National Higher School of Mathematics

Preparatory Cycle Academic Year : 2024/2025

First Year Course : Algebra 1

Worksheet 4
Algebraic Structures
The starred exercises are to be done in tutorial sessions
Groups
Exercise 1. ?
On R, we define the binary operation ∗ by : ∀x, y ∈ R, x ∗ y = x + y + sin(xy).
1. Is this binary operation commutative ?
2. Does it have a neutral element ?
3. Let f (x) = x + 3 + sin(3x). Compute f (−4), f (−3.8), and f (−3.1).
4. What can we deduce from this ?
5. Deduce that ∗ is not associative.
Exercise 2.

1. On the set H of all binary relations on a set E, we define the binary operation ∗ by : R ∗ S = T , where T
is defined as follows :

∀x, y ∈ E, xT y ⇐⇒ ∃z ∈ E, such that (xRz) and (zSy) .

Show that ∗ is associative.

2. We define on Z the binary operation ∗ by :

x ∗ y = xy + bφxcbφyc,
where φ denotes the golden ratio. Is ∗ associative ?
Exercise 3. ?
1. Show that (G, ∗) is a group in the following cases :
(a) G = R × R \ {(0, 0)}, (a, b) ∗ (c, d) = (ac − bd, bc + ad).
x+y
(b) G = ]−1, 1[, x ∗ y = .
1 + xy
2. Let E be a nonempty set. Show that (P (E), 4) is an abelian group.
Exercise 4. ?

1. We consider the set S = {f1 , f2 , f3 , f4 , f5 , f6 } of maps from R \ {0, 1} into R \ {0, 1}, where f1 (x) = x,
1 1 x−1 x
f2 (x) = 1 − x, f3 (x) = , f4 (x) = , f5 (x) = and f6 (x) = .
x 1−x x x−1
(a) Write the multiplication table of S and show that (S, ◦) is a group.
(b) What are the subgroups of S ?
2. Write the multiplication table of a group of order 2 and a group of order 3.

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Exercise 5 (Minimization of group axioms).
Let G be a nonempty set equipped with a binary operation ∗, which is associative, has a right neutral element
e ∈ G, and each element of G admits a right symmetric.
Show that (G, ∗) is a group.

Exercise 6.
Let (G, .) be a group and e be its neutral element.
1. Show that for any a ∈ G and n, m ∈ Z, we have an am = an+m .
2. Show that if every element of G is its own inverse, then G is abelian.
3. Assume that G is of even order. Prove that G has an element a , e such that a2 = e.
4. Assume that G is finite. Show that there exists a positive integer m such that am = e for all a ∈ G.
5. Show that if for all a, b ∈ G, (ab)2 = a2 b2 ; then G is abelian.

Exercise 7.
Let (G, ·) be a group.
1. Show that for all a, b ∈ G, the elements ab and ba have the same order.
2. Suppose (G, ·) is finite and abelian. Let x, y ∈ G with respective orders n and m. Show that if n and m
are coprime, then xy is of order mn.
3. Assume that an element x of G has order rs. Find the order of xr .
4. Assuming that x has n as order, what is the order of xr ?

Exercise 8. ?
We define on R2 the binary operation ⊕ as follows :

∀(x, y), (x0 , y 0 ) ∈ R2 , (x, y) ⊕ (x0 , y 0 ) = (x + x0 , y + y 0 + 2xx0 ).

1. Show that (R2 , ⊕) is an abelian group.

n o
2. Show that H = (x, x2 ) | x ∈ R is a subgroup of (R2 , ⊕).
3. Show that the map Φ : (R, +) −→ (H, ⊕) defined by Φ(x) = (x, x2 ) is an isomorphism of groups.

Exercise 9 (Remarkable subgroups). ?

Let (G, ·) be a group, H and K be two subgroups of G, and a ∈ G. Show that the following sets are subgroups
of G.
1. H ∩ K.
2. Z(G) = {x ∈ G | ∀y ∈ G, xy = yx} (Z(G) is called the center of G).
3. CG(a) = {x ∈ G | xa = ax} ( CG(a) is called the centralizer of a in G).
n o
4. aHa−1 = aha−1 | h ∈ H .
5. N (H) = {g ∈ G | gHg −1 = H} (N (H) is called the normalizer of H in G).

Exercise 10.
1. Prove that the group (R, +) is not cyclic.
2. Show that any subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic and give an example of a non-cyclic group whose
proper subgroups are all cyclic.
3. Let p and q two primes. Show that if G is a finite group of order pq, then every proper subgroup of G is
cyclic.

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Exercise 11.
Let H and K be two subgroups of a group G.
1. Show that H ∪ K is a subgroup of G if and only if H ⊂ K or K ⊂ H.
2. We define HK by HK = {hk | h ∈ H, k ∈ K}. Show that HK is a subgroup of G if and only if HK = KH.

Exercise 12 (Classification of subgroups of (R, +)).

Let G be a subgroup of (R, +) such that G , {0}. In this exercise, we will show that G is either dense in R or
there is α ∈ R such that G = αZ.
1. Show that the set G ∩ R∗+ is nonempty.
2. We put α = inf (G ∩ R∗+ ). We suppose that α > 0.
(a) Show that α ∈ G and deduce that αZ ⊂ G.
g 
(b) Show that for all g ∈ G, we have g = α E .
α
(c) Deduce that G = αZ.
3. Suppose that α = inf (G ∩ R∗+ ) = 0.
   
x
(a) Show that for all x, y ∈ R, we have : x < y =⇒ ∃g ∈ G, x < E + 1 g < y.
g
(b) Deduce that G is dense in R.

Exercise 13 (On the subgroups of S 1 ). ?

Let n be a positive integer. n
[ Let U = {z ∈ C | |z| = 1} be the unit circle, Un = {z ∈ C | z = 1} the set of nth roots
of unity, and U∞ = Un the set of all the nth roots of unity.
n∈N∗
I. 1. Show that U and Un are subgroups of (C∗ , ×). Is this the case for U∞ ?
2. Show that Un ⊂ Um if and only if n | m.
3. Show that Un is cyclic.
II. Let α ∈ R and consider the map

fn : Z −→ C∗
p 7−→ fn (p) = e2iπpnα .

1. Show that fn is a group morphism from (Z, +) to (C∗ , ×).

2. Show that Im fn ⊂ U.
3. Show that fn is injective if and only if α < Q.
III. Consider the map
φ: R −→ U
t 7−→ φ(t) = eit .
1. Show that φ is a group morphism from (R, +) to (U, ×). Is φ injective ? Surjective ?
2. We define on R the binary relation R by : ∀x, y ∈ R, xRy if and only if ∃k ∈ Z, x − y = 2kπ. Show that
R is an equivalence relation.
3. On R/R we define the binary operation ⊕ by : x ⊕ y = x + y for x, y ∈ R/R. Show that (R/R, ⊕) is a
group isomorphic to (U, ×).

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Exercise 14. ?
On R, we define the binary operation ∗ as follows :
q
∀x, y ∈ R, x ∗ y = 3 x3 + y 3 .

Show that (R, ∗) is an abelian group isomorphic to (R, +).

Exercise 15. ?
I 1. Determine all the group homomorphisms from (Z, +) into (Z, +). Which are injective ? surjective ?
2. Same question for the group homomorphisms from (Q, +) into (Z, +).
II Show that the following statements are true :
1. There is no group isomorphism between (R, +) and (R∗ , ×).
2. There is no group isomorphism between (Q, +) and (Q∗+ , ×).
Exercise 16.
Let (G, ∗) be a group and Aut(G) be the set of automorphisms of G.
1. Show that (Aut(G), ◦) is a group.
2. Let H be a subgroup of Aut(G), and let φ be the following map :

φ: G −→ P (G)
x 7−→ {f (x) | f ∈ H}.

φ(x) is called the orbit of x under H. Show that φ(G) is a partition of G.

Rings
Exercise 17. ?
Complete the operation tables for the ring R = {a, b, c, d} :

+ a b c d ∗ a b c d
a a b c d a a a a a
b b a d c b a b
c c d a b c a a
d d c b a d a b c

Is R a commutative ring ? What is its characteristic ? (Hint : c ∗ b = (b + d) ∗ b, c ∗ c = c ∗ (b + d), . . ., etc).

Exercise 18.
Let (R, +, ×) be a commutative ring, and N the set of nilpotent elements of R. Let B = {1 + x | x ∈ N }. Show
that (B, ×) is a group.
Exercise 19. ?
Let Z/nZ be the set of integers modulo n.
I. 1. Verify that Z/nZ is a commutative ring.
2. What is the characteristic of the ring Z/5Z ? and the ring Z/6Z ?
3. Show that Z/nZ is an integral domain if and only if n is prime.

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 II. Let m and n be two integers. Put mZ + nZ = {an + bm | a, b ∈ Z}. Show that :
1. mZ + nZ is a subgroup of Z.
2. m and n + 7m generate the subgroup mZ + nZ.
III. Let m and n be two positive integers.
1. Show that mZ ∩ nZ = lcm(n, m)Z.
2. Is 2Z ∪ 3Z a subring of Z ?
3. Find a necessary and sufficient condition on m and n for which mZ ∪ nZ is a subgroup of Z.
4. Determine the smallest subgroup of Z containing mZ and nZ.
Exercise 20. ?
0 0 0
We define on C the binary operations ⊕ and ⊗ as follows : for any z = a + ib, z = a + ib ∈ C,

0 0 0 0 0 0 0
z ⊕ z = (a + a ) + i(b + b ) and z ⊗ z = aa + i(ab + ba ).
1. Show that (C, ⊕, ⊗) is a commutative ring.
2. Determine the set U of invertible elements in (C, ⊕, ⊗).
3. Determine the set D of zero divisors in (C, ⊕, ⊗).
4. Let z = a + ib ∈ C. For all n ∈ N, let : z(n) = z ⊗ z ⊗ z · · · ⊗ z .
| {z }
n times
(a) Write z(n) as a function of n, a, and b.
(b) Solve in C the equation z(4) ⊕ z(2) = 6 + i.
Exercise 21.
On R2 , consider the addition
(x1 , x2 ) + (y1 , y2 ) = (x1 + y1 , x2 + y2 )
and the multiplication
(x1 , x2 ) × (y1 , y2 ) = (x1 y1 − x2 y2 , x1 y2 + x2 y1 ).
1. Verify that (R2 , +, ×) is ring.
2. Find the zero divisors of (R2 , +, ×).
Exercise 22. √ √
Let R = {a + b 2 | a, b ∈ Z}, and for all x = a + b 2 of R, let N (x) = a2 − 2b2 .
1. Show that R is a subring of R.
2. Show that for all x, y of R, N (xy) = N (x)N (y).
3. Deduce that x is invertible in R if and only if N (x) = ±1.
√
4. Show that the elements ±(1 + 2)n , n ∈ Z, are invertibles in R.
5. Conversely, we want to show that any invertible element x of R is of such form.
√
(a) Show that we can assume that x = a + b 2, with a ∈ N and b ∈ N0 .
√
(b) Then show that x is of the form (1 + 2)n with n ∈ N0 . Conclude.
x√
Hint : if b ≥ 1, consider x1 = .
1+ 2

Exercise 23. ?
Let R be the set defined as follows :
a
 
R= | a ∈ Z, n ∈ N .
10n

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 1. Show that R is a subring of Q for the usual binary operations.
2. Show that 3 has no inverse in R. Conclude.
3. Determine the set of invertible elements in R.
Exercise 24.
1. Let R be a ring and C = {x ∈ R| ∀y ∈ R, xy = yx} (C is called the center of R). Show that C is a subring
of R.
2. Determine the smallest subring of Q that contains 21 .
3. (a) Find all ring homomorphisms from Z to Z/30Z.
(b) In each case describe the kernel and the image.
Exercise 25 (Particular ideals).
Let R be a ring with unity.
1. The sum of two ideals I and J is the set defined by I + J = {i + j| i ∈ I and j ∈ J}. Show that I + J is also
an ideal.
2. Suppose that R is commutative, and let I and J be two ideals of R. We define the following set :

[I : J] = {r ∈ R| ∀s ∈ J, rs ∈ I}.
Show that [I : J] is an ideal ([I : J] is called the quotient ideal of I by J).
3. Suppose that R is commutative.
(a) Let J be an ideal of R. We define the radical of J as follows :
p
J = {a ∈ R| r n ∈ J for some n ∈ N}.
√
Show that J is an ideal of R.
(b) Deduce that the set of nilpotent elements

I = {x ∈ R| xn = 0 for some integer n}

is an ideal of R (I is called the nilradical of I).

(c) Let A be any subset of R. The annihilator of A is defined by :

Ann(A) = {r ∈ R | ra = 0 for all a ∈ A} .

Show that Ann(A) is an ideal of R.

Exercise 26 (Boolean ring). ?
Let R be a ring, in which, for any element x, we have x2 = x.
1. Give examples of such rings.
2. Show that for any a, we have 2a = 0.
3. Deduce that R is commutative.
4. Show that R cannot be reduced to three elements.
5. Assume that R is finite and of cardinal greater than 2. Show that R has divisors of zero (Hint : Consider
the element xy(x + y)).
6. Show that if card(R) = 4, then R is unique up to an isomorphism.

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 7. Show that if R is finite, then its cardinal is a power of 2.

Exercise 27 (Euclidean rings ).

Let R be a ring. We say that R is an euclidean ring if R is an integral domain, and there is a map v : R\{0} → N,
such that :
∀a, b ∈ (R\{0}), ∃q, r ∈ R : a = qb + r and (r = 0 or v(r) < v(b)).
1. Show that Z and R[x] are euclidean rings.
2. Let Z[i] = {a + bi | a, b ∈ Z}. By considering the map v : z 7−→ |z|2 , show that Z[i] is an euclidean ring.

Z and its arithmetic

Exercise 28 (Fermat numbers).
n
For any nonnegative integer n, let Fn = 22 + 1.
1. Show that Fn divides Fn+k − 2 for any nonnegative integer n and any positive integer k.
2. Let n, m, and d be three nonnegative integers such that n , m. Show that if d divides both Fn and Fm ,
then d = 1.

Exercise 29. ?
1. Show that ∀(a, b) ∈ Z2 , if 7 divides a2 + b2 , then 7 divides both a and b.
x +1
2. Find all positive integers x such that 22 + 2 is divisible by 17.
3. Find all integers x such that x86 ≡ 6 (mod 29).
4. Solve in Z the systems :

(  x ≡ 2 (mod 5)
x≡2 (mod 6) 

and x ≡ 3 (mod 7)

x≡5 (mod 9) 

 x ≡ 10 (mod 11).


Exercise 30.
1. Find all positive integer solutions (x, y, z) of the following equations

x3 = 3y 7z + 8 and 3x + 4y = 5z .

2. Find all integers a, b, c, d ≥ 0 such that

4a + 5b + 6c = 7d .

3. Prove that there is no n ∈ N such that 2n − 1, 5n − 1, 13n − 1 are all perfect squares.

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 Fields
Exercise 31.
We define on R the binary operations ⊕ and ⊗ as follows : ∀x, y ∈ R, x ⊕ y = x + y − 1 and x ⊗ y = x + y − xy.
Show that (R, ⊕, ⊗) is a field.

Exercise 32. ?
1. Prove that any field homomorphism is a monomorphism.
2. Prove that any field is an integral domain.
3. If F is a field, prove that its only ideals are (0) and F itself.
4. Show that a finite integral domain is a field.
5. Find all the subfields of Q.
6. Can we find a field for which the group (F, +) is isomorphic to the group (F ∗ , ×) ?

Exercise 33. ?
Prove that the following statements are true :
√ √
1. Q[ 3] = {a + b 3 | a, b ∈ Q} is a subfield of R.
√ √ √ √ √ √
2. Q[ 2, 5, 10] = {a + b 2 + c 5 + d 10 | a, b, c, d ∈ Q} is a subfield of R.
3. Q[i] = {a + bi | a, b ∈ Q} is a subfield of C.
√
4. {a + b 3 2 | a, b ∈ Q} is not a subfield of R.
5. Q[i] and Q[j] 3
p are not isomorphic, where j ∈ C is a root of the polynomial X − 1 different from 1, and
Q[j] = {a + b j | a, b ∈ Q}.

Citation tirée du livre ”Géométrie” de Michèle Audin :

”Il faut faire des exercices. Il faut chercher les exercices. Un exercice n’est pas quelque chose dont
il faut connaı̂tre <<la>> solution pour la réciter à un jury. Aucune notion ne peut être comprise ou
assimilée sans un minimum de pratique, de recherche, d’échecs. Un exercice sur lequel on n’a pas
<<séché>> est un exercice inutile.”