1 Problems on Group Theory (by Dr. J. G.

Mehta)
1. NET JUNE 2019 (B): Consider the set of matrices
  
s b
G= : b ∈ Z, s ∈ {−1, 1} .
0 1

Then which of the following is true?

(a) G forms a group under addition
(b) G forms an abelian group under multiplication.
(c) Every element in G is diagonalisable over C
(d) G is finitely generated abelian group under multiplication

2. NET JUNE 2019 (C): For any prime p consider group G = GL2 (Z/pZ). Then
which of the following are true?
(a) G has an element of order p
(b) G has exactly one element of order p
(c) G has no p-Sylow subgroup
 
1 a
(d) Every element of order p is conjugate to a matrix , where a ∈ (Z/pZ)∗
0 1

3. NET JUNE 2019 (C): Let Z[x] be the ring of polynomials over integers. Then the
additive group Z[x] is
(a) isomorphic to the multiplicative group Q+ of positive rational numbers.
(b) isomorphic to the group of rational numbers Q under addition.
(c) countable
(d) uncountable

4. NET DEC 2018 (B): The number of group homomorphisms from the alternating
group A5 to the symmetric group S4 is
(a) 1 (b) 12 (c) 20 (d) 6

5. NET DEC 2018 (B): Let p ≥ 23 be a prime number such that the decimal expansion
(base 10) of p1 is periodic with period p − 1 (that is p1 = 0.a1 a2 · · · ap−1 with ai ∈
{0, 1, . . . , 9} for all i) and for any m, 1 ≤ m < p − 1, p1 6= 0.a1 a2 · · · am .
Let (Z/pZ)∗ denote the multiplicative group of integers modulo p. Then which of the
following is correct?
(a) The order of 10 ∈ (Z/pZ)∗ is a proper divisor of (p − 1)
(p−1)
(b) The order of 10 ∈ (Z/pZ)∗ is 2
(c) The element 10 ∈ (Z/pZ)∗ is a generator of the group (Z/pZ)∗
(d) The group (Z/pZ)∗ is cyclic but not generated by the element 10

6. NET DEC 2018 (C): For any group G let Aut(G) denote the group of automor-
phisms of G. Which of the following are true?

1
 (a) if G is finite, then Aut(G) is finite.
(b) if G is cyclic, then Aut(G) is cyclic.
(c) if G is infinite, then Aut(G) is infinite.
(d) if Aut(G) is isomorphic to Aut(H), where G and H are two groups, then G is
isomorphic to H.

7. NET JUNE 2018 (B): Let S7 denote the group of permutations of the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}.
Which of the following is true?
(a) There are no elements of order 6 in S7
(b) There are no elements of order 7 in S7
(c) There are no elements of order 8 in S7
(d) There are no elements of order 10 in S7

8. NET JUNE 2018 (B): The number of group homomorphisms from Z10 to Z20 is
(a) zero (b) one (c) five (d) ten

9. NET JUNE 2018 (C): Let G = S3 be the permutation group of 3 symbols. Then
(a) G is isomorphic to a subgroup of a cyclic group.
(b) there exists a cyclic group H such that G maps homomorphically onto H.
(c) G is a product of cyclic groups.
(d) there exists a non-trivial homomorphism from G to the additive group (Q, +) of
rational numbers.

10. NET JUNE 2018 (C): Let G be a group with |G| = 96. Suppose H and K are
subgroups of G with |H| = 12 and |K| = 16. Then
(a) H ∩ K = {e} (c) H ∩ K is Abelian
(b) H ∩ K 6= {e} (d) H ∩ K is not Abelian

11. NET DEC 2017 (B): The group S3 of permutations of {1, 2, 3} acts on the three
dimensional vectors space over the finite field F3 of three elements, by permuting
vectors in basis {e1 , e2 , e3 } by σ(ei ) = eσ(i) , for all σ ∈ S3 . The cardinality of the
vectors fixed under the above action is
(a) 0 (b) 3 (c) 9 (d) 27

12. NET DEC 2017 (C): Let G be a finite abelian group and a, b ∈ G with order(a) =
m, order(b) = n. Which of the following are necessarily true?
(a) order(ab) = mn
(b) order(ab) = lcm(m, n)
(c) there is an element of G whose order is lcm(m, n)
(d) order(ab) = gcd(a, b)

13. NET JUNE 2017 (C): For an integer n ≥ 2, let Sn be the permutation group
on n letters and An the alternating group. Let C∗ be the group of nonzero complex
numbers under multiplication. Which of the following are correct statements?

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 (a) For every integer n ≥ 2, there is a non trivial homomorphism χ : Sn → C∗ .
(b) For every integer n ≥ 2, there is a unique non trivial homomorphism χ : Sn → C∗ .
(c) For every integer n ≥ 3, there is a non trivial homomorphism χ : An → C∗ .
(d) For every integer n ≥ 5, there is no non trivial homomorphism χ : An → C∗ .

14. NET JUNE 2017 (C): Let G be a group of order 125. Which of the following
statements are necessarily true?
(a) G has a non-trivial abelian subgroup.
(b) The center of G is a proper subgroup.
(c) The center of G has order 5.
(d) There is a subgroup of order 25.

15. NET DEC 2016 (B): Let Sn denote the permutation group on n symbols and An
be the subgroup of even permutations. Which of the following is true?
(a) There exists a finite group which is not a subgroup of Sn for any n ≥ 1.
(b) Every finite group is a subgroup of An for some n ≥ 1.
(c) Every finite group is a quotient of An for some n ≥ 1.
(d) No finite abelian group is a quotient of Sn for some n ≥ 3.

16. NET DEC 2016 (B): What is the number of non-singular 3 × 3 matrices over F2 ?
(a) 168. (b) 384. (c) 23 . (d) 32 .

17. NET DEC 2016 (C): Consider the following subsets of the group of 2 × 2 non-
singular matrices over R:
  
a b
G= : a, b, d ∈ R, ad = 1
0 d
  
1 b
H= :b∈R .
0 1
Which of the following statements are correct?
(a) G forms a group under matrix multiplication.
(b) H is a normal subgroup of G.
(c) The quotient group G/H is well-defined and is Abelian.
(d) The quotient group G/H is well defined and is isomorphic to the group of diagonal
matrices (over R) with determinant 1.

18. NET DEC 2016 (C): Let C be the field of complex numbers and C∗ be the group
of nonzero complex numbers under multiplication. Then which of the following are
true?
(a) C∗ is cyclic.
(b) Every finite subgroup of C∗ is cyclic.
(c) C∗ has finitely many subgroups.

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 (d) Every proper subgroup of C∗ is cyclic.

19. NET JUNE 2016 (B): Let G = (Z/25 Z)∗ be the group units (i.e. the elements
that have multiplicative inverse) in the ring (Z/25 Z). Which of the following is a
generator of G?
(a) 3. (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6

20. NET JUNE 2016 (C): Let G be a finite abelian group of order n. Pick each correct
statement from below.
(a) If d divides n, there exists a subgroup of G of order d.
(b) If d divides n, there exists an element of order d in G.
(c) If every proper subgroup of G is cyclic, then G is cyclic.
(d) If H is a subgroup of G, there exists a subgroup N of G such that G/N ∼
= H.
21. NET JUNE 2016 (C): Consider the symmetric group S20 and its subgroup A20
consisting of all even permutations. Let H be a 7-Sylow of A20 . Pick each correct
statement from below:
(a) |H| = 49.
(b) H must be cyclic.
(c) H is a normal subgroup of A20 .
(d) Any 7-Sylow subgroup of S20 is a subset of A20 .

22. NET JUNE 2016 (C): Let p be a prime. Pick each correct statement from below.
Up to isomorphism
(a) there are exactly two abelian groups of order p2 .
(b) there are exactly two groups of order p2 .
(c) there are exactly two commutative rings of order p2 .
(d) there is exactly one integral domain of order p2 .

23. NET DEC 2015 (B): What is the total number of positive integer solutions to the
equation (x1 + x2 + x3 )(y1 + y2 + y3 + y4 ) = 15.
(a) 1 (b) 2. (c) 3 (d) 4

24. NET DEC 2015 (B): What is the cardinality of the set {z ∈ C | z 98 = 1 and z n 6=
1 for any 0 < n < 98}?
(a) 0 (b) 12. (c) 42 (d) 49

25. NET DEC 2015 (B): A group generated by G of elements x, y with the relations
x3 = y 2 = (xy)2 = 1. The order of G is
(a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 8 (d) 12.

26. NET DEC 2015 (C): Let an denote the number of those permutations σ on
{1, 2, . . . , n} such that σ is a product of exactly two disjoint cycles. Then:
(a) a5 = 50 (b) a4 = 14 (c) a5 = 40 (d) a4 = 11

27. NET DEC 2015 (C): Let G be a simple group of order 60. Then

4
 (a) G has six Sylow-5 subgroups.
(b) G has four Sylow-3 subgroups.
(c) G has cyclic subgroup of order 6.
(d) G has a unique element of order 2.

28. NET DEC 2015 (C): For n ≥ 1, let (Z/nZ)∗ be the group of units of (Z/nZ).
Which of the following groups are cyclic?
∗
(a) (Z/10Z)∗ (b) (Z/23 Z) (c) (Z/100Z)∗ (d) (Z/163Z)∗

29. NET JUNE 2015 (B): How many elements does the set {z ∈ C | z 60 = −1, z k 6=
−1 for 0 < k < 60} have?
(a) 24. (b) 30. (c) 32. (d) 45.

30. NET JUNE 2015 (B): Upto isomorphism, the number of abelian groups of order
108 is
(a) 12. (b) 9. (c) 6. (d) 5.

31. NET JUNE 2015 (C): Let σ : {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} → {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} be a permutation (one-
one and onto function) such that σ −1 (j) ≤ σ(j), ∀ j, 1 ≤ j ≤ 5. Then which of the
following are true?
(a) σ ◦ σ(j) = j for all j, 1 ≤ j ≤ 5.
(b) σ −1 (j) = σ(j) = j for all j, 1 ≤ j ≤ 5.
(c) The set {k : σ(k) 6= k} has even number of elements.
(d) The set {k : σ(k) = k} has odd number of elements.

32. NET JUNE 2015 (C): If x, y and z are elements of a group such that xyz = 1,
then
(a) yzx = 1. (b) yxz = 1. (c) zxy = 1. (d) zyx = 1.

33. NET JUNE 2015 (C): Which of the following cannot be the class equation of a
group of order 10?
(a) 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 5 = 10. (c) 1 + 2 + 2 + 5 = 10.
(b) 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10. (d) 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10.

34. NET DEC 2014 (B): In the group of all invertible 4 × 4 matrices with entries in
the field of 3 elements, any 3-Sylow subgroup has cardinality:
(a) 3. (b) 81. (c) 243. (d) 729.

35. NET DEC 2014 (B): The number of conjugacy classes in the permutation group
S6 is
(a) 12 (b) 11. (c) 10 (d) 6

36. NET DEC 2014 (C): Let G be a non-abelian group. Then, its order can be:
(a) 25 (b) 55. (c) 125. (d) 35.

37. NET DEC 2014 (C): Let G be a group of order 45. Then

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 (a) G has an element of order 9.
(b) G has a subgroup of order 9.
(c) G has a normal subgroup of order 9.
(d) G has a normal subgroup of order 5.

38. NET JUNE 2014 (C): Consider the multiplicative group G of all the (complex)
2n -th roots of unity, where n = 0, 1, 2, . . .. Then
(a) Every subgroup of G is finite
(b) G has a finite set of generators
(c) G is cyclic
(d) Every finite subgroup of G is cyclic

39. NET JUNE 2014 (B): The total number of non-isomorphic groups of order 122 is
(a) 2. (b) 1. (c) 61. (d) 4.

40. NET DEC 2013 (C): Determine which of the following cannot be the class equation
of a group
(a) 10 = 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 5. (c) 8 = 1 + 1 + 3 + 3.
(b) 4 = 1 + 1 + 2. (d) 6 = 1 + 2 + 3.

41. NET DEC 2013 (B): How many normal subgroups does a non-abelian group G of
order 21 have other than the identity subgroup {e} and G?
(a) 0. (b) 1. (c) 3. (d) 7.

42. NET DEC 2013 (B): (Same as NET DEC 2011 (B)) The number of group
homomorphisms from the symmetric group S3 to the additive group Z/6 Z is
. (a) 1 (b) 2. (c) 3. (d) 0.

43. NET JUNE 2013 (B): Let G be a simple group of order 168. What is the number
of subgroups of G of order 7?
(a) 1. (b) 7. (c) 8. (d) 28.

44. NET JUNE 2013 (C): Let σ = (1 2)(3 4 5) and τ = (1 2 3 4 5 6) be permutations

in S6 , the group of permutations on six symbols. Which of the following statements
are true?
(a) The subgroups hσi and hτ i are isomorphic to each other.
(b) σ and τ are conjugate in S6 .
(c) hσi ∩ hτ i is the trivial group
(d) σ and τ commute

45. NET JUNE 2013 (C): Let Sn denote the symmetric group on n symbols. The
group S3 ⊕ (Z/2Z) is isomorphic to which of the following groups?

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 (a) Z/12 Z (c) A4 , the alternating group of order 12
(b) (Z/6 Z) ⊕ (Z/2 Z) (d) D6 , dihedral group of order 12

46. NET JUNE 2013 (C): Consider the two sets A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
Choose the correct statements.
(a) The total number of functions from A to B is 125
(b) The total number of functions from A to B is 243
(c) The total number of one-one functions from A to B is 60
(d) The total number of one-one functions from A to B is 120

47. NET DEC 2012 (C): For a positive integer n ≥ 4 and a prime number p ≤ n,
let Up,n denote the union of all p-Sylow subgroups of the alternating group An on n
letters. Also let Kp,n denote the subgroup of An generated by Up,n , and let |Kp,n |
denote the order of Kp,n . Then
(a) |K2,4 | = 12 (b) |K2,4 | = 4 (c) |K2,5 | = 60 (d) |K3,5 | = 30

48. NET JUNE 2012 (B): Let F be a field of 8 elements and A = {x ∈ F | x7 =

1 and xk 6= 1 for all natural numbers k < 7}. Then the number of elements in A is
(a) 1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (d) 6.

49. NET JUNE 2012 (B): Consider the group Q/Z, where Q and Z are the groups of
rationals and integers respectively. Let n be a positive integer. Then there is a cyclic
subgroup of order n?
(a) not necessarily. (c) yes, but not necessarily a unique one.
(b) yes, a unique one. (d) never

50. NET JUNE 2012 (B): The no. of nontrivial ring homomorphisms from Z12 to Z28
is
(a) 1. (b) 3. (c) 4. (d) 7.

51. NET JUNE 2012 (C): For any group G of order 36 and any subgroup H of G of
order 4
(a) H ⊂ Z(G) (b) H = Z(G) (c) H is normal in G (d) H is an abelian group

52. NET JUNE 2012 (C): Let G denote the group S4 × S3 . Then
(a) a 2-Sylow subgroup of G is normal
(b) a 3-Sylow subgroup of G is normal
(c) G has a non-trivial normal subgroup
(d) G has a normal subgroup of order 72

53. NET DEC 2011 (B): Let p be a prime number. The order of a p-Sylow subgroup
of the group GL50 (Fp ) of invertible 50 × 50 matrices with entries from the finite field
Fp , equals:
(a) p50 (b) p125 (c) p1250 (d) p1225

7
54. NET DEC 2011 (B): The number of group homomorphisms from the symmetric
group S3 to Z/6Z is
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 6

55. NET DEC 2011 (C): Which of the following numbers can be orders of permutations
σ of 11 symbols such that σ does not fix any symbol?
(a) 18 (b) 30 (c) 15 (d) 28

56. NET JUNE 2011 (C): Let G = Z10 × Z15 . Then

(a) G contains exactly one element of order 2
(b) G contains exactly 5 elements of order 3
(c) G contains exactly 24 element of order 5
(d) G contains exactly 24 elements of order 10

57. NET JUNE 2011 (C): Let H = {e, (1, 2)(3, 4)} and K = {e, (1, 2)(3, 4), (1, 3)(2, 4), (1, 4)(2, 3)}
be subgroups of S4 , where e denotes the identity element of S4 . Then
(a) H and K are normal subgroups of S4
(b) H is normal in K and K is normal in A4
(c) H is normal in A4 but not normal in S4
(d) K is normal in S4 , but H is not

58. NET JUNE 2011 (B): Let G be a group of order 77. Then center of G is isomorphic
to
(a) Z (b) Z7 (c) Z11 (d) Z77

59. NET JUNE 2011 (B): Consider a group G. Let Z(G) be its center, i.e. Z(G) =
{g ∈ G | gh = hg for all h ∈ G}. For n ∈ N, the set of positive integers, define

Jn = {(g1 , . . . , gn ) ∈ Z(G) × · · · × Z(G) | g1 · · · gn = e}.

As a subset of the direct product group G × · · · × G (n times direct product of the

group G), Jn is
(a) Not necessarily a subgroup
(b) A subgroup but not necessarily a normal subgroup
(c) A normal subgroup
(d) Isomorphic to the direct product Z(G) × Z(G) × · · · × Z(G) ((n − 1) times).

2 Problems on Number Theory (by Dr. J. G. Mehta)

1. NET JUNE 2019 (C): Let a ∈ Z be such that a = b2 + c2 , where b, c ∈ Z r {0}.
Then a cannot be written as
(a) pd2 , where d ∈ Z and p is a prime with p ≡ 1 (mod 4)
(b) pd2 , where d ∈ Z and p is a prime with p ≡ 3 (mod 4)
(c) pqd2 , where d ∈ Z and p, q are primes with p ≡ 1 (mod 4), q ≡ 3 (mod 4)

8
 (d) pqd2 , where d ∈ Z and p, q are primes with p, q ≡ 3 (mod 4)

2. NET DEC 2018 (B): Given integers a and b, let Na,b denote the number of positive
integers k < 100 such that k ≡ a (mod 9) and k ≡ b (mod 11). Then which of the
following statements is correct?
(a) Na,b = 1 for all integers a and b.
(b) There exists integers a and b satisfying Na,b > 1.
(c) There exists integers a and b satisfying Na,b = 0.
(d) There exists integers a and b satisfying Na,b = and there exists integers c and d
satisfying Nc,d > 1.

3. NET DEC 2017 (B): Let f : (Z/4Z) × (Z/6Z) be the function f (n) = (n mod 4, n
mod 6). Then
(a) (0 mod 4, 3 mod 6) is in the image of f
(b) (a mod 4, b mod 6) is in the image of f for all even integers a and b
(c) image of f has exactly 6 elements
(d) kernel of f = 24Z

4. NET JUNE 2017 (A): What is the remainder when 3256 is divided by 5?
(a) 1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (d) 4.

5. NET JUNE 2017 (B): Let S be the set of all integers from 100 to 999 which are
neither divisible by 3 nor by 5. The number of elements in S is
(a) 480. (b) 420. (c) 360. (d) 240.

6. NET JUNE 2017 (B): The remainder obtained when 162016 is divided by 9 equals
(a) 1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (d) 7.

7. NET DEC 2016 (B): Given a natural number n > 1 such that (n − 1)! ≡ −1
(mod n), we can conclude that
(a) n = pk where p is prime, k > 1.
(b) n = pq where p and q are distinct primes.
(c) n = pqr where p, q, r are distinct primes.
(d) n = p where p is a prime.

8. NET JUNE 2016 (B): Which of the following statements is FALSE? There exists
an integer x such that
(a) x ≡ 23 (mod 1000) and x ≡ 45 (mod 6789).
(b) x ≡ 23 (mod 1000) and x ≡ 54 (mod 6789).
(c) x ≡ 32 (mod 1000) and x ≡ 54 (mod 9876).
(d) x ≡ 32 (mod 1000) and x ≡ 44 (mod 9876).

9
 9. NET DEC 2015 (C): Which of the following intervals contains an integer satisfying
the following three congruences:
x ≡ 2 (mod 5), x ≡ 3 (mod 7) and x ≡ 4 (mod 11).
(a) [401, 600]. (b) [601, 800]. (c) [801, 1000]. (d) [1001, 1200].

10. NET JUNE 2015 (C): Which of the following primes satisfy the congruence
a24 ≡ 6a + 2 mod 13 ?
(a) 41. (b) 47. (c) 67. (d) 83.

11. NET JUNE 2014 (B): If n is a positive integer such that sum of all positive
integers a satisfying 1 ≤ a ≤ n and GCD(a, n) = 1 is equal to 240n, then the number
of summands, namely, φ(n), is
(a) 120. (b) 124. (c) 240. (d) 480.
n
12. NET JUNE 2014 (C): For positive integers m and n, let Fn = 22 + 1 and Gm =
m
22 − 1. Which of the following are true?
(a) Fn divides Gm whenever m > n.
(b) gcd(Fn , Gm ) = 1 whenever m 6= n.
(c) gcd(Fn , Fm ) = 1 whenever m 6= n.
(d) Gm divides Fn whenever m < n

13. NET DEC 2013 (B): For any integers a, b, let Na,b denote the number of positive
integers x < 1000 such that x ≡ a (mod 27) and x ≡ b (mod 37). Then,
(a) There exists a, b such that Na,b = 0.
(b) For all a, b, Na,b = 1.
(c) For all a, b, Na,b > 1.
(d) There exists a, b such that Na,b = 1 and there exists a, b such that Na,b = 2.

14. NET JUNE 2013 (A): What is the last digit of 773 ?
(a) 7. (b) 9. (c) 3. (d) 1.

15. NET JUNE 2013 (C): Consider the congruence xn ≡ 2 (mod 13). This congruence
has a solution for x if
(a) n = 5. (b) n = 6. (c) n = 7. (d) n = 8.

16. NET DEC 2012 (B): The last two digits of 781 are
(a) 07. (b) 17. (c) 37. (d) 47.

17. NET DEC 2012 (C): For positive integers m, let φ(m) denote the number of integer
k such that 1 ≤ k ≤ n and GCD(k, m) = 1. Then which of the following statements
are necessarily true?
(a) φ(n) divides n for every positive integer n.


(b) n divides φ an − 1 for all positive integers a and n.


(c) n divides φ an − 1 for all positive integers a and n such that GCD(a, n) = 1.


(d) a divides φ an − 1 for all positive integers a and n such that GCD(a, n) = 1.

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18. NET JUNE 2012 (B): The last digit of (38)2011 is
(a) 6. (b) 2. (c) 4. (d) 8.

19. NET JUNE 2012 (B): The number of positive divisors of 50000 is
(a) 20. (b) 30. (c) 40. (d) 50.

20. NET JUNE 2011 (B): The number of elements in the set
{m | 1 ≤ m ≤ 1000, m and 1000 are relatively prime} is
(a) 100. (b) 250. (c) 300. (d) 400.

21. NET JUNE 2011 (B): The unit digit of 2100 is

(a) 2. (b) 4. (c) 6. (d) 8.

22. NBHM MSc 2018: What is the highest power of 3 dividing 1000!?

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