If A and B are two non-empty sets such that A x B = B x A, show that A=B
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Expert's answer
2012-08-10T09:10:05-0400
Proof. Notice that A x B consists of all pairs (a,b), where a belongs to A, and b belongs to B, while B x A consists of all pairs (b,a), where a belongs to A, and b belongs to B.
Let a belongs to A. We should prove that a belongs to B as well.
Take any b from B. Then (a,b) belongs to A x B = B x A, whence (a,b) = (b',a') for some b' from B and a' from A. This means that
a=b' and b=a'.
Hence a belong to B. This proves that A is contained in B. By similar argument B is contained in A, and so A=B.
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