MTH 301: Group Theory

Semester 1, 2023-24

General information
Instructor: Dr. Kashyap Rajeevsarathy
Office: AB1 (Infinity building) - 314
E-mail: [email protected]
Venue:

• Offline classes: AB1 (Infinity building) - 316

• Online classes: Google Classroom - i6bgfa4

Schedule: SLOT I (in Time Table)

Day Timing
Monday 12 pm - 1 pm
Thursday 2 pm - 3 pm
Friday 12 pm - 1 pm

Course webpage: Click here.

Course structure
Topics
• Definition of group, basic properties, examples (Dihedral, Symmetric, Groups
of Matrices, Quaternion Group, Cyclic, Abelian Groups)

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 • Homomorphisms, Isomorphisms, subgroups, subgroup generated by a
set, subgroups of cyclic groups

• Review of Equivalence relations, Cosets, Lagrange’s theorem, Normal sub-

group, Quotient Group, Examples, Isomorphism theorems, Automorphisms

• Group actions, orbits, stabilizer, faithful and transitive actions, central-

izer, normalizer, Cayley’s theorem, Action of the group on cosets

• Conjugation, Class equation, Cauchy’s theorem, Applications to p-groups,

Conjugacy in S n

• Sylow theorems, Simplicity of A n and other applications

• Direct products, Structure of Finite abelian groups

• Semi-Direct products, Classification of groups of small order

• Normal series, Composition series, Solvable groups, Jordan-Hölder theo-

rem, Insolvability of S 5

• (If time permits) Lower and upper central series, Nilpotent groups, Basic
commutator identities, Decomposition theorem of finite nilpotent groups

Suggested references
1. I. N. Herstein, Topics in Algebra, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2006

2. T. W. Hungerford, Algebra, Springer Verlag, 2005

3. M. Artin, Algebra, Prentice-Hall of India, 1994

4. D. S. Dummit, R. M. Foote, Abstract Algebra, 2nd Edition, Wiley

5. J. Rotman, A First Course in Abstract Algebra : With Applications, Prentice

Hall

6. J. Rotman, An Introduction to Theory of Groups, Springer GTM, 1999

7. H. Kurzweil, B. Stellmacher, The Theory of Finite Groups, Springer Uni-

versitext, 2004

8. M. Suzuki, Group Theory I, Springer GMW 247

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Course policies
Classes
• As this is a professional course, it would be in the best interest of the stu-
dents to have offline lectures during scheduled class hours.

• However, if the need arises to have online lectures for an extended period
of time, please make note of the following points:

– Reading material and prerecorded video lectures will be posted weekly

at the Google Classroom portal. You are responsible for checking the
portal for any updates (from my end) and coming prepared for the
interactive sessions.
– There will be live interaction sessions every week during the sched-
uled lecture hours. These sessions will primarily enhance your con-
ceptual understanding of the reading material and video lectures
posted during the week. Therefore, you are advised to effectively use
these sessions to clarify your doubts about the topics being covered.
– If you face any difficulties participating in the live interaction ses-
sions due to limitations in internet connectivity, data availability
(or coverage), or technology, please contact me immediately. I will
try to provide additional help or make alternative arrangements for
you. Note that all live sessions will be recorded and posted in Google
Classroom for the benefit of students with poor internet/data con-
nectivity.

Continuous assessments
Continuous assessment will carry 30% weightage in your final grade as per
the current academic policy (available here). This component of your grade
will be computed based on two continuous assessment sub-components, namely
homework assignments and quizzes, which will each carry a weightage of
15%.

Homework assignments

• Practice problem sets will be posted every other week. It is highly imper-
ative that you try solving these problems on your own, as your home-

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 work assignments will constitute select problems from these sets.

• Up to four homework assignments will be given during the semester

that you will have to turn in. Your top three performances in these
assignments will together count towards one continuous assessment
component.

• The problems to be turned in and the due dates will be posted on Google
Classroom. So it is your responsibility to check the Google Classroom for
updates regularly.

• If you must miss the due date (for genuine reasons), try turning in your
assignment in advance or write to me seeking an extension.

• If the physical submission is not possible, your solutions should be turned

in via email either as a typed document or as a scanned softcopy of hand-
written solutions.

• Problems written should be legible and indicate the steps to arrive at the
solution.

• While you are encouraged to share and discuss ideas with your class-
mates, I would strongly caution you against copying solutions verbatim
from your classmate/friend. Please be warned that:

(a) Assignments with nearly identical solutions will not be graded.

(b) If there is evidence that even a part of an assignment is copied (or
plagiarized), the entire assignment will be given a score of zero.

Quizzes

• Up to three quizzes may be administered during the course of the semester

and your best two performances in these quizzes will count towards
one continuous assessment component.

• These quizzes will be administered during scheduled class hours. How-

ever, if the need arises, quizzes and exams may be hosted on any online
proctoring platform endorsed by the Institute. In such situations, stu-
dents may be required to take the quiz while sitting in front of their com-
puter webcams/mobile phone cameras during the entire duration of the
examination.

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 • The schedules and syllabuses for the quizzes will be announced in class
and also posted on the Google Classroom.

Mid-semester and end-semester exams

• In adherence with the current academic policy (available here), mid-

semester and end-semester examinations will carry weights of 30% and
40% in your final grade.

• These exams will be administered in the officially assigned classrooms.

However, if the need arises, the exams may be hosted on any online proc-
toring platform endorsed by the Institute. In such situations, students
may be required to take the quiz while sitting in front of their computer
webcams/mobile phone cameras during the entire duration of the exam-
ination.

• The final exam will be comprehensive, with possibly more emphasis on

the topics covered after the mid-semester exam.

• When graded exams are returned, please check them carefully for any
grading errors. All grading issues should be brought to my attention as
soon as possible. Note that test scores are not renegotiable after final
grades are submitted.

• Do not make travel plans that might prevent you from taking any sched-
uled exam. If you have a verifiable reason for not being present at an
exam, you must contact me in advance to make an alternative arrange-
ment.

General policies concerning assessment

• Books, notes, or electronic devices of any kind are strictly prohibited while
taking tests (exams and quizzes). Your ethical (and moral) responsibility
is to exercise honesty and integrity while taking them.

• When graded tests are returned, please check them carefully for any grad-
ing errors. All grading issues should be brought to my attention as soon as

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 possible. Note that your scores are not renegotiable after the final grades
are submitted.

• Do not make plans that might prevent you from taking any scheduled
exam or quiz. If you have a good reason for missing a scheduled test,
please contact me in advance to make an alternative arrangement.

• Strong disciplinary action will be initiated against students indulging in

academic malpractices (or misconduct) during quizzes (or exams) which
include any form of cheating, impersonation, copying, plagiarism, etc.,
as per the prevailing academic norms of the Institute available at
Circular - Disciplinary actions for various acts of academic malpractices.

Grading scheme
A total of 100 percentage points will be distributed as follows:

Component Weightage
Continuous assessment 30%
Mid-semester examination 30%
Final examination 40%