Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/abstract_algebra/study_guide/31.html
Excerpted from Beachy/Blair, Abstract Algebra, 2nd Ed. 1996 Forward to 3.2 | Back to 2.3 | Up | Table of Contents | About this document
for all a in S. If * has an identity element e, and a is an element of S, then an element b in S is said to be an inverse element for a if a*b=e and b * a = e.
Proposition 3.1.2. Let * be an associative, binary operation on a set S. (a) The operation * has at most one identity element. (b) If * has an identity element, then any element of S has at most one inverse. (c) If * has an identity element and elements a,b in S have inverses a-1 and b-1, respectively, then the inverse of a-1 exists and ( a-1 )-1 = a, and the inverse of a * b exists and ( a * b )-1 = b-1 * a-1. Definition 3.1.3. A group (G,) is a nonempty set G together with a binary operation on G such that the following conditions hold: (i) Closure: For all a,b in G, the element a b is a uniquely defined element of G. (ii) Associativity: For all a,b,c in G, we have a (b c) = (a b) c. (iii) Identity: There exists an identity element e in G such that ea=a and ae=a
1 of 6
1/22/2012 4:31 PM
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/abstract_algebra/study_guide/31.html
for all a in G. (iv) Inverses: For each a in G there exists an inverse element a-1 in G such that a a-1 = e We will usually write ab for the product a b. Example 3.1.1. The set Q of nonzero rational numbers, the set R of nonzero real numbers, and the set C of nonzero complex numbers form groups under ordinary multiplication. Definition 3.1.4. The set of all permutations of a set S is denoted by Sym(S). The set of all permutations of the set {1,2,...,n} is denoted by Sn. Proposition 3.1.5. If S is any nonempty set, then Sym(S) is a group under the operation of composition of functions. Proposition 3.1.6. (Cancellation Property for Groups) Let G be a group, and let a,b,c be elements of G. (a) If ab = ac, then b = c. (b) If ac = bc, then a = b. Proposition 3.1.7. If G is a group and a,b belong to G, then the equations ax = b and xa = b have unique solutions. Conversely, if G is a nonempty set with an associative binary operation in which the equations ax = b and xa = b have solutions for all a,b in G, then G is a group. Definition 3.1.8. A group G is said to be abelian if ab = ba for all elements a,b in G. Definition 3.1.9. A group G is said to be a finite group if the set G has a finite number of elements. In this case, the number of elements is called the order of G, denoted by |G|. Example 3.1.3. Zn is an abelian group under addition. Example 3.1.4. Zn is an abelian group under multiplication. Its order is given by the value (n) of Euler's phi-function. Definition 3.1.10. The set of all invertible n n matrices with entries in R is called the general linear group of degree n over the real numbers, and is denoted by GLn(R). Proposition 3.1.11. The set GLn(R) forms a group under matrix multiplication. and a-1 a = e.
2 of 6
1/22/2012 4:31 PM
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/abstract_algebra/study_guide/31.html
24. On the set G = Q of nonzero rational numbers, define a new multiplication by a * b = ab/2, Show that G is a group under this multiplication. 25. Write out the multiplication table for Z9. 26. Write out the multiplication table for Z15. for all a,b in G. Solution Solution Solution
27. Let G be a group, and suppose that a and b are any elements of G. Show that if (ab) 2 = a2 b2, then ba = ab. Solution
3 of 6
1/22/2012 4:31 PM
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/abstract_algebra/study_guide/31.html
28. Let G be a group, and suppose that a and b are any elements of G. Show that (aba -1)n = a bn a-1, for any positive integer n. Solution 29. In Definition 3.1.3 of the text, replace condition (iii) with the condition that there exists e in G such that e a = a for all a in G, and replace condition (iv) with the condition that for each a in G there exists a' in G with a' a = e. Prove that these weaker conditions (given only on the left) still imply that G is a group. Solution 30. The previous exercise shows that in the definition of a group it is sufficient to require the existence of a left identity element and the existence of left inverses. Give an example to show that it is not sufficient to require the existence of a left identity element together with the existence of right inverses. Solution 31. Let F be the set of all fractional linear transformations of the complex plane. That is, F is the set of all functions f(z) : C -> C, with f(z) = (az+b)/(cz+d), where the coefficients a,b,c,d are integers with ad-bc = 1. Show that F forms a group under composition of functions. Solution 32. Let G = { x in R | x > 1 } be the set of all real numbers greater than 1. Define x * y = xy - x - y + 2, for x, y in G. (a) Show that the operation * is closed on G. (b) Show that the associative law holds for *. (c) Show that 2 is the identity element for the operation *. (d) Show that for element a in G there exists an inverse a -1 in G. Solution
(This is related to Exercise 3.1.15 in the text, which asks you to prove that a group G is abelian if and only if (ab)n=anbn
4 of 6
1/22/2012 4:31 PM
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/abstract_algebra/study_guide/31.html
for all elements a and b in G and all positive integers n.) Lab 4. In the group of order 12 called A4 in Groups15, pair up the elements with their inverses. Is any element its own inverse? Find an example of two elements x,y for which (xy) -1 x -1y -1.
(This is related to Exercise 3.1.19 in the text, which asks you to prove that a group G is abelian if and only if (ab) -1 = a -1b -1 for all elements a and b in G.) Lab 5. Exercise 3.1.21 in the text asks you to prove that if G is a finite group with an even number of elements, then there must exist an element a in G (different from the identity e) for which a2 = e. As experimental evidence pointing to the truth of the exercise, show the following for each group listed by Groups15: if the order of the group is an even number, then there is a nontrivial solution to the equation x2 = e. Also show that if the order of the group is an odd number, then the only solution to the equation x2 = e is the trivial solution x = e. Hint: In the groups listed in Groups15, the element A is the identity. To solve x2 = A, look for A on the diagonal of the group table. Forward to 3.2 | Back to 2.3 | Up | Table of Contents
5 of 6
1/22/2012 4:31 PM
http://www.math.niu.edu/~beachy/abstract_algebra/study_guide/31.html
6 of 6
1/22/2012 4:31 PM