Midterm 1. Midterm 1. Notes on the questions.

1.
Nearly everyone got this right using Euclid's algorithm. One solution is 1 = 3×61-7×26 (though there are other solutions).
2.
A common error was to assume that if the pi's are prime p1×¼×pn+1 is prime. It is not always; however any prime factor of it must be a new prime.
3.
A common error was to put all rotations in the same conjugacy class. There are 6 conjugacy classes as follows:
1.
The identity element.
2.
Two rotations by 1/6 of a revolution.
3.
Two rotations by 1/3 of a revolution.
4.
One rotation by 1/2 a revolution.
5.
Three reflections in a diagonal through a corner.
6.
Three reflections in a diagonal through a side.
4.
The elements of Un are represented by 1,2,4,7,8,11,13,14 of orders 1,4,2,4,4,2,4,2. A common error was to compute the order of g as the smallest integer > 1 such that gn = g, rather than gn = identity element. Several people used a rather hard method of finding the orders, by (say) working out 134 and then dividing this by 15. It is easier to do this as follows: first note that the order must be 1,2,4,or 8 because it divides the order of G. So we just have to work out 131, 132, 134 mod 15 and so on. This can be done without hard work as follows:
132
º (-2)2 = 4 mod 15
134
= (132)2 º 42 = 16 º 1 mod 15
so 13 has order 4 (and similarly for the other elements). The group is not cyclic as it has no element of order 8= order of group.
5.
The cosets are given by multiplying all elements of K by some element of G, so we get {1,4} = K, {2,8} = 2K , {7,13} = 7K, and {11,14} = 11K. A common error was to add something to K rather than multiplying something by K. Any bijection from G/K to Z2×Z2 taking the identity to the identity is a homomorphism in this particular case (though of course this is not true for most other groups).


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On 2 Oct 1999, 09:29.