Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/ib/paper-2/11e/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 2 11E b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Since , the number of Sylow subgroups for divides and is modulo , hence is or . In the first case the unique subgroup is a nontrivial proper normal subgroup.
In the second case the subgroups of order have pairwise trivial intersection: two such subgroups sharing a nonidentity element would both be generated by it. They account for nonidentity elements of order . Exactly elements, including the identity, remain. Every Sylow subgroup for has order , and all its elements lie among these remaining elements, by Lagrange's theorem. It must therefore be precisely that set. The Sylow subgroup for is unique and hence normal. In either case is not a simple group.
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