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Pinter 11D5 is impossible #6

@bathetrade

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@bathetrade

Chapter 11, Section D, Problem 5 (from the 2nd edition)

Let $G$ be a group and let $a,b \in G$. Prove the following:

Let ord($a$) = $n$, and suppose $a$ has a $k\text{th}$ root, say $a = b^k$. Then $\langle a \rangle = \langle b \rangle$ iff $k$ and $n$ are relatively prime.

Issue

It's true that $\langle a \rangle = \langle b \rangle \implies k$ and $n$ are relatively prime. However, the converse is false. Here is a counterexample. Let $a = 2$ and $b = 1$ in $\mathbb{Z_6}$ so that $a = b^2$. Then ord($a$) = $3$ = $n$, and $k = 2$. $2$ is relatively prime with $3$, but $\langle 2 \rangle \neq \langle 1 \rangle$.

The provided solution in mstemper says "the same as the previous exercise" which is false since they are two different problems, and problem 4 is simple to prove.

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