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Exercise 476Algebra › GroupsHigh schoolAdded 3 Nov 2026

Order of an element

#order#cyclic subgroup#element

Statement

In (Z/8Z,+)(\mathbb{Z}/8\mathbb{Z},+), compute the order of each element.

Hint

The order of kk is the smallest n≥1n\ge1 with nk≡0(mod8)nk\equiv0\pmod8.

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Solution

Computation.
- 0ˉ\bar 0: order 11.
- 1ˉ\bar 1: 8⋅1≡08\cdot1\equiv0, order 88.
- 2ˉ\bar 2: 4⋅2=8≡04\cdot2=8\equiv0, order 44.
- 3ˉ\bar 3: 8⋅3=24≡08\cdot3=24\equiv0, order 88.
- 4ˉ\bar 4: 2⋅4=8≡02\cdot4=8\equiv0, order 22.
- 5ˉ\bar 5: 8⋅5=40≡08\cdot5=40\equiv0, order 88.
- 6ˉ\bar 6: 4⋅6=24≡04\cdot6=24\equiv0, order 44.
- 7ˉ\bar 7: 8⋅7=56≡08\cdot7=56\equiv0, order 88.

Conclusion. Orders: 1,8,4,8,2,8,4,81,8,4,8,2,8,4,8.

Remark. The order of kˉ\bar k in Z/nZ\mathbb{Z}/n\mathbb{Z} is n/gcd⁡(k,n)n/\gcd(k,n).