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Prove that if a finite Abelian group has order a power of a prime p, then the order of every element in the group is a power of p.

A. Demonstrate the relationship between order and prime powers in groups.
B. Show the properties of elements in finite Abelian groups.
C. Prove the connection between group order and prime powers.
D. Analyze the structure of finite Abelian groups based on prime orders.

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Final answer:

In a finite Abelian group with order a power of a prime p, every element's order is also a power of p. This follows from Lagrange's Theorem, which states that the order of any subgroup (including cyclic subgroups generated by elements) divides the group's order. Since p is prime, any divisor must be a power of p.

Step-by-step explanation:

To demonstrate that if a finite Abelian group has order a power of a prime p, then the order of every element in the group is a power of p, we must use some properties of finite groups and the definition of the order of an element.

Let's consider a group G which is finite, Abelian, and its order (the number of elements in G) is a power of a prime p. That is, |G| = pn for some non-negative integer n.

Now, the order of an element a in G is the smallest positive integer m such that am = e, where e is the identity element of the group.

By Lagrange's Theorem in group theory, the order of any subgroup of G must divide the order of G. Since each element a in G generates a cyclic subgroup with the order equal to the order of the element, the order of that element must divide pn.

Therefore, the order of any element a must be a divisor of pn, which means the order of the element is also a power of p because p is a prime number and the divisors of a power of a prime are also powers of that prime.

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