuple there are ri choices for the
first component from Si ,r2 choices for the second component from S2
and so on.

EXAMPLE 1
Consider the group Z2 Z3 which has 2*3=6 elements ,namely
(0,0),(0,1),(0,2),(1,0), (1,1) and (1,2). We claim that Z2 Z3 is cyclic. It
is only necessary to find a generator. Let us try (1,1). Here the
operations in Z2 and Z3 are written additively, so do the same in
direct product
Z2 Z3.
(1, 1) = (1, 1)
2(1, 1) = (1, 1) + (1, 1) = (0, 2)
3(1, 1) = (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) = (1, 0)
4(1, 1) = (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) = (0, 1)
5(1, 1) = (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) = (1, 2)
6(1, 1) = (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) + (1, 1) = (0, 0)

12
Thus (1, 1) generates all ofZ2 Z3

EXAMPLE 2
Consider the group Z3 Z3 which has 3*3=9 elements. We claim that
Z3 Z3 is not cyclic. Since the addition is by components, and since in
Z3 every elements added to itself times gives the identity, the same is
true in Z3 Z3 .Thus no element can generate the group, for a generator
added to itself successively could only give the identity after nine
summands.
The preceding two examples illustrate the following theorem.

THEOREM 1.2
The group Zm Zn is cyclic and is isomorphic to Zmn if and only if m
and n are relatively prime, that is the gcd of m and n is one.
PROOF
Consider the cyclic subgroup of Zm Zn generated by (1,1) .The order
of the cyclic subgroup is the smallest power of (1,1) that gives the
identity (0,0).Here taking the power of (1,1) in our additive notation
will involve adding (1,1) to itself repeatedly .Under addition by
components ,the first component 1 m yields 0 only after m summands
, 2m summands and so on, and the second component 1 n yields 0
only after n summands , 2n summands and so on. For them to yield 0
simultaneously, the number of summands must be a multiple of both
m and n.The smallest number that is a multiple of both m and n will
be mn if and only if the gcd of m and n is 1.In this case (1, 1)
generates a cyclic subgroup of order mn, which is the order of the
whole group. This shows that Zm Zn is cyclic of order mn, and hence
isomorphic to Zmn if m and n are relatively prime.

13
For converse, suppose that the gcd of m and n is d >1.The mn/d
is divisible by both m and n .Consequently, for any (r, s) in Z m Z n
,we have

(r,s) + (r,s) +.............. + (r, s){mn/d summands} = (0, 0)

Hence no element (r, s) in Z m Z n can generate the entire group,

soZ m Z n is not cyclic and therefore not isomorphic to Z mn .

COROLLARY 1.1

The group ∏i=1n Zmiis cyclic and isomorphic to

Zm1m2...............mn ,if and
only if the numbers mi for i= 1,2,....n are such that the gcd of any two
of them is 1.

EXAMPLE
The preceding corollary shows that if n is written as a product of
powers of distinct prime numbers, as in

n = (p1)r1(p2)r2...........................................(pr)nr
then Zn is isomorphic to
Z(p1)r1 x Z(p2)r2 x.......................x Z(pr)rn
in particular,
Z 1600 is isomorphic to Z 64 Z 25 .

REMARK

Changing the order of the factors in a direct product yields a group

isomorphic to original one. The names of the elements have simply
been changed via a permutation of the components in n-tuples.

14
DEFINITION

Let r1 ,r2,…,rn be positive integers. Their least common multiple

(abbreviated lcm) is the positive generator of the cyclic group of all
common multiples of ri for i=1,2,….,n, that is ,the cyclic group of all
integers divisible by each ri .
The lcm of r1 ,r2 ,……, rn is the smallest positive integer that is multiple
of ri for i=1,2,….,n, hence the name least common multiple.

THEOREM 1.3

Let (a ,a ,a ,………,a ) ∏
1 2 3 n .If ai is of finite order ri in Gi ,then
the order of (a1,a2,a3,………,an) ∏ is equal to the least
common multiple of all the ri .

PROOF
This follows by a repetition of the argument used in proof of Theorem
1.2. For a power of (a1,a2,a3,………,an) to give (e1,e2,e3,………,en)
,the power must simultaneously be a multiple of r1 so that this power
of the first component a1 will yield e1, a multiple of r2 so that this
power of second component a2 will yield e2 ,and so on.

EXAMPLE 1
Find the order of (8, 4, 10) in the group Z12 Z60 Z24.
SOLUTION: Since the gcd 8 and 12 is 4, we see that 8 is of order
12/4=3 in Z12.
Similarly, we find that 4 is of order 15 in Z60 and 10 is of order 12 in
Z24.the lcm of 3,15 and 12 is 3.5.4 =60,so (8,4,10) is of order 60 in
the group Z12 Z60 Z24.

15
EXAMPLE 2
The group Z Z2 is generated by the elements (1, 0) and (0, 1).
More generally, the direct product of n cyclic groups, each of which is
either Z or Zm for some positive integer m, is generated by the n n-
tuples
(1,0,0,……..0), (0,1,0,……0), (0,0,1,0,…..0),
…….,(0,0,0,……...,1).
Such a direct product might also be generated by fewer elements.
For example Z3 Z4 Z35 is generated by the single element (1, 1,1).

NOTE
 is a group the direct product of the group Gi ,then the

subset
= {(e1,e2,… ,ei-1,ai,ei+1,...,en) |ai Gi },
That is, the set of all n-tuples with identity elements in all places but
the i th ,is a subgroup of ∏ .It is also clear that this subgroup is
naturally isomorphic to Gi ;just rename
(e1, e2,…, ei-1, ai , ei+1,...,en) by ai.
The group Gi is mirrored in the i th component of the elements of
,and the ej in the other components just ride along.

16
 THE STRUCTURE OF FINITELY
GENERATED
ABELIAN GROUPS

THEOREM2.1
(FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM OF FINITELY
GENERATEDABELIAN GROUPS)
Every finitely generated abelian group G is isomorphic to a direct
product of cyclic groups in the form Z(p1)r1 x Z(p2)r2 x......................x
.x Z(pr)rn x Z.....................xZ ,where the pi are primes, not necessarily
distinct , and ri are positive integers. Then the direct product is unique
except for the possilble arrangement of factors ; that is , the number
(BETTI NUMBER of G) of factors Z is unique and the prime powers
(pi)ri are unique.

EXAMPLE 1
Find all abelian groups,up to isomorphism, of order 180.The phrase
up to isomorphism signifies that any abelian group of order 180
should be structurally identical (isomorphic) to one of the groups of
order 180 exhibited.
SOLUTION
We use Theorem 2.1 .Since our groups are to be of finite order 180,no
factors Z will appear in the direct product.
First we express 180 as product of prime powers 2 2325. Then using
Theorem 2.1 we get as possibilities
1. Z2 Z2 Z3 Z3 Z5
2. Z4 Z3 Z3 Z5
3. Z2 Z2 Z9 Z5
4. Z4 Z9 Z5

17
 Thus there are four different abelian groups (up to isomorphism )
of order 180.

APPLICATIONS
DEFINITION
A group G is decomposable if it is isomorphic to a direct product of
two proper nontrivial subgroups. Otherwise G is indecomposable.
THEOREM 2.2
The finite indecomposable abelian group are exactly the cyclic
groups with order a power of a prime.
PROOF
Let G be a finite indecomposable abelian group. Then by THEOREM
2.1 ,G is isomorphic to a direct product of cyclic groups of prime
power order. Since G is indecomposable, this direct product must
consist of just one cyclic group whose order is a power of a prime
number.
Conversely let p be a prime. Then Zpr is indecomposable,for if Zpr
were isomorphic to
Zpi x Zpj, where i+j=r , then every element would have an order
atmost pmax(i,j)< pr.

THEOREM 2.3
If m divides the order of finite abelian group G, then G has a
subgroup of order m.
 18

PROOF
By
THEORE
M 2.1 we
can think
of G of
being ( ) ( )

,whe no p nee distin.Sinc

…. ( ) re t all i d be ct e
is the
order
of
G,the
nm
must
be of
( )( ) ( ) the
,whe We
form ( ) ( ) ( ) re 0 kno ( )

w
of
order
equal
generates to the
a cyclic quotie
group of nt of
( )

( ) by the gcd of ( ) and (

) is
(
). Thus

( )
(

) of order

( ) ⁄ ( ) = ( ) ,
denotes
the
cyclic
subgro
up
Recalling generat
that e by a
 ,we
see that
( ) ( ) ( )

is the required subgroup of order m.

THEOREM 2.4
If m is a square free integer, that is, m is not divisible by the square of
any prime, then every abelian group of order m is cyclic.
PROOF
Let G be an abelian group of square free order m. Then by
THEOREM 2.1, G is isomorphic to
( ) ( ) …. ( )

where m=( )( ) ( ) .since m is square free, we must

have all ri=1 and all pi distinct primes. COROLLARY 1.1 Then
shows that G is isomorphic to
, so G is cyclic .
Z

19
COMPUTATIONAL PROBLEMS

1. List the elements of (a)Z2 Z4

,(b)Z3 Z4. Find the order of each of
the elements .Is this group cyclic?
ANSWER: (a)Z2 ={0,1} Z4 ={0,1,2,3}

Elements of Z 2 Z 4 Order

(0,0) 1

(0,1) 4
 (0,2) 2

(0,3) 4

(1,0) 2

(1,1) 4

(1,2) 2

(1,3) 4

It is not a cyclic group since 2 ad 4 are not relatively

prime. (b)
Elements Elements
of Order of Order
Z3 Z 4 Z3 Z4

(0,0) 1 (1,2) 6

20

(0,1) 4 (1,3) 12

(0,2) 2 (2,0) 3

(0,3) 4 (2,1) 12

(1,0) 3 (2,2) 6

(1,1) 12 (2,3) 12
This group is cyclic since 3, 4 are relatively prime. [The generators
of the group are (1,1), (1,3),(2,1),(2,3)]

2. Find the order of given elements of direct product. (a) (2,6) in

Z4 Z12 ,(b) (2,3) in Z6 Z15 , (c) (8,10) in Z12 Z18 , (d) (3,10,9) in
Z4 Z12 Z15 ,(e) (3,6,12,16) in Z4 Z12 Z20 Z24
ANSWER:

(a) (2,6) in Z4 Z12 =2

(b) (2,3) in Z6 Z15 = 15

(c) (8,10) in Z12 Z18 =9

(d) (3,10,9) in Z4 Z12 Z15 = 60

(e) (3,6,12,16) inZ4 Z12 Z20 Z24 = 60

3. What is the largest order among the orders of all the cylic groups
of
(a)Z6 Z8
(b)Z2 Z4

21
ANSWER: (a) Z6 Z8 =24

(b) Z2 Z4 = 4

4. Find all proper non trivial subgroups of Z2 Z2.

ANSWER: Z2 Z2= { (0,0),(0,1),(1,0),(1,1) }

The proper nontrivial subgroups are { (0,0),(0,1) },{(0,0),(1,0)},

{(0,0),(1,1)}.
 5. Find all proper non trivial subgroups of Z2 Z2 Z2.
ANSWER: There are 7 order 2 subgroups:
{(0,0,0)(1,0,0)},{(0,0,0)(0,1,0)},{(0,0,0),(0,0,1)},{(0,0,0)(1,1,0)},
{(0,0,0),(1,0,1)},{(0,0,0),(0,1,1)},{(0,0,0),(1,1,1)}.
There are 7 order 4 subgroups: {(0,0,0),(1,0,0),(0,1,0),(1,1,0)}
{(0,0,0),(1,0,0),(0,0,1),(1,0,1)} {(0,0,0),(1,0,0),(0,1,1),(1,1,1)}
{(0,0,0),(1,1,0),(0,0,1),(1,1,1)} {(0,0,0),(1,1,0),(0,1,1),(1,0,1)}
{(0,0,0),(1,1,1),(0,1,0),(1,0,1)} {(0,0,0),(0,1,1),(0,0,1),(0,1,0)}

6. Are the group Z2 Z12 and Z4 Z6 isomorphic ?Why or why not?

ANSWER: Yes. Since, both groups are isomorphic toZ2 Z3 Z4

7. Find the maximum possible order for some elements of Z4 Z18 Z15
.

ANSWER: The maximum possible order is 180 = lcm(4, 18, 15).

22

8. Find all abelian groups, up to isomorphism, of the given order 8

ANSWER:Z8,Z2 Z4 ,Z2 Z2 Z2

9. Are the groupsZ8 Z10 Z24and Z4 Z12 Z40isomorphic? Why or why

not?
Z5 but Z4 rphic Z3 Z5.
ANSWER: not Z2
Z40 Z4 Z4 Z8
Z8 Z8 Z3 are iso Z10
Z12 mo .Since Z8
No, they Z24
10. How many abelian groups (up to isomorphism) are there of order
24? Of order 25? Of order (24)(25)?
ANSWER: There are 3 of order 24, i.e Z8 Z3
Z2 Z4 Z3, Z2 Z2 Z2 Z3, Similarly, there are 2 of order 25,i.e Z25 and
Z5 Z5. There are 3·2 = 6 of order 24·25, because each of three for
order 24 can be paired with each of the two of order 25.

23
THEORETICAL PROBLEMS

1. Give a two-sentence synopsis of the proof of Theorem 1.2.

ANSWER: If m and n are relatively prime, then (1, 1) has order mn so
the group is cyclic of order mn. If m and n are not relatively prime,
then no element has order exceeding the least common multiple of m
and n, which has to be less than mn, so the group is not cyclic.

2. Prove that a direct product of abelian groups is abelian.

 ANSWER: Computation in a direct product of n groups consists of
computing using the individual group operations in each of the n
components. In a direct product of abelian groups, the individual
group operations are all commutative, and it follows at once that the
direct product is an abelian group.

3. Let G be an abelian group.Let H be the subset of G consisting of the

identity e together with all elements of G of order 2.Show that H is a
subgroup of G.
ANSWER:
Closure: Let a,b H. Then a2 = b2 = e. Because G is abelian, we see
that (ab)2 = abab = aabb = ee = e, so ab H also. Thus H is closed
under the group operation.
Identity: We are given that e H.
Inverses: For all a H, the equation a2 = e means that a-1 = a H.
Thus H is a subgroup.

4. Show that a finite abelian group is not cyclic if and only if it Zp

contains a subgroup isomorphic for some prime p.
to Zp
24
ANSWER: We know that every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic.
Thus if a finite abelian group G contains a subgroup isomorphic to Zp
Zp, which is not cyclic, then G cannot be cyclic.
Conversely, suppose that G is a finite abelian group that is not cyclic.
By Theorem 2.1, G contains a subgroup isomorphic to for the same
prime p, because if all components in the direct product correspond to
distinct primes, then G would be cyclic by Theorem
1.2. The subgroup 〈 〉 〈 〉 of is clearly isomorphic toZp Zp.

5. Prove that if a finite abelian group has order a prime p, then the order
of every element in the group is a power of p. Can the hypothesis of
commutativity be dropped? Why, or why not ?
 ANSWER: By the Theorem of Lagrange, the order of an element of a
finite group (that is, the order of the cyclic subgroup it generates)
divides the order of the group. Thus if G has prime-power order, then
the order of every element is also a power of the prime. The
hypothesis of commutativity was not used.

6. Let G,H and K be finitely generated abelian groups. Show that if G K

is isomorphic to H K ,then G H.
ANSWER: By Theorem 2.1, the groups that appear in the
decompositions of G×K and of H×K are unique except for the order
of the factors. Because G×K and H×K are isomorphic, these factors in
their decompositions must be the same. Because the decompositions
of G × K and H × K can both be written in the order with the factors
from K last, we see that G and H must have the same factors in their
expression in the decomposition described in Theorem 2.1. Thus G
and H are isomorphic.

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7. (a) How many subgroups of Z5Z6 are isomorphic to Z5 Z6 ?
(b) How many subgroups of Z Z are isomorphic to Z Z ?
ANSWER:
a. Cardinality considerations show that the only subgroup of Z5 Z6
that it isomorphic to Z5 Z6 isZ5 Z6 itself.
b. There are an infinite number of them. Subgroup mZ×nZ is
isomorphic to Z×Z for all positive integers m and n.

8. Let p and q be distinct prime numbers. How does the number (up
to isomorphism) of abelian groups of order pr compare with the
number (up to isomorphism) of abelian groups of order qr?
ANSWER: The numbers are the same.
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 REFERENCES

1. A FIRST COURSE IN ABSTRACT ALGEBRA , John B.

Fraleigh (Seventh Edition)

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