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Suppose that a, b, and c are elements of a dihedral group. Is a² b⁴ac⁵a³c, a rotation or a reflection? Explain your reasoning.

User Angeli
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Final answer:

In a dihedral group, if an element is raised to an even power, it represents a rotation, and if it is raised to an odd power, it represents a reflection.

Step-by-step explanation:

A dihedral group consists of rotation and reflection symmetries of a regular polygon or a regular polyhedron. In this question, we have the expression a² b⁴ac⁵a³c, where a, b, and c are elements of the dihedral group. To determine if this expression represents a rotation or a reflection, we need to analyze the powers of b. Since b⁴ is present in the expression, it means that b represents a rotation, not a reflection.

User ElConrado
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