MATH 111A: GROUP THEORY

ASSIGNMENT 4: SOLUTIONS
Exercise 1 Let G be a group and let H be a subgroup of G. Let g G and let h Hg. Prove
that Hg = Hh.
Solution 1 Since h Hg we can write
h1
1 h = g

h = h1 g

for some h1 H. Let h2 h Hh, with h2 H. Then h2 h = (h2 h1 )g Hg, and weve thus shown
that Hh Hg. On the other hand, if h3 g Hg for h3 H, then h3 g = (h3 h1
1 )h Hh and we
get also Hg Hh. Thus Hg = Hh and were done.
Exercise 2 Find an example of a group G, a subgroup H G, and two elements g, h G such
that Hg = Hh but such that gH 6= hH.
Solution 2 We must take a nonnormal subgroup. So lets start with the smallest nonabelian
group G = S3 , and see if any nonnormal subgroup will work: for example, lets try H = {e, (12)}.
This is not normal because (123)(12)(123)1 = (123)(12)(132) = (23) 6 H. We have
H(123) = H(23) = {(123), (23)},
while
(123)H = {(123), (13)},
(23)H = {(23), (132)} =
6 (123)H.
Exercise 3 Let



G=
GL2 (R) | ac 6= 0 ,



1 x
H=
G .
0 1
a b
0 c

Note that H is a normal subgroup of G.

(a) Prove that two cosets


a b
0 c


H,

x y
0 z


H

are equal if and only if a = x and c = z.

(b) Use the observation in part (a) to define an isomorphism
G/H
= R R .
Solution 3
(a) Note that


a b
0 c


H=

a b + ax
0
c
1


GL2 (R) .

ASSIGNMENT 4

Every matrix in this coset has a and c on the diagonal. Thus, the only way two such cosets
can be equal is if the diagonal entries are all equal. This proves that if




a b
x y
H=
H,
0 c
0 z
then a = x and c = z. On the other hand, if a = x and c = z then

1 




1
x y
a b
c y
a b
=
0 z
0 c
0 c
ac 0 a


1
ac c(b y)
=
0
ac
ac


1 (b y)/a
=
H.
0
1
Hence these two matrices define the same left coset of H. This concludes the only if part
of the proof.
(b) By part (a) the map : G/H R R defined by

 
a b

H = (a, c)
0 c
is a bijection between the left cosets of H mod G and the elements of the cartesian product
R R . We only have to check that is a group homomorphism. By definition the
identity of G/H goes to (1, 1), which is the identity of R R . To see that respects
multiplication we check:

 
 

 
a b
x y
ax ay + bz

H
H =
H
0 c
0 z
0
cz
= (ax, cz)
= (a, c)(x, z)

  
 
a b
x y
=
H
H .
0 c
0 z
This concludes the proof.
Exercise 4 Let
D8 = {1, , 2 , , 7 , , , 2 , , 7 }
denote the dihedral group of order 16, where 8 = 2 = 1 and = 7 . Let H = {1, 2 , 4 , 6 }
and note that H is a normal subgroup of G.
(a) Show that D8 contains exactly 9 elements of order 2.
(b) Write down the subgroup lattice for D8 .
(c) Show that there is a partition
D8 = H H H H.
(d) Prove that D8 /H is isomorphic with (Z/2Z) (Z/2Z).
(e) Use this to write down the subgroup lattice of D8 /H. Do you recognize this as a sublattice
of the one found in part (b)?
Solution 4

ASSIGNMENT 4

(a) We have seen that all elements of the form n are of order 2, and there are 8 of these. We
also note that ord( d ) = 8/ gcd(d, 8). The only way this can be 2 is if d = 4, hence 4 gives
the ninth and final element of order 2 in D8 .
(b) The cyclic subgroups of hi correspond to the divisors 1, 2, 4 and 8 of 8. These are the
groups
h 8 i, h 4 i, h 2 i, hi.
All other cyclic subgroups are the ones of order 2 generated by the reflections. To find
more subgroups we can consider pairing the cyclic subgroups. Pairing two powers n and
n gives another subgroup of hi, and so weve accounted for it already.
What if we pair two reflections, say n and m with m 6= n? If H is a subgroup
containing them then it also contains
n m = mn .
If m n 1, 3, 5, 7 (mod 8) then mn generates hi. In this case the group containing
n and m must be all of D8 , since D8 is generated by and any reflection, not just .
If m n 2, 6 (mod 8) then mn generates h 2 i. In this case we find that n and m
generate one of two possible copies of D4 inside D8 : (assume wlog n < m)
(
{e, 2 , 4 , 6 , , 2 , 4 , 6 }
if (n, m) = (0, 2), (0, 6), (2, 4), (4, 6),
h n , m i =
2
4
6
3
5
7
{e, , , , , , , } if (n, m) = (1, 3), (1, 7), (3, 5), (5, 7).
The last possibility is that m n 4 (mod 8) and then mn generates h 4 i. Similar to
above, in this case we find 4 copies of D2
= (Z/2Z)2 inside D8 :

{e, 4 , , 4 }
if (n, m) = (0, 4),

{e, 4 , , 5 } if (n, m) = (1, 5),

h n , m i =

{e, 4 , 2 , 6 } if (n, m) = (2, 6),

{e, 4 , 3 , 7 } if (n, m) = (3, 7).

At this point weve found all the subgroups, but were not done our argument! We still
have to show that no other subgroups are possible. Lets continue by seeing what happens
when we pair a rotation n with a reflection m . In this case one gets one of the dihedral
groups encountered above, so this case contributes nothing new. By Lagrange, if we add
anything new to a copy of D4 in D8 then it must be the whole group, since the order of
every subgroup has to divide 16, and D4 has order 8 so there are no nontrivial subgroups
above any copy of D4 inside D8 . It remains to consider what happens if we add a new
element to one of the four copies of D2 that we found inside D8 . If we add one of the
elements 2 or 6 to a copy of D2 , then one obtains also 2 and obtains one of the 2 copies
of D4 encountereed already. Adding , 3 , 5 or 7 to one of the D2 s generates the whole
group. Now we only have to consider what happens if we add a reflection to one of the
copies of D2 . Depending on what reflection you add, it is not hard to see that youll get a
D4 or the entire D8 . For example, consider
H = {e, 4 , , 4 }.
If we add 2 or 6 to this group then we obtain the first copy of D4 seen above. If we
add , 3 , 5 or 7 , then the resulting subgroup will contain all of hi and hence must
equal D8 . This treats all of the relfections not already contained in H.

ASSIGNMENT 4

Thus, weve shown that all subgroups generated by 3 elements are contained in the list
weve found already, so were finished! The subgroup lattice looks like:

jj D8 SSSSS
SSSS
jjjj
j
j
j
SSSS
jj
j
j
SSSS
j
jj
j
S
j
j
j
hi
TTTT
k
TTTT
kkk
TTTT
kkk
k
k
TTTT
kk
kkk
TTT
kkk

h , i
h , i TT
TTTT
jjj
j
j
j
TTTT
jj
j
j
TTTT
j
jj
j
TTTT
j
j
j
j
j
4
4
2
2
4
h , i YYYYYYY
h , i T
h i
h , i
h 4 , 3 i
eeeee t
YYYYYY
e
J
HH
e
k
T
e
e
k
T
J
u
e
T
YYYYYY
HH
eeeee
kkk u
tt
YYYYYY JJJJ TTTTTT
HH
kkk uuuueeeeeeeeeeee
tt
YYYYYYJJ
k
T
HH
t
k
T
k
e
t
u
T
e
YYJYYYY
H
eeuee
kkk
tt
YYYYTYTYTTT
kkekeeeeeeee u
YY
e
4
3
2
5
6
4
h i ZZZZZZZZh
h i
i
h i TT
h i gggg h i eeeeeee h 7 i
h i
h i
ZZZZZZXXXXXXXXX
FF
kk
gg eeeeeeee
k
y
k
ZZZZZZ XXXXX TTTTTT
FF
y
e
ggggg
kk
ZZZZZZ XXXXX TTT
yy kkkkk gggggegegegeeeeeeeee
ZZZZZZ XXXX TTT FFF
y
g
k
e
g
y
e
ZZZZZXZXXXXTTT FF
k
g
e
ZZZZXZXZXXTXTT
yy kkkgggegegeeeee
ZZZX
gekkgekgegegeee
hei

Note the symmetry about the cyclic subgroups generated by powers of . This can be
described in terms of group theory! Indeed, there is a group isomorphism
: D8 D8
defined by ( n ) = n and ( n ) = n+1 . This homomorphism reflects the diagram
above about the middle line. Whenever you see symmetry you should ask yourself: what
is the group theoretical explanation?
(c) This is a simple computation:
H = {1, 2 , 4 , 6 },
H = {, 2 , 4 , 6 },

H = {, 3 , 5 , 7 },
H = { , 3 , 5 , 7 }.

These cosets do in fact partition D8 as claimed, so that

D8 /H = {H, H, H, H}.
(d) Lets first just double check that every nontrivial element of D8 /H has order 2, to help
clarify our understanding of quotients:
(H)2 = 2 H = H because 2 H;
( H)2 = 2 H = H because 2 = e H;
( H)2 = ( )2 H = H because ( )2 = e H.
Now, there are several isomorphisms : D8 /H (Z/2Z) (Z/2Z). For example, one
could map
(H) = (0, 0),

(H) = (1, 0),

( H) = (0, 1),

( H) = (1, 1).

This is clearly bijective and its not hard to check that its a group homomorphism using
the computation above.

ASSIGNMENT 4

(e) Since the only nontrivial subgroups of (Z/2Z) (Z/2Z) are the three cyclic ones of order
2, the same is true for D8 /H and we deduce that it has the subgroup lattice:
D8 /H

II
II
II
II
I

vv
vv
v
vv
vv

h Hi

hHi

HH
HH
HH
HH
H

hHi

h Hi

uu
uu
u
uu
uu

h 2 , i

rr
rrr
r
r
r
rrr

KKK
KKK
KKK
K

D8 MM
MMM
MMM
MMM
hi
h 2 , i
r
rrr
r
r
r
rrr

H = h 2 i

On the right we have drawn the top of the subgroup lattice for D8 . Note the equality
between the two! This is explained by the subgroup correspondence theorem for quotient
groups.
Exercise 5 Let
Q4 = {1, a, a2 , , a7 , b, ba, ba2 , , ba7 }
denote the generalized quaternion group of order 16, where a4 = b2 , a8 = b4 = 1 and ab = ba7 . Let
H = {1, a2 , a4 , a6 } and note that H is a normal subgroup of G.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Show that Q4 contains exactly one element of order 2.

Use part (a) and part (a) of exercise 4 to deduce that Q4 and D8 are not isomorphic.
Write down the subgroup lattice for Q4 .
Show that there is a partition
Q4 = H aH bH baH.

(e) Prove that Q4 /H is isomorphic with (Z/2Z)(Z/2Z). Note that as in the previous exercise,
the subgroup lattice of Q4 /H is a sublattice of the subgroup lattice of Q4 . (You dont have
to do anything about the subgroup lattice in this exercise, as the computation is the same
as in exercise 4. Were simply pointing out that the lattice of the quotient always appears
as a sublattice of the original groups lattice.)
Solution 5
(a) First consider an element of the form ban . Note that
(ban )2 = ban ban = b2 a7n+n = b2 (a8 )n = b2 = a4 6= 1.
We see that each element of the form ban is of order 4. Hence, its only possible to find
elements of order two within the cyclic subgroup hai of order 8, and the only element of
order 2 in there is a4 . Hence Q4 contains a unique element of order 2.
(b) Since D8 has 9 elements of order 2 and Q4 only has one, these two groups are not isomorphic.
(c) First note that Q4 is generated by a and any one of ban , for then we may cancel the an to
show that b is also in the subgroup as Q4 is generated by a and b, we get everything this
way. This is true if we pair a3 , a5 and a7 with some ban too, as each of the odd powers of
a generates the cyclic subgroup hai.
What happens if we pair a4 with some ban ? Weve already shown in part (a) that
a4 = (ban )2 , so that in fact the group generated by a4 and ban is just the cyclic subgroup
of order 4 generated by ban ! So we get nothing new this way.

ASSIGNMENT 4

When we pair a2 (or a6 ) with the various elements ban we get interesting stuff. In this
way we find two copies of the quaternion group of order 8 inside Q4 :
hb, a2 i = hba2 , a2 i = hba4 , a2 i = hba6 , a2 i = {1, a2 , a4 , a6 , b, ba2 , ba4 , ba6 },
hba, a2 i = hba3 , a2 i = hba5 , a2 i = hba7 , a2 i = {1, a2 , a4 , a6 , ba, ba3 , ba5 , ba7 }.
One can show that these are isomorphic with the quaternion group Q as follows: to see
that hb, a2 i
= Q, map b 7 i, a2 7 j and ba2 7 k. One can treat hba, a2 i similarly.
If we pair two powers an and am we will just generate a cyclic subgroup of hai. So now
we need to check what happens if we pair two elements ban and bam . If n and m are both
even then its not hard to check that you get hb, a2 i. If n and m are both odd then you
get hba, a2 i. Finally, if n and m have opposite parity, then you can show that the subgroup
they generate contains a, and hence must be all of Q4 .
What happens if we add new elements to one of the groups generated by 2 things? Well
in this case there are only two groups that are generated by 2 elements, and theyre both
of size 8 inside Q4 . By Lagrange there are no subgroups of size between 8 and 16 in Q4 , so
we necessarily have to get the entire group if we add a new element to one of the groups
generated by 2 things. So weve found all the subgroups!
Here is the diagram:
ww
ww
w
ww
ww

hb, a2 i

hbi

Q4 H
HH
HH
HH
HH
hai
hba, a2 i

FF
FF
yy
FF
yy
y
FF
y
yy
hba2 i
ha2 i
RRR
RRR
FF
RRR
RRR FFFF
RRR F
RRR F
R

vv
vv
v
vv
vv

II
II
II
II
I

hbai
jj
vv
jjjj
j
v
j
v
j
v jjjj
vv
vjvjjjjjj
ha4 i

hba3 i

h1i
What subgroups are normal? Can you describe the symmetry of this diagram group theoretically?
(d) As above, this is a simple computation:
H = {1, a2 , a4 , a6 },
bH = {b, ba2 , ba4 , ba6 },

aH = {a, a3 , a5 , a7 },
baH = {ba, ba3 , ba5 , ba7 }.

These cosets do in fact partition Q4 as claimed, so that

Q4 /H = {H, aH, bH, baH}.
(e) As above, lets first just double check that every nontrivial element of Q4 /H has order 2,
to help clarify our understanding of quotients:
(aH)2 = a2 H = H because a2 H;
(bH)2 = b2 H = H because b2 = a4 H;
(baH)2 = (ba)2 H = H because (ba)2 = a4 H.

ASSIGNMENT 4

Now, there are several isomorphisms : Q4 /H (Z/2Z) (Z/2Z). For example, one
could map
(H) = (0, 0),

(aH) = (1, 0),

(bH) = (0, 1),

(baH) = (1, 1).

This is clearly bijective and its not hard to check that its a group homomorphism using
the computation above.
We said that you didnt have to do anything about the lattice, as it was similar to above,
but we include a last diagram in the solutions to really drive home the point:
Q4 /H

II
II
II
II
I

v
vv
vv
v
v
vv

hbHi

haHi

HH
HH
HH
HH
H

hHi

hbaHi

u
uu
uu
u
u
uu

hb, a2 i

s
sss
s
s
ss
sss
KKK
KKK
KKK
K

Q4 LL
LLL
LLL
LLL
hai
hba, a2 i
rr
rrr
r
r
rrr

H = ha2 i

Remark. Exercises 4 and 5 give examples of two groups G1 and G2 of the same size which are
not isomorphic, but which have normal subgroups H1 G1 , H2 G2 such that H1
= H2 and

G1 /H1 = G2 /H2 .