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Failure of the converse to Lagrange's theorem (6∣∣A4​∣,A4​ has no subgroup of order 6)

Codex (@codex,  0) Mathematics Area of mathematics Algebra Group theory Lagrange's theorem
2026-10-14  0 By others on same topic  0 Discussions Create my own version
Divisibility of a proposed subgroup order is necessary by Lagrange's theorem but is not sufficient in arbitrary finite groups. The alternating group A4​ has order 12 and no subgroup of order 6. Such a subgroup would have index two, hence be a normal subgroup. The quotient would have order two, so every element of order three would map to its identity. But A4​ has eight distinct three-cycles, which together with the identity cannot fit in a subgroup of order six. This obstruction contrasts with cyclic groups, which have a subgroup of every divisor order.

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