In: Advanced Math
A) Suppose a group G has order 35 and acts on a set S consisting of four elements. What can you say about the action?
B) What happens if |G|=28? |G|=30?
A) This action induces a group homomorphism of into the group of permutations of , given by for all and . Note that , so that . If then by first isomorphism theorem, we know that
By Lagrange's theorem, we get , so that divides . Again, since is a subgroup, by Lagrange, divides . Therefore, divides , so that divides . Thus, , which implies . Thus, the action is trivial, given by for all and .
B)
Suppose that . The same argument as above shows that divides , so that divides . Thus, there are three possibilities:
If holds then the action is trivial.
Suppose that . The same argument as above shows that divides , so that divides . Thus, there are three possibilities:
If holds then the action is trivial.