Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/paper-2/9/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2019 Paper 2 9 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The kernel of a group homomorphism found in part (b) is the translation subgroupIt is a subgroup because , and . It is nontrivial since , and proper since, for example, .
Every kernel is a normal subgroup: if , then . Applying the same argument with gives equality of the conjugate subgroup and the kernel. Here one can also check invariance under conjugation directly:Multiplication by nonzero permutes all , so . Thus is a nontrivial proper normal subgroup, isomorphic to the additive group .
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