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For a nontrivial finite p-group $G$ of order $p^m$ with $m\ge 1$, partition into conjugacy classes. A noncentral class has size $[G:C_G(x)]$, a positive power of $p$ larger than one by Lagrange's theorem. The class equation therefore saysThe center of a group contains the identity, so $|Z(G)|\ge p$, proving its nontriviality. The positive-exponent qualification matters: the one-element group has no nonidentity central element.

If $|G|=p^2$, its center of a group has order $p$ or $p^2$. In the first case, the quotient group $G/Z(G)$ has prime order and is cyclic. Whenever a central quotient group is cyclic, writing all elements as $g^{i}z$ with $z$ central shows that they commute: $(g^{i}z)(g^{j}w)=g^{i+j}zw=(g^{j}w)(g^{i}z)$. Thus that case would already make $G$ Abelian and its center of a group all of $G$, a contradiction. Hence every group of order $p^2$ is Abelian.

If there is an element of order $p^2$, it is a generator of a group for $G$, giving $C_{p^2}$. Otherwise every nonidentity element has order $p$. Pick $a\ne 1$ and $b\notin ⟨a⟩$. Their cyclic subgroups have trivial intersection, and they commute; the $p^2$ distinct products $a^i{b}^j$ exhaust $G$. Hence the classification of groups of order p squared isBoth groups exist and are nonisomorphic, since only the first has an element of order $p^2$.

If $H\le G$, induction gives $H^{(i)}\le G^{(i)}$, because commutators of elements of a subgroup are also commutators in the larger group. Thus termination of the derived series of $G$ forces termination for $H$.

For a normal subgroup $N$, the quotient map sends $[x,y]$ to the commutator of their images. Surjectivity then givesConsequently subgroups and quotient groups of a soluble group are soluble. The assertion about a quotient uses a normal subgroup; it is not a quotient by an arbitrary subgroup.

Take $G=S_3$ and its normal subgroup $N=A_3=⟨r⟩$, where $r=(123)$. Normality follows either from the sign of a permutation or directly from conjugation sending $r$ to $r$ or $r^{-1}$. The quotient group has order two, and $t=(12)$ provides a section $i:C_2\to S_3$ because $t^2=1$ and $tN$ is its nonidentity coset.

However, the map $\Phi (q,n)=i(q)n$ from the direct product of groups is not a group homomorphism. In its domain $(1,r)$ commutes with $(tN,1)$, whereas their images $r$ and $t$ do not commute: $tr{t}^{-1}=r^{-1}\ne r$. This is a split group extension giving a genuine semidirect product instead of a direct product. The pair $S_3,A_3$ supplies the required split but non-direct example.

For the general bijectivity assertion, let $\pi :G\to G/N$ be the quotient projection and assume $\pi \circ i$ is the identity. Given $g\in G$, put $q=\pi (g)$ and $n=i(q{)}^{-1}g$. Then $\pi (n)=q^{-1}q=1$, so $n\in N$ and $g=i(q)n$. This proves surjectivity of $\Phi$. If $i(q)n=i(q^{\prime })n^{\prime }$, applying $\pi$ gives $q=q^{\prime }$, after which cancellation gives $n=n^{\prime }$. ThusThis section normal form for a split group extension does not require finiteness. The obstruction to its being a homomorphism is the nontrivial conjugation action of the section on $N$.

Use additive notation and take $G=\mathbb{Z}/4\mathbb{Z}$, $N=\{0,2\}$. Its quotient group is $C_2$. A group homomorphism from $C_2$ sends its generator to an element annihilated by $2$, so the image must be either $0$ or $2$. Both project to the identity coset $N$, and neither can project to the nonidentity generator of $G/N$. Therefore this quotient projection has no homomorphic section. It is a nonsplit group extension, despite both $G$ and $N$ being nontrivial finite groups.

Take $G=C_2\times C_2$ and $N=C_2\times \{1\}$. Both are nontrivial, and $N$ is normal because $G$ is abelian. The second-coordinate projection identifies the quotient group $G/N$ with $C_2$. Swapping the two coordinates identifies $(G/N)\times N$ with $G$, soThis is a direct product of groups with its first factor as the specified normal subgroup.

The group presentation gives the quotient group ${\mathbb{Z}}^3$ by the subgroup generated by the rows ofFor the Smith normal form, the first determinantal divisor is the greatest common divisor of all entries, namely $3$. The nonzero two-by-two matrix minors are $\pm 27$, so the second determinantal divisor is $27$. The third row is the second minus the first, and a nonzero minor shows the rank is exactly two. Consequently the nonzero invariant factors are $3$ and $27/3=9$, with one free generator. The Fundamental theorem of finitely generated abelian groups givesAn element killed by $3$ has zero free coordinate, arbitrary coordinate in $\mathbb{Z}/3\mathbb{Z}$, and coordinate $0,3$ or $6$ in $\mathbb{Z}/9\mathbb{Z}$. There are nine such elements. Removing the identity leaves eight elements of order three.

Let $N$ be a normal subgroup and let $\pi :G\to G/N$ be the quotient group homomorphism. By the first part, $G=⟨a,b⟩$ for involutions $a,b$, so the quotient group is generated by $\pi (a),\pi (b)$, whose squares are the identity. If both images are nonidentity, they are involutions and the second part applies. If only one image is nonidentity, it generates $C_2$; choose it twice. Both images cannot be trivial because the quotient group is nontrivial. Hence every nontrivial quotient is dihedral in the stated extended convention. This is the nontrivial-quotient closure of two-involution groups.

Write the Heisenberg group element as $M(x,y,z)$. Matrix multiplication and inversion giveAll matrices have determinant one. They contain $M(0,0,0)=I$, are closed under multiplication and inverses, and inherit associativity from matrix multiplication; hence they form a subgroup of $G{L}_3(\mathbb{R})$.

Two such matrices commute precisely when $x{z}^{\prime }=x^{\prime }z$. Requiring this for every $x^{\prime },z^{\prime }$ forces $x=z=0$. ConsequentlyThe map $\pi (M(x,y,z))=(x,z)$ is a surjective group homomorphism to the additive group ${\mathbb{R}}^2$, with kernel of a group homomorphism $Z(H)$. Equivalently, it gives the explicit quotient group isomorphismIt is well-defined because multiplying by a central element changes only $y$. It is injective because equal $(x,z)$ imply that the quotient of the two matrices is central, and surjectivity follows by taking $y=0$. This also proves the needed instance of the first isomorphism theorem directly.

For the modular Heisenberg group, the three independent entries each have $p$ choices, soThe multiplication and commutation calculations work over the finite field ${\mathbb{F}}_p$ exactly as over $\mathbb{R}$. Taking $x^{\prime }=1,z^{\prime }=0$ and $x^{\prime }=0,z^{\prime }=1$ shows thatLet $c=M(0,1,0)$. Its powers exhaust the centre and $c$ has order $p$, giving the group presentationLet $a=M(1,0,0)$ and $b=M(0,0,1)$. Their images $\bar{a},\bar{b}$ in the quotient group translate the $x,z$ entries independently. They commute modulo the centre, have order $p$, and generate $p^2$ distinct pairs. ThereforeFor context, $ab{a}^{-1}{b}^{-1}=c$, with $c$ central. All conclusions above include $p=2$; one must not infer that every nonidentity element of $H_2$ has order two, since $(ab{)}^2=c$.

Conversely, assume $H$ is a normal subgroup and the quotient group $G/H$ is an abelian group. Commuting the two cosets $aH$ and $bH$ givesso every group commutator $a^{-1}{b}^{-1}ab$ belongs to $H$. This proves the converse and completes the equivalence.

For the dihedral group of order ten, choose a rotation $r$ and a reflection $s$ with $r^5=s^2=1$ and $srs=r^{-1}$. Its rotation subgroup $⟨r⟩$ is a normal subgroup, and the quotient by it has order two, hence is an abelian group. Consequently the commutator subgroup is contained in $⟨r⟩$. On the other hand,Since $r^{-2}$ generates the order-five cyclic group $⟨r⟩$, the commutator subgroup is exactly $⟨r⟩$. Every abelian quotient must kill this subgroup. There are only two subgroups containing it, since the remaining quotient has prime order. The complete list, including the trivial quotient, isThis is the order-ten instance of the abelianization of an odd dihedral group.

Suppose every group commutator belongs to $H$. For $h\in H$ and $g\in G$, the particular group commutator $h^{-1}{g}^{-1}hg$ belongs to $H$. Multiplying on the left by $h$ gives $g^{-1}hg\in H$. Thus $g^{-1}Hg\subseteq H$ for every $g$; applying the same inclusion to $g^{-1}$ gives the reverse inclusion. Therefore $H$ is a normal subgroup.

We can now form the quotient group. Its group commutators areA group commutator is the identity element exactly when the two elements commute. Hence $G/H$ is an abelian group. Equivalently, the hypothesis says that $H$ contains the commutator subgroup, so the quotient factors through the abelianization.

A subgroup $H$ of a group $G$ is a normal subgroup when $gH{g}^{-1}=H$ for every $g\in G$, equivalently $gH=Hg$. The quotient group $G/H$ has the left cosets as elements, with $(gH)(kH)=gkH$, identity $H$ and inverse $(gH{)}^{-1}=g^{-1}H$. Normality makes this multiplication independent of representatives.

The first isomorphism theorem for groups says that for a group homomorphism $\phi :G\to K$, its kernel of a group homomorphism is normal andThe image is taken with the induced group operation; surjectivity onto all of $K$ is not required.

For the given upper triangular matrices, take diagonal entries:The target is a direct product of groups, with multiplication of nonzero real numbers in each coordinate. Indeed the product of two such matrices has diagonal $(a{a}^{\prime },d{d}^{\prime })$, proving the group homomorphism property. Any pair of nonzero diagonal entries is attained by a diagonal matrix, so $\phi$ is surjective. Its kernel of a group homomorphism consists precisely of the matrices with $a=d=1$, namely $H$. Hencewith coordinatewise multiplication, not addition on ${\mathbb{R}}^2$.

Restrict the quotient projection $\pi :G\to G/N$ to $H$. This is a group homomorphism withIts image is a nontrivial subgroup of the prime-order quotient group, because $H$ is not contained in $N$. By Lagrange's theorem for finite groups, the image has order $p$ and is all of $G/N$. The first isomorphism theorem for groups therefore gives

For the second assertion, partition $C$ into conjugacy classes for $N$. Because $N$ is normal, conjugation by $G$ permutes these smaller classes: $g{\mathrm{Cl}}_N(x)g^{-1}={\mathrm{Cl}}_N(gx{g}^{-1})$. This group action is transitive since any two elements of $C$ are conjugate in $G$. Elements of $N$ fix every $N$-class, so the action factors through $G/N$.

If $m$ is the number of smaller classes, the orbit-stabilizer theorem for this transitive action gives $m\mid |G/N|=p$. ThusDistinct conjugacy classes are disjoint because they are orbits of a group action. This proves conjugacy class splitting in a prime-index normal subgroup without assuming all $G$-conjugations are already conjugations by $N$.

Use the class equation for the action of $G$ on itself by conjugation:where the sum runs over noncentral conjugacy classes. By Lagrange's theorem, each noncentral class has size a positive power of $p$ greater than one. Thus $|Z(G)|\equiv |G|\equiv 0(\mathrm{mod}p)$. Since the identity element belongs to the center of a group,For $|G|=p^3$, the possible orders of the center of a group are $p,p^2,p^3$. Order $p^3$ would make $G$ an abelian group. Order $p^2$ would make the quotient group $G/Z(G)$ have prime order and hence be a cyclic group. But a cyclic quotient by the center forces $G$ to be Abelian: if $gZ(G)$ generates the quotient, any two elements are $g^{a}z$ and $g^{b}w$ with $z,w\in Z(G)$, and their products commute. Both larger orders contradict the hypothesis. Consequently