2020 ONLINE SEMINAR PRESANTATION –15/05/20

Prepared by Tarakino N. P. (Trockers) –

GROUPS AND BINARY OPERATIONS

SYLLABUS (6042) OBJECTIVES

 define a binary operation

 define closure, commutation, association, distribution, identity and inverse
element
 define a group
 use the basic properties to show that a given structure is, or is not, a group
 solve problems involving binary operations and properties of a group

Modular Arithmetic

o It is a form of arithmetic which deals with remainders/residues after integers are divided
by a positive integer.
o Division of an integer by a positive integer produces a quotient and a remainder. These
remainders will lead to modular arithmetic

Question

Find the value of .

Suggested Solution

BINARY OPERATION

 Binary operations on the set are calculations that combine two elements of the set (called
operands) to produce another element of the same set.
 If G is a nonempty set, a binary operation on is a function

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 A binary operation is represented by or
 A Binary operation includes
composition of functions, matrix operations etc
 A binary operation can be represented on a table called Cayley table/ Latin square

Question
Given that under multiplication . Construct a Latin square/ Cayley
table.
Suggested Solution
The Cayley table for is given by:

Illustration:

Follow Up Question

, evaluate: and

Properties of a Binary Operation

A binary operation has the following properties: Closure, Associativity, Distribution,

Commutative, Identity and Inverse.

Property 1: Closure
A set is said to be closed under a binary operation if for any two members from the set,
the results of the binary operation returns a member of the same set.
Algebraically we define closure property as follows: If is a set with elements the

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Question 1
Given that .Show that is closed under multiplication modulo .
Suggested Solution
The Cayley table for is given by:

Since there are no new elements in the table and all members of the set are present then it is
closed.

Question 2
If and . Is closed under ?

Suggested Solution
Let

Now and one would say it is closed.

NOTE: When attempting these types of questions it is advisable to make use of Cayley table.
If there are no new values in the table then the set is said to be closed under a
binary ( ) operation, otherwise it is not closed.

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How to find the elements of the table?
Remember that
Let .
Now:

Members in blue are not contained in is not closed under

Follow Up Question

and . Is closed under ?

Property 2: Commutative
A binary operation defined on set of real numbers is commutative if
for all

Note
Common binary operations which are commutative are (i) addition
(ii) multiplication .

Question 1
Given that . Show that is commutative under multiplication modulo .
Suggested Solution
The Cayley table for is given by:

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Method 1
Suppose and

Since therefore that is closed under multiplication modulo .

Method 2
Since elements are reflecting along the leading diagonal the set is commutative
Follow Up Question

under addition modulo . Is commutative?

Property 3: Associative
A closed binary operation defined on set of real numbers is associative if
for all

Question 1
Given that . Show that is associative under multiplication modulo .
Suggested Solution
The Cayley table for is given by:

Checking for Associativity:

Let .
LHS

RHS

Since LHS RHS the associative axiom/property holds.

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Question 2
If , is associative.
Suggested Solution
and
.
Since is not associative.

Follow Up Question

and . Is associative under ?

Property 4: Distributive
A closed binary operation and are defined on set of real numbers if
: Left Distributive (LD) and
: Right Distributive (RD).
Then the operator is said to be distributive over the operator .
Question
Given the binary operation and where and . Is the operation
distributive over ?
Suggested Solution
We have to show that and if they agree then it is distributive.

and

Since it is LD
Also

and

Since it is RD

Since both LD and RD hold the operation distributive over .

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Property 5: Identity Element
For a binary operation , if there exist just one unique element such that:

then is called an identity element for the operation

Question 1
Given that . Find the identity element of under multiplication modulo .
Suggested Solution
The Cayley table for is given by:

NB: When finding the identity element using the Cayley table find where the elements match
the outer elements i.e. the row that matches the top upper row (in green) and the column
that matches the outside column (in blue). The intersection of that column and row gives
the identity element.

The identity element is .

Question 2
If , where , find the identity element .
Suggested Solution
We know that
Now and replacing we have:

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Also

The identity element is .

Follow Up Question

. Find the identity element of .

Property 6: Inverse Element

An element is called an inverse of under the binary operation if:

where is the identity element under the operation

Question 1
Given that . Find the inverses of elements of under multiplication modulo .
Suggested Solution
The Cayley table for is given by:

NB: When finding the inverse element using the Cayley table first find the identity element.
Now identify the identity element (in blue) for each element. The number or element on
the 1st row of that column or 1st column of that row is the inverse of that element.

The inverse of:

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Question 2
If , where , find , the inverse of .
Suggested Solution
NB: We have to find the identity element first.
We know that
Now and replacing we have:

The identity element is .

Now:
Let the inverse be .
Since then:

Follow Up Question

Find the inverse of each element of set under multiplication modulo .

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 GROUPS

A group is a non-empty set with a binary operation which satisfies the following
properties: Closure, Associativity, Identity and Inverse.

NOTE

 If one of the properties does not hold then the given structure is not a group
 When a group is commutative then it is called an Abelian group. It is not important to
prove whether a group is commutative or not unless the question requires you to prove
that. Also the distributive property should not be part of the proof to show if a given
structure is associative or not.
 To show whether a given structure is an Abelian group or not we have to show that it is a
group first.
 If a given set is a group then no element should be repeated in either a row or a column

SUBGROUPS

If is a nonempty subset of a group , then is a subgroup of if is a group under the

same operation as .

Properties of a Subgroup
If the following three points are met then we say is subgroup
1. is a nonempty subset of a group of
2. is a group itself
3. and use the same binary operation.

Types of Subgroups
1. Trivial subgroup - A subgroup includes the subset containing just the identity set
2. Improper subgroup – the group itself since is a subset itself.
3. A proper subgroup is any subgroup with order not one or the same as the original
group.

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The order of a group

The order of a group is the number of elements the group contains. If a group contains an
infinite number of elements it is said to be of infinite order.

The order of an Element

The order of an element, say is the smallest positive integer ( ) in which we raise the
element to get the identity element i.e. and it is denoted: . If there is no
such an element then has an infinite order.

Question 1
consists of the set with the operation of multiplication .
Write down the operation table and, assuming Associativity, show that is a group.
Suggested Solution
(i) The Cayley table for is given by:

Checking for closure:

Since there no new elements in the Cayley table and all values in set are contained in the
table it is closed.

Checking for Associativity:

The associative property holds (from the assumption)

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OR

Let ;
LHS

RHS

Since LHS RHS the associative axiom holds.

The identity element is .

The inverse of:

 is (self inverse)
 is (self inverse)
 is (self inverse)
 is (self inverse).
Since all properties hold is a group.

Question 2

consists of the set of matrices of the form where and are real and

, combined under operation of matrix multiplication.

(i) Prove that is a group. You may assume that matrix multiplication is associative.
(ii) Determine whether is commutative.

Suggested Solution

(i) consists of the set of matrices of the form

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 Checking for closure

Let and

Now:

Also:

Hence is closed under matrix multiplication

Checking for association

is associative under matrix multiplication (Assumption)

Checking for identity

Let be the identity element of .
Since , is invertible

Checking for inverse

Since is invertible therefore its inverse is given by:

Since all the four properties hold is a group.

(ii) Checking for commutation

Let and

Now:

Also:

Since is commutative under matrix multiplication

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Question 3

The function is defined by for . The

function g is defined by .

(i) Show that and that .

It is given that are elements of a group under the operation of composition of

functions.

The element is the identity, where for .

(ii) The inverse of the element is denoted by h. Find .

(iii)Construct the operation table for the elements of the group .
Suggested Solution
(i)

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(ii)

Let

(iii) Constructing the Cayley table:

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Question 4
A set has its elements defined using elements of a minute hand of a clock as
follows:
turn of or multiples of minutes
turn of minutes
turn of minutes
turn of minutes

The multiplication rule means “when turn is followed by turn ” the result is
equivalent to a single turn of .

(i) Construct a multiplication table for the elements.

Show that the table forms a group.
(ii) Find the order of each element.
(iii) Write down a subset of which forms a group on its own.
Suggested Solution

(i) The multiplication table is given by:

Elements are calculated as follows:

turn of or multiples of minutes
turn of minutes
turn of minutes
turn of minutes

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 Checking for basic axioms of a group
Checking for closure:
Since there no new elements in the Cayley table and all values in set are contained in
the table it is closed.

Checking for Associative:

LHS
.
RHS
.
Since LHS RHS it is associative
The identity element is .
The inverse of:

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  is (self inverse)
 is
 is (self inverse)
 is .
Since all properties hold is a group.

(ii) The multiplication table is given by:

The order of an element, say is the smallest positive integer ( ) in which we raise the
element to get the identity element i.e. and it is denoted . If there is
no such an element then has an infinite order.

REMEMBER that turn of or multiples of minutes

Powers of will never give a multiple of

Since is a multiple of

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 Powers of will never give a multiple of

(iii)For the set , the subgroups are:

a. the identity - trivial subgroup

b. the group itself - improper subgroup

c. The only proper subgroup is

There are a new elements it is closed.

Note:
 and are not a proper subgroups because they do not satisfy the
closure property

There is a new element it is not closed.



There is a new element it is not closed.

The subset of which forms a group on its own is any subgroup of i.e. or or

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 ZIMSEC PAST EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

Question 1
ZIMSEC SPECIMEN NOVEMBER 2018 PAPER 2

Let be the set of matrices of the form where .

Show that

(i) does not form a group under matrix addition. [4]

(ii) forms an Abelian group under matrix multiplication. [6]
[Assume associativity.]

Question 2
ZIMSEC NOVEMBER 2018 PAPER 2

a)(i) Show that the set of integers

under multiplication forms a group. [7]

(ii) Write down any three subgroups. [3]

b) The set under the operation of composition of functions forms a group H,

where

Show the operation table for . [6]

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Question 3
ZIMSEC JUNE 2019 PAPER 2

Show that the set forms a group under multiplication. [6]

Question 4
ZIMSEC NOVEMBER 2019 PAPER 2

(i) If is a set of all matrices of the form where , show that forms

a group under addition of matrices. [7]

(ii) Verify if the set forms a group under addition modulo . [9]

Presented by Tarakino Nyasha Patrick (Trockers) 0772978155/0717267175

Always pray to God for guidance and wisdom: James 1vs. 5

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