Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2006/ia/paper-3/2d/solution

Both subgroups contain the identity element, so is nonempty. If , then belongs to both and , hence to their intersection. This gives closure under inverses by setting , and closure under products by using the inverse of . Therefore is a subgroup of , and also of both and .
Lagrange's theorem for finite groups states that the order of a subgroup divides the order of its finite ambient group; more precisely for . Applying it twice gives
Since and are coprime, their only positive common divisor is one. Thus

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