How many subgroups are there in S4?

  • Thread starter TaylorWatts
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In summary, the conversation is about finding all subgroups of S4, with the total number of subgroups found being 30. These subgroups include the trivial group, the alternating group, and several other groups with different elements such as (12), (123), (1243), and (12)(34). The speaker is unsure if they have missed any subgroups and mentions a source that found 29 subgroups, but did not count S4 itself.
  • #1
TaylorWatts
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Not a true homework question, but I'm trying to find all subgroups of S4.

Including the identity and the group itself, I've found 30. Is that correct?

I've got groups such as:

trivial

s4

alternating group

{identity, (12)}, {identity, (13)} etc - 6 of these

{identity, (123), (132)}, {identity, (124), (142)} etc - 4 of these

{identity, (12)(34)}, {identity, (13)(24)} etc - 3 of these

{identity, (1243), (14)(23), (1342)} etc - 3 of these

{identity, (13), (24), (12)(34), (13)(24), (14)(23), (1234), (1432)} - 3 of these

{identity, (12), (34), (12)(34)} etc - 3 of these

{identity, (123), (132), (12), (23), (13)}, {identity, (124), (142), (12), (24), (14)} etc - 4 of these.

{identity, (12)(34), (13)(24), (14)(23)}

Am I missing any?
 
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  • #2
Somebody else added them up too. http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/SubgroupsOfS_4.html They got 29, but they didn't count S4 itself, I don't think. So you are at least pretty close to right. Check it out. Compare notes.
 
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1. How many subgroups does S4, the symmetric group on 4 elements, have?

The number of subgroups of S4 is 30.

2. What are the types of subgroups in S4?

The subgroups of S4 can be divided into two types: cyclic subgroups and non-cyclic subgroups. Cyclic subgroups are generated by a single element, while non-cyclic subgroups are not generated by any single element.

3. What is the order of a subgroup in S4?

The order of a subgroup in S4 is the number of elements in the subgroup. It can range from 1 to 24, depending on the type of subgroup.

4. How many cyclic subgroups are there in S4?

There are 9 cyclic subgroups in S4, generated by the elements (1), (12), (123), (1234), (12)(34), (13)(24), (14)(23), (243), and (1423).

5. Is S4 a simple group?

No, S4 is not a simple group. It has normal subgroups of order 4, 8, and 12, and its only proper non-trivial normal subgroup is the alternating group A4.

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