Groups
problem
Sheep in wolf's clothing
Can you work out what simple structures have been dressed up in these advanced mathematical representations?
problem
What's a group?
Explore the properties of some groups such as: The set of all real
numbers excluding -1 together with the operation x*y = xy + x + y.
Find the identity and the inverse of the element x.
problem
Groups of sets
The binary operation * for combining sets is defined as the union
of two sets minus their intersection. Prove the set of all subsets
of a set S together with the binary operation * forms a group.
problem
Simplifying transformations
How many different transformations can you find made up from
combinations of R, S and their inverses? Can you be sure that you
have found them all?
article
Small groups
Learn about the rules for a group and the different groups of 4
elements by doing some simple puzzles.
article
An introduction to Galois theory
This article only skims the surface of Galois theory and should probably be accessible to a 17 or 18 year old school student with a strong interest in mathematics.
article
An introduction to mathematical structure
An introduction to the sort of algebra studied at university, focussing on groups.
article
Grouping transformations
An introduction to groups using transformations, following on from the October 2006 Stage 3 problems.
article
Dancing with maths
An article for students and teachers on symmetry and square dancing. What do the symmetries of the square have to do with a dos-e-dos or a swing? Find out more?