A p-group is called powerful if every commutator is a product of pth powers when p is odd and a product of fourth powers when p=2. In the group algebra of a group G of p-power order over a finite field of characteristic p, the group of normalized units is always a p-group. We prove that it is never powerful except, of course, when G is abelian.

We show that p-groups of order p5 are determined by their group algebras over the field of p elements. Many cases have been dealt with in earlier work of ourselves and others. The only case whose details remain to be given here is that of groups of nilpotency class 3 for p odd.

We show that p-groups of maximal class and order p5 are determined by their group algebras over the field of p elements. The most important information requisite for the proof is obtained from a detailed study of the unit group of a quotient algebra of the group algebra, larger than the small group algebra.

The unit group of the modular group algebra of a finite p-group in characteristic p is nilpotent. The p-groups for which it is of nilpotency class 3 were determined in work of Coleman, Passman, Shalev and Mann when p ≥ 3. We resolve the p = 2 case here which completes the classification.