Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/prelims/mathematics-i/5/a/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2021 Prelims Mathematics I 5 a ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
For a singleton , the symmetric group contains only the identity function. For a two-element set, it contains the identity function and the transposition exchanging the two elements; the latter squares to the identity function. In both cases all elements commute, so the group is Abelian.
If contains three distinct elements , define the transpositions and , fixing every other element of . They are bijections, even when is infinite. With function composition read from right to left,Thus they do not commute, so the symmetric group is not Abelian. Since is nonempty, this proves
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