A group is positively discriminating if any finite subset of positive equations u = v, which are not laws in G, can be simultaneously falsified in G. All known groups, which are not positively discriminating, satisfy positive laws. The problem whether every group without positive laws must be positively discriminating is open. We give an affirmative answer to the problem in the class of locally graded groups.An equation in a group is an expression of the form u = v, where Let V be a finite set of equations. Since the equations need not be cancelled, we can assume that for some n all the equations in V are written on n variables. If there is an n-tuple in a group G, which falsifies each equation in V, we say that V can be simultaneously falsified in the group G. For example, in symmetric group S 3 the set of two equations {xy = y, xy 2 = x} can be simultaneously falsified by pair of elements a, d ∈ S 3 , of orders 2, 3, respectively: ad = d, ad 2 = a. However the set {xy 2 = x, xy 3 = x} can not be simultaneously falsified, because either y 2 or y 3 has the image 1 in S 3 and hence each pair satisfies at least one equation.
More examplesThe following binary sets V of non-laws can not be simultaneously falsified. Each pair of elements satisfies some equation in V:We recall that a group G is discriminating (see [10] 17.12, 17.23), if any finite subset V of non-laws in G, can be simultaneously falsified in G. In terms of [1] it means that G discriminates the free group in var G. If we consider only the subsets V of positive equations, or of binary equations, we can speak of positively or binary discriminating groups, respectively.