Prove that if $R$ is a commutative ring and $\frakN(R)$ is its nilradical, then the zero is the only nilpotent element of $R/\frakN(R)$. That is, show that $\frakN(R/\frakN(R))=0$.
Let $R$ be a commutative ring. Consider the polynomial ring $R[x,y]$ in two variables $x, y$.
Let $(x)$ be the principal ideal of $R[x,y]$ generated by $x$.
Prove that $R[x, y]/(x)$ is isomorphic to $R[y]$ as a ring.
Let $R$ be a commutative ring with $1$ and let $M$ be an $R$-module.
Prove that the $R$-module $M$ is irreducible if and only if $M$ is isomorphic to $R/I$, where $I$ is a maximal ideal of $R$, as an $R$-module.
(a) Let $R$ be an integral domain and let $M$ be a finitely generated torsion $R$-module.
Prove that the module $M$ has a nonzero annihilator.
In other words, show that there is a nonzero element $r\in R$ such that $rm=0$ for all $m\in M$.
Here $r$ does not depend on $m$.
(b) Find an example of an integral domain $R$ and a torsion $R$-module $M$ whose annihilator is the zero ideal.
Let $R$ be a commutative ring and let $I$ be a nilpotent ideal of $R$.
Let $M$ and $N$ be $R$-modules and let $\phi:M\to N$ be an $R$-module homomorphism.
Prove that if the induced homomorphism $\bar{\phi}: M/IM \to N/IN$ is surjective, then $\phi$ is surjective.
(a) Let $R$ be a commutative ring. If we regard $R$ as a left $R$-module, then prove that any two distinct elements of the module $R$ are linearly dependent.
(b) Let $f: M\to M’$ be a left $R$-module homomorphism. Let $\{x_1, \dots, x_n\}$ be a subset in $M$. Prove that if the set $\{f(x_1), \dots, f(x_n)\}$ is linearly independent, then the set $\{x_1, \dots, x_n\}$ is also linearly independent.
Let $R$ be a ring with $1$. An element of the $R$-module $M$ is called a torsion element if $rm=0$ for some nonzero element $r\in R$.
The set of torsion elements is denoted
\[\Tor(M)=\{m \in M \mid rm=0 \text{ for some nonzero} r\in R\}.\]
(a) Prove that if $R$ is an integral domain, then $\Tor(M)$ is a submodule of $M$.
(Remark: an integral domain is a commutative ring by definition.) In this case the submodule $\Tor(M)$ is called torsion submodule of $M$.
(b) Find an example of a ring $R$ and an $R$-module $M$ such that $\Tor(M)$ is not a submodule.
(c) If $R$ has nonzero zero divisors, then show that every nonzero $R$-module has nonzero torsion element.