Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ia Paper 3 5D b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Applying a permutation to the elements of an -element subset preserves its cardinality. The identity fixes each subset andso this is the symmetric group action on subsets. For two -element subsets , choose a bijection and a bijection between their complements; together they define a permutation of the full -element set. Hence the action is transitive.
A member of the stabiliser subgroup must permute internally and its complement internally, with independent choices. ThusThis also agrees with the orbit-stabilizer theorem; handles .