MathDB
Putnam 1977 B6

Source:

April 7, 2022
college contests

Problem Statement

Let HH be a subgroup with hh elements in a group G.G. Suppose that GG has an element aa such that for all xx in H,H, (xa)3=1,(xa)^3=1, the identity. In GG, let PP be the subset of all products x1ax2axna,x_1ax_2a\dots x_na, with nn a positive integer and the xix_i in H.H.
(a) Show that PP is a finite set. (b) Show that, in fact, PP has no more that 3h23h^2 elements.