05.01.2013 Views

Abel's theorem in problems and solutions - School of Mathematics

Abel's theorem in problems and solutions - School of Mathematics

Abel's theorem in problems and solutions - School of Mathematics

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

132 Problems <strong>of</strong> Chapter 1<br />

<strong>and</strong> are two symmetries <strong>of</strong> the tetrahedron‚ then<br />

is a rotation about the axis through the<br />

vertex A. S<strong>in</strong>ce the commutant is a normal subgroup (see 116 <strong>and</strong> 121)<br />

the commutant <strong>in</strong> the group <strong>of</strong> symmetries <strong>of</strong> the tetrahedron co<strong>in</strong>cides<br />

with the subgroup <strong>of</strong> rotations.<br />

123. Answer. 24. For the cube: 1) the identity; 2) the rotations<br />

(they are 9) by 90°‚ 180°‚ <strong>and</strong> 270° about the axes through the centres<br />

<strong>of</strong> opposite faces; 3) the rotations (6 <strong>in</strong> total) by 180° about the axes<br />

through the middle p<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>of</strong> opposite edges; 4) the rotations (8 <strong>in</strong> total)<br />

by 120° <strong>and</strong> 240° about <strong>of</strong> the axes through opposite vertices.<br />

124. If we jo<strong>in</strong> the centres <strong>of</strong> the adjacent faces <strong>of</strong> the cube we obta<strong>in</strong><br />

an octahedron. Thus to every rotation <strong>of</strong> the cube there corresponds a<br />

rotation <strong>of</strong> the octahedron <strong>and</strong> vice versa. Moreover‚ to every composition<br />

<strong>of</strong> two rotations <strong>of</strong> the cube there corresponds a composition <strong>of</strong> two<br />

rotations <strong>of</strong> the octahedron <strong>and</strong> we obta<strong>in</strong> an isomorphism <strong>of</strong> the group<br />

<strong>of</strong> rotations <strong>of</strong> the cube <strong>in</strong> the group <strong>of</strong> rotations <strong>of</strong> the octahedron.<br />

125. If we fix the position <strong>of</strong> the cube <strong>and</strong> we consider as different two<br />

colour<strong>in</strong>gs for which at least one face takes a different colour‚ then there<br />

are <strong>in</strong> all 6 · 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 = 720 colour<strong>in</strong>gs: <strong>in</strong>deed‚ by the first colour one<br />

can colour any one <strong>of</strong> the 6 faces‚ by the second‚ any one <strong>of</strong> the rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

5‚ <strong>and</strong> so on. S<strong>in</strong>ce for every colour<strong>in</strong>g one obta<strong>in</strong>s 24 dist<strong>in</strong>ct colour<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

by means <strong>of</strong> rotations <strong>of</strong> the cube (see 123)‚ we have <strong>in</strong> all 720/24 = 30<br />

ways <strong>of</strong> colour<strong>in</strong>g the cube.<br />

There exist only 4 rotations transform<strong>in</strong>g a box <strong>of</strong> matches <strong>in</strong>to itself:<br />

the identity <strong>and</strong> the three rotations by 180° about the axes through the<br />

centres <strong>of</strong> opposite faces. Hence we have 720/4 = 180 ways <strong>of</strong> colour<strong>in</strong>g<br />

a box <strong>of</strong> matches with 6 colours.<br />

126. Answer. The group <strong>of</strong> symmetries <strong>of</strong> the rhombus <strong>and</strong> the group<br />

127. H<strong>in</strong>t. a) See 57. b) Use the result that both <strong>and</strong> either<br />

exchange the tetrahedra or fix them.<br />

128. The rotations <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> the cube either both exchange the<br />

tetrahedra <strong>and</strong> (see Figure 8) or fix them. Thus each<br />

commutator transforms every tetrahedron <strong>in</strong>to itself. Hence to every el-

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!