OCR FP3 2012 January — Question 3

Exam BoardOCR
ModuleFP3 (Further Pure Mathematics 3)
Year2012
SessionJanuary
TopicGroups

3 A multiplicative group contains the distinct elements \(e , x\) and \(y\), where \(e\) is the identity.
  1. Prove that \(x ^ { - 1 } y ^ { - 1 } = ( y x ) ^ { - 1 }\).
  2. Given that \(x ^ { n } y ^ { n } = ( x y ) ^ { n }\) for some integer \(n \geqslant 2\), prove that \(x ^ { n - 1 } y ^ { n - 1 } = ( y x ) ^ { n - 1 }\).
  3. If \(x ^ { n - 1 } y ^ { n - 1 } = ( y x ) ^ { n - 1 }\), does it follow that \(x ^ { n } y ^ { n } = ( x y ) ^ { n }\) ? Give a reason for your answer.