Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2014 / Prelims / Mathematics I / 5 / a / i / Solution

Among the $|G|+1$ powers $e,g,g^2,\dots ,g^{|G|}$ in the finite group $G$, the pigeonhole principle forces two to be equal: $g^i=g^j$ with $0\le i<j\le |G|$. Multiply by $g^{-i}$ to obtainThis proves the existence of a positive power equal to the identity element, without presupposing the order of a group element.