GROUPS

Compiled by: Nyasha P. Tarakino (Trockers)

+263772978155/+263717267175

[email protected]

APRIL 2018

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SYLLABUS (6042) REQUIREMENTS
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 define a binary operation
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  define closure, commutation, association,
 distribution, identity and inverse element
  define a group
  use the basic properties to show that a given
 structure is, or is not, a group
  solve problems involving binary operations

and properties of a group


Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
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 NOTES
1.0 Definition of a Binary Operation

If G is a nonempty set, a binary operation on is a function (Kreher,

2012).

Example

) is a binary operation defined on the integers . Instead of writing we

instead write . Indeed the binary operation μ is usually thought of as
multiplication and instead of we use notation such as and . If
the set is a finite set of n elements we can present the binary operation, say , by an by
array called the multiplication table. If a , then the –entry of this table is .

Example

Multiplication table for a binary operation on the set

Note that but .

 A binary operation on set G is associative if for all
.

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 2
Subtraction on is not an associative binary operation, but addition is. Other
examples of associative binary operations are matrix multiplication and function
composition. A set with associative binary operation is called a semi-group. The most
important semi-groups are groups.

1.1 Definition of a Group

1. A group is a non-empty set with a binary operation which

– is closed, (for every and in , also lies in ),
– is associative, (for every
– has a unique identity element, (an element such that for all
in ),
– every element has its own inverse, (for every in there exists such that
). (J.M. Stone)

2. A group G is a non-empty set with a function

where we usually abbreviate or simply , such that the following

hold:
(1) (Associativity) for all
(2) (Identity) There is an element such that for all we have
.
(3) (Inverse) For every there is an element such that
(Goren, 2003)

3. A group is a set with a special element e on which an associative binary operation

is defined that satisfies:
(i) for all ;
(ii) for every , there is an element such that .
(Kreher, 2012).

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 3
  Let G be a group. The unique element satisfying for all is
called the identity for the group G. If , unique element such that
is called the inverse of and we denote it by (Kreher, 2012).

N.B.: For simplicity I will use the binary operation instead of .

A group can be represented as a Latin square. For example

* e a b
e e*e e*a e*b
a a*e a*a a*b
b b*e b*a b*b

Each row and column must contain every element of G once only. You can find the identity
easily from this by looking for the row or column which is unchanged. Inverses are easy to
find from a Latin Square; you merely look for which other element makes it the identity.

Example
If you are asked to show that something is a group in an exam you must tick off each of the
above criteria one-by-one. For example show that the set forms a group under
complex number multiplication. Firstly create table

N.B.: So we can see that it is closed. Complex number multiplication is associative. Identity
element: ) Inverses:

 ,
 and
 .

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 4
Definition: A Latin square of side n is an n by n array in which each cell contains a single
element form an n-element set , such that each element occurs in each
row exactly once. It is in standard form with respect to the sequence if the
elements in the first row and first column are occurring in the order of this sequence.

Example
A Latin square of side 6 in standard form with respect to the sequence .

The above Latin square is not the multiplication table of a group, because for this square:

but

 A group is commutative or Abelian if b=b for all and b in . If you have a

Latin Square for the group you can see if it is Abelian by seeing if it symmetrical
along the leading diagonal.

Definition: A group is abelian if for all elements .

 The order of a group is the number of elements the group contains. If a group contains
an infinite number of elements it is said to be of infinite order.

 The order of an element of is the smallest n such that . If no such n exists

then the element is said to have infinite order. A group is cyclic if every element of a
group can be generated by powers of a single element.

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 5
 A subgroup (of a group) is any non-empty subset of which also forms a group
under the same binary operation . (A subgroup includes the subset containing just
and the subset itself.) A proper subgroup is any subgroup with order not one or the
same as the original group.

 A good way to find subgroups (beyond the cases where it is obvious) is to consider
the powers of the elements of the original group; if you get back to then the set of
elements gone through will be a subgroup. For example in a group of order , if you
take an element and discover that (i.e. the order of is ) then the set
will form a subgroup.

 Lagrange’s theorem states that the order of any subgroup must divide the order of the
original group. For example a group of order could potentially only have subgroups
of order or . It could therefore potentially only have proper subgroups of order
or . Some useful corollaries of Lagrange’s Theorem include:
a) The order of an element must divide the order of the group.
b) A group of prime order must be cyclic.

 Two groups and are isomorphic if there exists a one-to-one mapping

between them which preserves their structure, i.e.

A good way to show that groups are not isomorphic is to consider the orders of the
elements of and : If they are different, then they cannot be isomorphic. In an exam
you must make the mappings (something) (something else) very clear; i.e. list them
out!

 You need to know the structure of groups up to order . Groups of order and
must be cyclic (prime order) and therefore every group of order (say), must be
isomorphic to every other group of order . These groups are all isomorphic to
, the group of under addition mod .

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 6
 There are two groups of order 4:

(i)

&

(ii) the Klein four-group

Whereas the cyclic group is generated by a single element a, the Klein four-group is
generated by two elements, and with and . In the Klein
four-group every element is self inverse (i.e. has order 2).

 For groups of order 6 there are two fundamental types, the cyclic group isomorphic to
and the dihedral group which represents the symmetries of the regular
triangle under rotation and reflection. The group is generated by (a) the rotation
and (b) reflection with and . The table is:

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 7
Definition : Two groups G and H are said to be isomorphic if there is a one to one
correspondence such that for all . The
mapping is called an isomorphism and we say that is isomorphic to . This last statement
is abbreviated by . If satisfies the above property but is not a one to one
correspondence, we say is homomorphism.

1.2 UNIQUENESS

Some properties are unique.

Lemma 1.2.1 If is a group and , then implies .

Proof. Suppose satisfies and let be such that . Then

and thus

Lemma 1.2.2 In a group

(i) if , then and
(ii) for all
Furthermore, there is only one element satisfying (ii) and for all , there is only
one satisfying .

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 8
Proof. Suppose , then
.
Therefore by Lemma 1.2.1 .
Suppose and let be such that . Then by (i)

Now we show uniqueness. Suppose that and for all . Then

(
Therefore by Lemma 1.2.1 . Consequently

and therefore by Lemma 1.2.1 . Finally suppose and . Then

by (i) and (ii)

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 9
 WORKED EXAMPLES

Example 1: Some examples of groups.

1. The integers under addition .

2. The non-zero complex numbers is a group under multiplication.
3. The set of invertible matrices over the reals with matrix multiplication
as the binary operation. This is the general linear group of matrices over the
reals .
4. The set of matrices

under matrix multiplication. The multiplication table for this group is:

5. The set of complex numbers forms a group under complex number

multiplication. The multiplication table for this group is:

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 10
 ASSIGNMENT

1. Let be the subset of complex numbers of the form . Show that is a

group under multiplication. How many elements does have?

2. Find all Latin squares of side in standard form with respect to the sequence
. For each square found determine whether or not it is the multiplication table
of a group.

3. If is a finite group, prove that, given , that there is a positive integer n such
that . The smallest such integer is called the order of and we write
.

4. Let G be a finite set and let be an associative binary operation on G satisfying for
all (i) if , then ; and(ii) if , then
.
Then must be a group under (Also provide a counter example that shows that this
is false if is infinite.)

5. Show that the Latin Square

is not the multiplication table of a group.

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
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 PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

Question

(i)Show that the set of numbers , under multiplication , does not form a
group. [2]
(ii) The set of numbers , under multiplication , forms a group. Write
down the value of . [1]
(iii) State, justifying your answer, whether or not the group in part (ii) is isomorphic to the
multiplicative group , where e is the identity and . [2]

Question

(a) A group G of order 6 has the combination table shown below.

(i) State, with a reason, whether or not is commutative. [1]

(ii) State the number of subgroups of which are of order . [1]
(iii) List the elements of the subgroup of G which is of order 3. [1]
(b) A multiplicative group of order has elements , where is the
identity. Write down the order of each of the elements and . [3]

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 12
Question

In this question is a group of order , where .

(i) In each case, write down the smallest possible value of :
(a) if is cyclic, [1]
(b) if has a proper subgroup of order , [1]
(c) if has at least two elements of order . [1]
(ii) Another group has the same order as , but is not isomorphic to . Write down the possible
value(s) of . [2]

Question

The function is defined by for . The function g

is defined by .

(i) Show that and that . [4]

It is given that are elements of a group under the operation of composition of

functions.
The element is the identity, where e : x → x for .

(ii) State the orders of the elements . [2]

(iii) The inverse of the element is denoted by h. Find . [2]
(iv) Construct the operation table for the elements of the group . [4]

Question

The set M consists of the six matrices , where . It is given that

forms a group under matrix multiplication, with numerical addition and

multiplication both being carried out .

(i) Determine whether is a commutative group, justifying your answer. [2]

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 13
(ii) Write down the identity element of the group and find the inverse of [3]

(iii) State the order of and give a reason why has no subgroup of order . [2]

(iv) The multiplicative group G has order 6. All the elements of , apart from the identity,
have order . Determine whether G is isomorphic to justifying your answer. [2]

Question

The elements of a group are the complex numbers where

These elements are combined under the operation of addition .
(i) State the identity element and the order of . [2]
(ii) Write down the inverse of . [1]
(iii) Show that every non-zero element of has order . [3]

Question

The set under the binary operation * forms a group of order with the
following operation table.

(i) Find the order of each element of . [3]

(ii) Write down a proper subgroup of . [1]
(iii) Is the group cyclic? Give a reason for your answer. [1]
(iv) State suitable values for each of and in the case where the operation is
multiplication of complex numbers. [1]

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 14
Question

A multiplicative group of order has elements , where is the

identity. The elements have the properties and .
(i) Prove that and that . [2]
(ii) Find the order of each of the elements . [5]
(iii) Prove that is a subgroup of . [4]
(iv) Determine whether is a commutative group. [4]

Question

consists of the set with the operation of multiplication .

(i) Write down the operation table and, assuming Associativity, show that is a group. [5]
(ii) State the order of each element. [1]
(iii) Find all the proper subgroups of . [1]
The group consists of the set with the operation of multiplication .
(iv) Explaining your reasoning, determine whether is isomorphic to . [2]

Question

The group G consists of the set combined under multiplication

.
(i) Find the inverse of each element. [3]
(ii) Show that is not cyclic. [3]
(iii) Find two isomorphic subgroups of order and state an isomorphism between them. [5]

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 15
Question

Elements of the set are combined according to the operation table shown below.

(i) Verify that . [2]

(ii) Assuming that the associative property holds for all elements, prove that the set
, with the operation table shown, forms a group . [4]
(iii) A multiplicative group is isomorphic to the group G. The identity element of is
and another element is . Write down the elements of in terms of e and . [2]

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 16
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Nyasha P. Tarakino (Trockers)

+263772978155/+263717267175

[email protected]

Nyasha P. Tarakino {BSc. Mathematics (MSU), P.G.D.E. (ZOU), MSc. Financial Engineering
(NUST).}
Page 17