The symmetric [[Group (Mathematics)|group]] on a set of N points is often written <math>\mathbb{S}_n \ </math> and has <math>n! \ </math> elements. Each element of a symmetric group is a way of re-arranging the points: for example, it is possible to re-arrange the points ABCD into so they read BCDA - this is an element of <math>\mathbb{S}_4 \ </math>, and it is written <math>(1432) \ </math>, because the first point went to the fourth position (ie, <math>1 \rightarrow 4 \ </math>), the fourth point went to the third position (ie, <math>4 \rightarrow 3 \ </math>), the third point went to the second position, and the second point went to the first position. | The symmetric [[Group (Mathematics)|group]] on a set of N points is often written <math>\mathbb{S}_n \ </math> and has <math>n! \ </math> elements. Each element of a symmetric group is a way of re-arranging the points: for example, it is possible to re-arrange the points ABCD into so they read BCDA - this is an element of <math>\mathbb{S}_4 \ </math>, and it is written <math>(1432) \ </math>, because the first point went to the fourth position (ie, <math>1 \rightarrow 4 \ </math>), the fourth point went to the third position (ie, <math>4 \rightarrow 3 \ </math>), the third point went to the second position, and the second point went to the first position. |