Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-options-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2006/a/2/solution
Past exam of the options II course of the University of Oxford 2006 A 2 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Right multiplication gives a right action . To obtain a homomorphism into permutations with the usual function-composition convention, use the associated left actionThis is well-defined: replacing by , , does not change the image coset. Moreover , and each map is bijective with inverse .
An element is in the kernel precisely when for every . This says , equivalently . HenceThis is the largest normal subgroup of contained in .
Now the index of is , so embeds into . Its order therefore divides . Since is prime, does not divide . From it follows that divides . But and , forcing . Therefore is normal.
For the last case let . Normality makes conjugation by an automorphism, so with . Applying it twice and using gives , so . Thus , andBoth possibilities are allowed; the order assumptions alone do not force the inverse case.
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