Abstract Algebra

Problem set

Problem 1. Let G be a group with the property that for any x, y, z ∈ G,

xy = zx implies y = z.

Prove that G is abelian.

Problem 2. Let G = {x ∈ R | 0 ≤ x < 1}. For x, y ∈ G, define

x ∗ y := frac(x + y) = x + y − ⌊x + y⌋,

where ⌊a⌋ denotes the greatest integer less than or equal to a. Prove that ∗ is a well-
defined binary operation on G, and that G is an abelian group under ∗ (called the real
numbers mod 1).
Problem 3. Let ( ! )
a a
G= : a ∈ R, a ̸= 0 .
a a
Determine whether G is a group under matrix multiplication.
Problem 4. Prove or disprove the following statements.
(a) Every group of order 36 is abelian.
(b) A group in which every element is of order at most 2 is abelian.
Problem 5. Which of the following statements are true?
(a) Any group of order 15 is abelian.
(b) Any group of order 25 is abelian.
Problem 6. Let S7 be the group of all permutations on 7 symbols. Does S7 contain an
element of order 10? If the answer is “yes”, then give an example.
Problem 7. (i) Write the following permutation in S8 as the product of disjoint cycles:

(1 4 3 8 7)(5 4 8).

(ii) Write down all the permutations in S4 which are conjugate to the permutation
(1 2)(3 4).
Problem 8. Let σ be the m-cycle (1 2 . . . m). Show that σ i is also an m-cycle if and
only if i is relatively prime to m.
Problem 9. Show that if n ≥ 4, then the number of permutations in Sn which are the
product of two disjoint 2-cycles is
n(n − 1)(n − 2)(n − 3)
.
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Problem 10. If r1 , r2 , and r3 represent rotations from D2n and s1 , s2 , and s3 represent
reflections from D2n , determine whether r1 r2 s1 r3 s2 s3 r3 is a rotation or a reflection.

Problem 11. Let G be a group. Show that

\
Z(G) = C(a).
a∈G

Problem 12. Let S be a subset of a group G and let

\
H = {K ≤ G : S ⊆ K }

be the intersection of all subgroups of G that contain S.

(a) Prove that ⟨S⟩ = H.

(b) If S ̸= ∅, prove that

n o
⟨S⟩ = s1n1 nm
· · · sm m ≥ 1, si ∈ S, ni ∈ Z .

(The si need not be distinct.)

Problem 13. Let G be an abelian group with identity e and let n ∈ Z be fixed. Prove
that the set of all elements of G that satisfy the equation xn = e is a subgroup of G.
Give an example of a group G in which the set of all elements that satisfy x2 = e does
not form a subgroup.

Problem 14. Let R∗ be the group of nonzero real numbers under multiplication, and let

H = { x ∈ R∗ | x2 is rational }.

(a) Prove that H is a subgroup of R∗ .

(b) Determine whether the exponent 2 can be replaced by any positive integer n and
still have H be a subgroup.

Problem 15. Let   

a b
G= : a, b, c, d ∈ Z
c d
under matrix addition. Let
  
a b
H= ∈G a+b+c+d=0 .
c d

1. Prove that H is a subgroup of G.

2. What if 0 is replaced by 1 in the defining condition?

Problem 16. Let H = { a + bi ∈ C∗ | a, b ∈ R, a2 + b2 = 1 }. Prove or disprove that H

is a subgroup of C∗ under multiplication. Describe the elements of H geometrically.
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Problem 17. Let a be an element of order n in a group G, and let k ∈ Z>0 . Then
n
⟨ak ⟩ = ⟨agcd(n,k) ⟩ and |ak | = .
gcd(n, k)

Also, prove that

⟨ai ⟩ = ⟨aj ⟩ iff gcd(n, i) = gcd(n, j),
and
|ai | = |aj | iff gcd(n, i) = gcd(n, j).

Problem 18. State and prove: The Fundamental Theorem of Cyclic Groups.

Problem 19. (a) If d is a positive divisor of n, then the number of elements of order d
in a cyclic group of order n is φ(d), where φ is Euler’s totient function.
(b) If p is an odd prime, prove that there is no group that has exactly p elements of
order p.

Problem 20. Give an example of a group G with infinitely many distinct subgroups
H1 , H2 , . . . such that H1 ⊊ H2 ⊊ H3 ⊊ · · · .

Problem 21. (a) If a group G is isomorphic to a group H, prove that Aut(G) is isomor-
phic to Aut(H).
(b) Let G be a group. Prove that the mapping α : G → G given by α(g) = g −1 for
all g ∈ G is an automorphism if and only if G is abelian.

Problem 22. Let n √ o

G = a + b 2 | a, b ∈ Q
and   
a 2b
H= a, b ∈ Q .
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?

Problem 23. Give at least two examples to show that the converse of Lagrange’s theorem
is false.

Problem 24. Suppose that K is a proper subgroup of H and H is a proper subgroup of

G. If |K| = 42 and |G| = 420, what are the possible orders of H?

Problem 25. Let G be a group of order 25. Prove that G is cyclic or g 5 = e for all
g ∈ G. Generalize to any group of order p2 where p is prime. Does your proof work for
this generalization?

Problem 26. Prove that if G is a finite group, the index [G : Z(G)] cannot be a prime
number.

Problem 27. Let H and K be subgroups of a finite group G with H ≤ K ≤ G. Prove

that
|G : H| = |G : K| · |K : H|.

Problem 28. Prove that every subgroup of the dihedral group Dn of odd order is cyclic.
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Problem 29. State and prove Cauchy’s theorem for abelian groups.

Problem 30. A proper subgroup H of a group G is called maximal if there is no subgroup

K with H < K < G. Show that Z(G) is never a maximal subgroup of a group G.

Problem 31. Let H = {z ∈ C× : |z| = 1}. Prove that

C× /H ∼
= R>0 ,

the group of positive real numbers under multiplication.

Problem 32. Determine all group homomorphisms

φ : Zn −→ Zn ,

where Zn is the cyclic group of order n under addition.

Problem 33. Suppose G is a finite simple group and contains subgroups H and K such
that [G : H] and [G : K] are primes. Show that |H| = |K|.

Problem 34. Suppose that H is a subgroup of Sn of odd order. Prove that H ⊆ An .

Problem 35. Determine all integers n for which

H = {α ∈ An | α2 = e}

is a subgroup of An .

Problem 36. If G is a finite abelian group and p is a prime dividing |G|, prove that G
contains an element of order p.

Problem 37. Let p be a prime and let G be a group of order pa m, where p does not
divide m. Assume P is a subgroup of G of order pa and N is a normal subgroup of G of
order pb n, where p does not divide n. Prove that

|P ∩ N | = pb and |P N : N | = pa−b .

Problem 38. Find a homomorphism

f : U (40) −→ U (40)

with kernel {1, 9, 17, 33} and such that f (11) = 11. (Here U (n) is the group of units
modulo n).

Problem 39. Determine all homomorphisms from Z onto S3 .

Problem 40. Determine all homomorphisms from Z to S3 .

Problem 41. Let G be a group acting on a set A. Suppose G acts trivially on A Let
G = Sn , the symmetric group on n elements, and let A = {1, 2, . . . , n}. Then prove that
G acts transitively on A.

Problem 42. Let G be a group acting on a set A. Suppose G acts trivially on A.

(a) Determine the stabilizer Ga of an element a ∈ A.

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(b) Find the orbit of each element of A.

(c) For which sets A is this action transitive?

Problem 43. Let G be a finite group of order n. Assume that p is the smallest prime
dividing |G|. Then every subgroup of G with index p is normal.

Problem 44. Let p be a prime number. Prove that any group G of order 2p has a
subgroup of order p, and that this subgroup is normal in G.

Problem 45. Let |G| = pq, where p and q are distinct primes. If G has a normal
subgroup of order p and a normal subgroup of order q, prove that G is cyclic.

Problem 46. Let |G| = pq, where p > q are primes.

(a) Show that G has a subgroup of order p and a subgroup of order q.

(b) If q ∤ (p − 1), then G is cyclic.

(c) Given primes p > q such that q | (p − 1), show that there exists a non-abelian group
of order pq.

(d) Prove that any two non-abelian groups of order pq are isomorphic.

Problem 47. Let G be a finite group. Prove the class equation of G.

Problem 48. Let p be a prime and let G be a group of order pa for some a ≥ 1. Then
the center Z(G) is nontrivial.

Problem 49. If |G| = p2 for some prime p, then G is abelian. Also, prove that any
normal subgroup of order p lies in the center Z(G) of G.

Problem 50. Find the class equation of the group D8 .

Problem 51. The automorphism group of the cyclic group of order n is isomorphic to
(Z/nZ)× , an abelian group of order φ(n), where φ is Euler’s totient function.

Problem 52. Let G be a group of order pq, where p and q are primes with p ≤ q. If
p ∤ (q − 1), then G is abelian.

Problem 53. Find the automorphisms of the group Q8 , the quaternion group.

Problem 54. Let G be a group of order 45 with a normal subgroup P of order 32. Then
prove that G is abelian.

Problem 55. Let G be a finite group of order |G| = pa m, where p is a prime and p ∤ m.
Then

1. Sylow p-subgroups of G exist, that is, Sylp (G) ̸= ∅.

2. If P is a Sylow p-subgroup of G and Q is any p-subgroup of G, then there exists

g ∈ G such that Q ≤ gP g −1 . In particular, all Sylow p-subgroups of G are conjugate
in G.
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3. The number of Sylow p-subgroups of G satisfies

np ≡ 1 (mod p).

In particular, np divides m as np is the index in G of the normalizer NG (P ) (np =

[G : NG (P )]) for any Sylow p-subgroup P.
Problem 56. Find the inner automorphisms of the group D8 , the Dihedral group of
order 8.
Problem 57. Prove that G is a finite group of order pn m, where p is a prime and p ∤ m.
Show that the number of Sylow p-subgroups of G divides m.
Problem 58. Let |G| = pn m, where p is prime with gcd(p, m) = 1. Assume that H ⊴ G
is a normal subgroup of order pn , and K ≤ G is a subgroup of order pk . Then prove that
K ⊆ H.
Problem 59. Let G be a finite group of order pn m, where p ∤ m, and suppose that
p > m. Prove that a Sylow p-subgroup of G is normal in G.
Problem 60. Find the class equation for non-abelian groups of order 55.
Problem 61. Let G1 , G2 , . . . , Gn be finite cyclic groups. Then the external direct product

G1 × G2 × · · · × Gn

is cyclic if and only if |Gi | and |Gj | are relatively prime for all i ̸= j.
Problem 62. Find all abelian groups of order 180 up to isomorphism.
Problem 63. The order of an element in a direct product of a finite number of finite
groups is the least common multiple of the orders of the components of the element.
Definition 0.0.1. Let p be a prime and n ∈ Z+ . Then

Epn = (Z/pZ × · · · × Z/pZ).

| {z }
n factors

is an abelian group of order pn with the property that xp = 1 for all x ∈ Epn . This group
is called the elementary abelian group of order pn .
Problem 64. Let p be a prime. Then the elementary abelian group E = Ep2 , which has
order p2 , contains exactly p + 1 subgroups of order p.
Problem 65. Find the commutator subgroups of S4 and A4 .
Problem 66. A subgroup H ≤ G is normal if and only if [G, H] ⊆ H.
Problem 67. Let G1 = Z, G2 = S3 and G3 = GL2 (R). Prove that G1 × G2 × G3 is a
group.
Problem 68. Let m = n1 n2 · · · nk . Then

Zm ∼
= Zn1 × Zn2 × · · · × Znk

if and only if gcd(ni , nj ) = 1 for all i ̸= j.

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Problem 69. Let R be a ring and a ∈ R. Define

C(a) = { r ∈ R | ra = ar }.

Then prove that C(a) is a subring of R containing a and the center of R, Z(R) = {z ∈
R | zx = xz for all x ∈ R}, is the intersection of the subrings C(a) as a ranges over R.

Problem 70. Let R be a commutative ring with unity, and let A be an ideal of R. Then
R/A is an integral domain if and only if A is a prime ideal.

Problem 71. Show that the ideal (2, x) in Z[x] is not principal.

Problem 72. Show that every ideal of Z is principal. In particular, prove that for
integers n, m ̸= 0 we have
⟨n, m⟩ = ⟨d⟩,
where d = gcd(n, m), and deduce that n and m are relatively prime if and only if ⟨n, m⟩ =
⟨1⟩.

Problem 73. Show that the ideal ⟨x⟩ is a prime ideal in Z[x], but it is not a maximal
ideal in Z[x].

Problem 74. Let R be a commutative ring with unity and let M be an R-module. For
each r ∈ R define rM = { rx : x ∈ M }, Mr = { x ∈ M : rx = 0 }.

1. Prove that both rM and Mr are submodules of M .

2. Suppose R = Z and M = Z/nZ, where n = rs with gcd(r, s) = 1. Show that

rM = Ms .

Problem 75. Let M be an abelian group and let End M be the set of all endomorphisms
on M , i.e. the set of all group homomorphisms f : M → M .

1. Show that End M is an abelian group.

2. Prove that the following

(a) (End M, +, ◦) is a unitary ring.

(b) M is an End M -module under the action

End M × M → M, (f, m) 7→ f · m = f (m).

(c) If R is a unitary ring and µ : R → End M is a ring morphism such that

µ(1R ) = idM , then M is an R-module under the action

R × M → M, (λ, m) 7→ λm := [µ(λ)](m).

Problem 76. Let R be a ring. Let M be a left R-module, and let I ⊆ R be a right ideal.
Define the annihilator of I in M by

AnnM (I) = { m ∈ M | a · m = 0 for all a ∈ I }.

Prove that AnnM (I) is a submodule of M .

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Problem 77. Let R be a ring and I be an ideal of R. Prove that the quotient ring R/I
satisfies the universal mapping property.

Problem 78. Let A, B, and C be R-modules, and let f : A → B and g : A → C be

R-module homomorphisms with f surjective. Consider the commutative diagram
g
A C
f

Prove that the following statements are equivalent.

1. There exists a unique R-module homomorphism h : B → C such that h ◦ f = g.

2. ker f ⊆ ker g.

3. Show that h is injective if and only if ker f = ker g.

Problem 79. Let A1 , A2 , . . . , An be R-modules, and let Bi be a submodule of Ai for

each i = 1, 2, . . . , n. Prove that
A1 × A2 × · · · × An ∼ A1 A2 An
= × × ··· × .
B1 × B2 × · · · × Bn B1 B2 Bn
Problem 80. Give an explicit example of a map from one R-module to another which
is a group homomorphism but not an R-module homomorphism.

Problem 81. Let φ : R → S be a homomorphism of commutative rings.

1. Prove that if P is a prime ideal of S then either φ−1 (P ) = R or φ−1 (P ) is a prime

ideal of R. Apply this to the special case when R is a subring of S and φ is the
inclusion homomorphism to deduce that if P is a prime ideal of S then P ∩ R is
either R or a prime ideal of R.

2. Prove that if M is a maximal ideal of S and φ is surjective, then φ−1 (M ) is a

maximal ideal of R. Give an example to show that this need not be the case if φ is
not surjective.

Problem 82. Let R be an integral domain satisfying (UFD1): (Every nonzero non-
unit of R is a finite product of irreducible elements), every nonzero nonunit factors into
irreducibles. Then the following are equivalent.

(UFD2) Factorizations into irreducibles are unique up to order and multiplication by units.

(UFD2′ ) Every irreducible element is prime.

Problem 83. Every prime element is irreducible. Is the converse true? Justify your
answer.

Problem 84. Let R be an integral domain. A nonzero element p ∈ R is prime if and

only if the principal ideal ⟨p⟩ is prime.

Problem 85. In a principal ideal domain R, every nonzero prime ideal is maximal.
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Problem 86. Give an example of an integral domain in which unique factorization fails.

Definition 0.0.2. Let R be a commutative ring. An element x ∈ R is called nilpotent if

there exists an integer m > 0 such that xm = 0.

Problem 87. Let R be a commutative ring with 1 ̸= 0 and let x ∈ R be nilpotent. Then
prove the following.

(a) x is either 0 or a zero divisor.

(b) For every r ∈ R the element rx is nilpotent.

(c) 1 + x is a unit in R.

(d) The sum of a nilpotent element and a unit is a unit.