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Multiple Choice Questions

For PPSC (Mathematics)
GROUP THEORY Compiled by: Akhtar Abbas

1. Which of the following are multiplicative tables for groups with four elements?

A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only

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at ba
D. None of these

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2. If b and c are elements in a group G and if b5 = c3 = e, where e is the identity of G,

O
er Ab
then the inverse of b2 cb4 c2 must be:
A. cb2 c2 b4
ur r

B. c2 b4 cb2
ct ta

C. cbc2 b3
Le Akh

D. b4 c2 b2 c

3. Let Gn be a cyclic group of order n. Which of the following direct product is not cyclic?
A. G22 × G31
B. G222 × G333
C. G17 × G11
D. G17 × G11 × G5

4. Let p and q be distinct primes. There is a proper subgroup J of the additive group of
integers which contain s exactly three elements of the set {p, p + q, pq, pq , q p }. Which
three elements are in J?
A. pq, pq , q p
B. p, pq , q p
C. p, pq, pq
D. p, p + q, pq

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 2 of 10

5. Two subgroups H and K of a groups have orders 12 and 30 respectively. Which of the
following could not be the order of the subgroup G generated by H and K?
A. 30
B. 60
C. 120
D. Could not be determined

6. Let Z be the group of integers under the operation of addition. Which of the following
subsets of Z is not a subgroup of Z?
A. Z
B. {n ∈ Z : n ≥ 0}
C. {n ∈ Z : n is even}
D. {n ∈ Z : 6|n and 9|n}

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7. A cyclic group of order 15 has an element x such that the set {x3 , x5 , x9 } has exactly

at ba
two elements. The number of elements in the set {x13n : n is a positive integer} is

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O
A. 3
er Ab
B. 5
C. 8
ur r

D. 15
ct ta

8. Let ? be the binary operation on the rational numbers given by a ? b = a + b + 2ab.

Le Akh

Which of the following are true?

I. ? is commutative
II. There is a rational number that is a ?-identity
III. Every rational number has a ?-inverse
A. I only
B. II only
C. I and II only
D. I and III only

9. For which integers n such that 3 ≤ n ≤ 11 is there only one group of order n (upto
isomorphism)?
A. For no such integer n
B. For 3, 5, 7 and 11 only
C. For 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 only
D. For 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 only

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. Milton Berle Akhtar Abbas

PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 3 of 10

10. If a finite group G contains a subgroup of order seven but no element (other than
identity) is its own inverse, then the order of G could be
A. 27
B. 28
C. 35
D. 37

11. A group G in which (ab)2 = a2 b2 for all a, b in G, is necessarily

A. Abelian
B. Finite
C. Cyclic
D. Of order 2

12. The map x 7→ axa2 of a group G into itself is a homomorphism if and only if

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at ba
A. a3 = e

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B. a2 = e

O
er Ab
C. a = e
D. G is abelian
ur r

13. Which of the following is not a group?

ct ta

A. The integers under addition

Le Akh

B. The complex numbers under addition

C. The nonzero integers under multiplication
D. The nonzero real numbers under multiplication

14. What is the largest order of an element in the group of permutations of 5 objects?
A. 5
B. 6
C. 12
D. 60

15. Let Z×
17 be the group of units of Z17 under multiplication. Which of the following are
generators of Z×
17 ?

A. 5
B. 8
C. 5 and 8
D. 5, 8 and 16

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 4 of 10

16. The subgroup H of a group G is called characteristic if for every automorphism φ : G →

G, φ(H) ⊆ H. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Every characteristic subgroup is normal.
B. Every normal subgroup is characteristic.
C. If N is a normal subgroup of G and M a characteristic subgroup of N , then
M is a normal subgroup of G
D. Both A and C are true

17. Which of the following statements is true?

A. If G is a non-abelian group with non-trivial center C, then the center of G/C
is non-trivial.
B. If G is a group of order 2, then the number of subgroups of G × G × G is 6.
C. A subgroup H of G is normal if and only if every cyclic subgroup of G is
normal.

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D. Zm /nZm ∼

at ba
= Zn

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18. Let G be a group and H a subgroup of G such that [G : H] = 2. Which of the following

O
er Ab
statements is true?
A. If a ∈ H and b ∈
/ H, then ab ∈ H
B. If a ∈ / H, then ab−1 ∈ H
/ H and b ∈
ur r
ct ta

C. If a ∈
/ H and b ∈
/ H, then ab ∈ H
D. Both B and C are true
Le Akh

19. Which of the following statements is not true? (p is an odd prime number)
A. If |G| = pn , then G is cyclic
B. If |G| = pn , then |Z(G)| > 1
C. If |G| = pn and G is non-abelian then G contains a subgroup which is not
normal
D. Both A and C are true
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
20. The order of the permutation is
2 5 4 7 1 8 3 6
A. 4
B. 5
C. 6
D. 8

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 5 of 10

21. The set of all generators of a cyclic group G =< a > of order 8 is
A. {a2 , a4 , a6 }
B. {a1 , a3 , a5 , a7 }
C. {a4 , a8 }
D. {a3 , a5 , a7 }

22. The inverse of an element a in the group G = {a ∈ R : a > 0, a 6= 0} under the operation
? defined by a ? b = alog b is
1
A. e log a
1
B. log a
1
C. elog a
D. 1

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23. Which of the following statement is not correct?

at ba
A. The Klein four group is abelian

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B. The Klein four group is not cyclic

O
er Ab
C. S3 is abelian
D. Z4 and Z2 × Z2 are nonisomorphic groups
ur r

24. In the group (Q−{−1}, ?), where ? is defined by a?b = a+b+ab, for all a, b ∈ Q−{−1},
ct ta

the inverse of 15 is
Le Akh

A. −15
15
B. 16
C. − 15
16
1
D. 15

25. Let H be a subgroup of G and

NG (H) = {g ∈ G : g −1 Hg = H}.

Then which of the following statements is not true?

A. NG (H) is not subgroup of G
B. NG (H) is a subgroup of G
C. H is normal in NG (H)
D. H is normal in G if and only if NG (H) = G

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 6 of 10

26. The kernel of the homomorphism φ : (Z, +) → (C, ·) defined by φ(x) = eπix is
A. {0}
B. 4Z
C. 2Z
D. Z

27. Consider the following statements

I. Every cyclic group is abelian

II. Every abelian group is cyclic
III. Every group of order less than 4 is cyclic
A. Only I is correct
B. I and II are correct

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C. I and III are correct

at ba
D. II and III are correct

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O
28. Let G be a group of order npk and gcd(n, p) = 1. Then G contains a subgroup H of
er Ab
order pr only if
A. G is abelian and r = k
ur r

B. r = k
ct ta

C. r less than or equal to k

Le Akh

D. G is abelian and r is less than or equal to k

29. G has an element of order 7 only if

A. |G| = 7n for some positive integer n
B. gcd(7, |G|) = 1
C. |G| = 7n for some positive integer n
D. |G| = 7

30. How many generators does the group (Z24 , +) have?

A. 2
B. 10
C. 12
D. 24

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 7 of 10

31. How many subgroups does the group Z3 × Z16 have?

A. 6
B. 10
C. 12
D. 20

32. Let p and q be distinct primes. How many (mutually nonisomorphic) groups are there
of order p2 q 4 ?
A. 6
B. 8
C. 10
D. 12

33. Let G be the group generated by the elements x and y and subject to the following

U s
relations: x2 = y 3 , y 6 = 1, x−1 yx = y −1 . Express in simplest form the inverse of the

at ba
element z = x−2 yx3 y 3 ?

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A. xy
er Ab
B. yx
C. xy 2
ur r

D. y −2 x−1
ct ta

34. Let H be the set of all group homomorphisms from Z3 to Z6 . How many functions does
Le Akh

H contain?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 6

35. Let G be a group of order 9 and let e denote the identity of G. Which one of the
following statements about G cannot be true?
A. G is cyclic
B. There exists an element x ∈ G such that x 6= e and x−1 = x
C. There exists an element x ∈ G such that x 6= e and x2 = x5
D. There exists an element x ∈ G such that < x > has order 3

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 8 of 10

36. Let p divides the order of a finite group G and let G have k distinct p-sylow subgroups
of G. Which one is not a correct statement?
A. k is a multiple of p
B. k is not a power of p
C. k is a divisor of |G|
D. k is relatively prime to p

37. Let G be the symmetric groups on 5 objects. Then the number of distinct conjugacy
classes in G is:-
A. 5
B. 7
C. 25
D. 120

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38. LetH be a finite subset of a group G and has 4 elements. Then H is not a subgroup of

at ba
G if

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A. G is an infinite group
er Ab
B. |G| = 26
C. |G| = 4
ur r

D. G is isomorphic to a permutation group Sn , n ≥ 4

ct ta

39. Let G be a group of order npr where p does not divide n. Then the number of subgroup
Le Akh

of order pr is of the form

A. 1 + kp where p does not divide k
B. 1 + kp where p divides k
C. kp where p does not divide k
D. kp where p divides k

40. The binary operation ? is defined on a set of ordered pairs of real numbers as

(a, b) ? (c, d) = (ad + bc, bd)

and ? is associative. Then (1, 2) ? (3, 5) ? (3, 4) is

A. (32, 40)
B. (23, 11)
C. (74, 30)
D. (7, 11)

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 9 of 10

41. If a finite group G has two elements a, b having orders 6 and 15, then
A. 90 divides |G|
B. 30 divides |G| but 90 need not divide |G|
C. 3 divides |G| but 30 need not divide |G|
D. 3 does not divide |G|

42. Which of the following statements is true?

A. In an infinite group every element is of infinite order
B. If in a group every element is of finite order, then the group must be a finite
group
C. In a finite group every element is of finite order
D. If every proper subgroup of a group is cyclic, then the group must be cyclic

43. If K is kernel of a group homomorphism f : G → H, then which statement is not true?

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at ba
A. K is an abelian subgroup of G

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B. K is a normal subgroup of G

O
er Ab
C. K = {e} for some homomorphisms
D. K = G for some homomorphisms
ur r

44. The number of group homomorphisms from S3 to Z6 are

ct ta

A. 1
Le Akh

B. 2
C. 3
D. 6

45. Let G be a group of order 77, then the center of G is iomorphic to

A. Z1
B. Z7
C. Z11
D. Z77

46. The total number of non-isomorphic groups of order 122 is

A. 1
B. 2
C. 4
D. 61

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PPSC/FPSC/SPSC/AJKPSC Multiple Choice Questions Page 10 of 10

47. The number of cyclic subgroups of K4 is

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4

48. Let G be a non-abelian group of order 343. then |Z(G)|=

A. 1
B. 7
C. 49
D. 343

49. Suppose G is a finite group and H is the only subgroup of G of order |H|, then

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A. H is abelian

at ba
B. H is cyclic

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C. H is normal

O
er Ab
D. H is of prime order

50. If for a prime p, pn divides, but pn + 1 does not divide the order of a finite group G,
ur r

then
ct ta

A. For every d ≤ pn , G has a subgroup of order d

Le Akh

B. For every divisor d of |G|, G has a subgroup of order d

C. For every positive integer r ≤ n, G has a subgroup of order pr
D. G has a subgroup of order pr if r = n, but G need not have subgroups of order
pr if r < n

Akhtar Abbas
Lecturer in Mathematics
University of Jhang
0332-6297570
https://www.mathcity.org/people/akhtar

Available at MathCity.org
If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. Milton Berle