THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Department of Mathematics
MATH 2070AB Algebraic Structures 2016-17 Term 2
Coursework 1
Sample Solutions

Section (circle one): A B

Name: Student ID: Score:

1. Let:   
1 x
S= :xZ
0 1
Is S a group under matrix multiplication? Justify your answer.

(Hint: Is matrix multiplication well-defined on S? Is the multiplication associative? Does

S have an identity element? Does every element have an inverse?)

   
1 x 1 y
Given any , in S, we have:
0 1 0 1
    
1 x 1 y 1 x+y
= ,
0 1 0 1 0 1

which lies in S, since x + y Z if x, y Z. Hence, matrix multiplication is a

well-defined binary operation on S.
The set S is a subset of M22 (R), the set of real 2 2 matrices. Since matrix
multiplication is associative on M22 (R), it is associative on S.
The 2 2 identity matrix I lies in S, and for all A S we have AI = IA = A.
Hence, S has an identity element.
 
1 x
For any S, we have:
0 1
     
1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x
= = I.
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1

Hence, each element in S has an inverse.

We conclude that S is a group under matrix multiplication.

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2. Show that for all g, h in a group G, we have:

(gh)1 = h1 g 1

Let e denote the identity element of G. By the associativity of the group operation, we
have:
(h1 g 1 )(gh) = h1 (g 1 g)h = h1 eh = e;
(gh)(h1 g 1 ) = g(hh1 )g 1 = geg 1 = e.
Hence, by the uniqueness of the inverse of an element in a group, we have:

(gh)1 = h1 g 1 .

3. Let G be a group. Show that for all a, b G such that ord ab is finite, we have:

ord ab = ord ba.

Solution. Denote the orders of ab and ba by m and n, respectively. We have:

| {z
ab ab} = e, |ba {z
ba} = e.
m times n times

Multiply the first equation by a1 on the left and a on the right, and the second equation
by b1 on the left and b on the right, we have:

ba} = a1 ab
|ba {z ab} a = a1 ea = e
| {z
m times m times

and:
ab} = b1 eb = e.
| {z
ab
n times

This implies that n m (since the order of ba is n) and m n (since the order of ab is
m). Hence, m = n. J
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4. Let a, b be elements of a group G. Suppose a has order 5 and a3 b = ba3 . Prove that
ab = ba.

Solution. Multiplying with a2 from the left on both sides of the equation a3 b = ba3 , we
have b = a5 b = a2 ba3 .
Hence, we have ab = a a2 ba3 = (a3 b)a3 = ba3 a3 = ba J
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5. The quaternion group is defined as follows:

Q = {1, 1, i, j, k, i, j, k} ,

where the group operation is written multiplicatively, the symbol 1 denotes the identity
element, and i, j, k denotes (1)i, (1)j, (1)k, respectively.
Moreover, by definition 1 commutes with every element of the group (For instance,
(1)i = i(1) = i), and the symbols i, j, k satisfy the following relations:

(1)2 = 1, i2 = j 2 = k 2 = ijk = 1.

(a) Show that ij = k and jk = i.

Solution. Since ijk = 1, multiplying both sides by k on the right, we have:

(ijk)(k) = 1(k) = k.

On the left-hand side, (ijk)(k) = (ij)(k 2 ) = ij, since k 2 = 1. So, ij = k.

Similarly, since i2 = 1, we have:

jk = (i2 )jk = (i)(ijk) = (i)(1) = i.

J
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(b) Show that ij = ji.

Solution. Notice that ijij = k 2 = 1 ,and ijji = i(1)i = 1.

Hence we have ijij = ijji, multiplying with ji from the left on both sides gives:

ij = ji.