Isabela State University – Cauayan Campus 1

SEd Math 327 Abstract Algebra

Human culture has developed a formal system of thought for recognizing,

Chapter 3 classifying and making sense of patterns.
We call it MATHEMATICS.

Subgroups: Order of a Group and Order of an Element

Definition. The number of elements of a group (finite or infinite) is called its order. We will use ⌈𝐺 ⌉ to
denote the order of G.

Example: Consider 𝑈(15) = {1,2,4,7,8,11,13,14} under multiplication modulo 15.

Answer: This group has order 8 because there are 8 elements or numbers that are relatively prime to
15.

Definition. Let G be a group and 𝑎 ∈ 𝐺. The order of 𝑎, denoted |𝑎 |, is the smallest positive integer 𝑛
such that 𝑎 𝑛 = 𝑒, assuming that such 𝑛 exists, in which case 𝑎 has finite order. If no such 𝑛 exists, then
𝑎 has infinite order.

Example: What is the order of the identity element of a group?

Answer: The identity of a group is the only element having order 1.

Example: What is the order of the elements in ℤ6 ?

Answer:
|0| = 1
|1| = |5| = 6
|2| = |4| = 3
|3| = 2

Exercises:
1. Determine the order of group ℤ.

2. How about the order of 𝑈(10)?

3. Does the group ℤ41*

a. has exactly one subgroup of order 4? Of order 8?
b. has an element of order 10?
c. has exactly one element of order 10? 5?

4. Find the order of

a. 3 in ℤ24
b. 32 in ℤ60

5. Consider U(15). Find the orders of 7, and 11?

 Isabela State University – Cauayan Campus 2
SEd Math 327 Abstract Algebra

Subgroups
Definition. Let 〈𝐺,∗〉 be a group and H a non-empty subset of G. H is a subgroup of G under the
operation of G if and only if 〈𝐻,∗〉 is itself a group meaning the group operation of G is closed on H, and
if H is itself a group under this induced operation.
Notations: 𝐻 ≤ 𝐺 iff H is a subgroup of G.
H < G iff 𝐻 ≤ 𝐺 but 𝐻 ≠ 𝐺

Exercises:
1. 〈𝑛ℤ, +〉 and 〈ℤ, +〉 are groups.
nℤ ⊂ ℤ, therefore 〈𝑛ℤ, +〉 is a subgroup of 〈ℤ, +〉

2. Is 〈ℤ, +〉 a subgroup of 〈ℝ, +〉?

3. Is 〈{𝐻 },∗〉 a subgroup of 〈𝑆,∗〉?

4. Given ℤ4. Show if H = {0, 2} and K = {0, 3} subgroups of ℤ4?

5. Let M = {0, 1, 2, 3}and 2ℤ be the set of all even integers. Are they subgroups of ℤ?

Definition. If 〈𝐺,∗〉 is a group, then

1. {e} and G are subgroups of G.
They are called trivial or improper subgroups of G.
2. All other subgroups of G are non-trivial or proper subgroups of G.

Thm. If H is a subgroup of G, then

1. eH = eG (The identity eG of a group G is the eH of its subgroup H).
2. ∀𝑎 ∈ 𝐻, (𝑎′ )𝐻 = (𝑎′ )𝐺 . (The inverse of a in G is also the inverse in any subgroup of G that
contains it.)
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SEd Math 327 Abstract Algebra

Exercises:
1. Given: 〈{−1, −𝑖, 1, 𝑖 }, ∙ 〉, identify the subgroups of the given set and present the subgroups
using a Lattice Diagram.

2. Given 〈ℤ6 , +〉 or a group of ℤ modulo 6 when addition. Find the subgroups of ℤ6 and draw its
corresponding lattice diagram.

3. Given the Klien 4-group below

* e a b c
e e a b c
a a e c b
b b c e a
c c b a e
Find the subgroups of V and draw the lattice diagram of the subgroups.

4. Does the group ℤ41* has how many subgroups?

5. Find the subgroups of ℤ30. Give the orders of each. Draw the lattice diagram.
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SEd Math 327 Abstract Algebra

Cyclic Subgroups

Definition. A group is cyclic if and only if there is an element a in G such that 𝐺 = {𝑏𝑛 ⃒𝑛 ∈ ℤ}. Such
an element b is called the generator of G and thus say “b generates G” or “G is generated by b”.

Notation: 〈𝑏〉 is called the cyclic subgroup generated by b.

Note: Non-cyclic groups have no element that generates the whole group.

Example: In ℤ6, {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

〈0〉 = 0’ = {0}
〈1〉 = {12, 13, 14, 15, 16} = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0} = ℤ6

ℤ6 is a group. 1 ∈ ℤ6. This implies that 〈1〉 generates ℤ6.

Hence, ℤ6 is cyclic.

Are there other elements of ℤ6 that generates ℤ6? What are they?

Is ℤ10 cyclic? Why?

How about ℤ8*? Why?

1. Find all generators of ℤ20. List the elements of ℤ20 that have order 5.

2. U(15) has 6 cyclic groups, what are they? What are the generators?