Tutorial 4

SC-116 Algebraic Structures Autumn 2015

(Quotient groups, Conjugacy classes, Lagranges theorem)

(1) Which are the subsets of R R are equivalence relations

i) {(x, y)|x y is and even integer}
ii) {(x, y)|x y is rational}
i) {(x, y)|x + y is rational}
i) {(x, y)|x y 0}
(2) Find all the cosets of
i) The subgroup 4Z of Z.
ii)The subgroup < 2 > of Z12 .
(3) Find all the conjugacy classes of D8 .
(4) Let G a group then Z(G) = {x G|xg = gx g G} is the set all elements of G
that commute with every other element of G. It is called the center or commutator
subgroup of the group G. Show that
i) Z(G) is a subgroup of G.
ii)Show that Z(G) is the union of all single element conjugacy classes.
iii)Z(G) is a normal subgroup of G.
(5) Show that
i) Every group of prime order is cyclic.
ii)If G is a group and x G then x|G| = e.
iii)A subgroup H of index 2 is a normal subgroup.
(6) Let G be a group and let H be the subset of G that consists of elements of type
xyx1 y 1 that is H = {g G|g = xyx1 y 1 for somex, y G}. H is called the
commutator subgroup of G and is denoted by [G, G]. Observe that if G is abelian
then [G, G] = {e}. The size of [G, G] determines how far the group is from being
abelian. Show that H is a normal subgroup of G and G/[G, G] is abelian. One can
show that [G, G] is the smallest normal subgroup of G such that the quotient group
is abelian. This process is known as abelianizing the group G.
(7) Abelianize D2n for n even and odd.