Graphs

A graph G(V, E) consists of a set V of elements called vertices, and a set

E of elements called edges; each edge joins two vertices say u and v,
the edge joining u and v is denoted by uv or {u,v}.

Two or more edges joining the same pair of vertices are called multiple
edges. An edge joining a vertex to itself is called a loop. A graph is
called simple if it has no loops and multiple edges. The number of
vertices in G is called order of G and the number of edges in G is called
size of G.

Adjacency and Incidence

Two vertices a and b are called adjacent vertices if they are joined by
an edge {a,b}. Two edges that share one vertex are called adjacent to
each other. The vertices a and b are called incident with the edge {a,b},
and the edge {a,b} is incident with the vertices a and b.
In the example, the vertices u and x; u and w; x and w; w and v are adjacent
vertices and the edges 1 and 5; 2 and 5; 3 and 2; 3 and 4; 4 and 2 are adjacent
edges.

1
Subgraphs
A subgraph of a graph G is a graph all of whose vertices are vertices of
G and all of whose edges are edges of G.

Example of a graph and some of its subgraphs:

Problem. Which of the following graphs are subgraphs of the graph G below?

Subgraphs of unlabelled graphs

The idea of a subgraph can be extended also to unlabelled graphs:

Problem. Which of the following graphs are subgraphs of the graph H below?

2
Spanning Subgraph: If a subgraph of a graph G has the

same vertex set as G, then it is a spanning subgraph of G.

Induced Subgraph: A subgraph F of a graph G is called

an induced subgraph of G if whenever u and v are vertices of F

and {u,v} is an edge of G, then {u,v} is an edge of F as well.

Problem. Identify the spaning and induced subgraph if any?

Vertex degree:
The degree of a vertex v is the number of edges incident with v, with
each loop counted twice; it is denoted by

deg v or by d(v).

Graph (a) has vertex degrees: deg u=2, deg v=1, deg w=4, deg x=3, deg y=0,
Graph (b) has vertex degrees: deg u=2, deg v=5, deg w=4, deg x=5, deg y=0

A vertex of degree zero is called an isolated vertex. A graph with one

vertex and no edges, i.e., a single point, is called the trivial graph.
3
Degree sequence:
The degree sequence of a graph G is the sequence obtained by listing
the vertex degrees of G in increasing order, with repeats as necessary.

The degree sequence of the following graph is 2, 2, 4, 4

Problem. Write down the degree sequence of each of the following graphs.

Handshaking Lemma:
Theorem (Handshaking Lemma) In any graph the sum of all the vertex
degrees is equal to twice the number of edges.

Proof. In any graph, each edge has two ends, and so it contributes

exactly 2 to the sum of the degrees.

4
Problem. Use the Handshaking Lemma to prove that, in any graph, the number of
vertices of odd degree is even.

Walks:
A walk of length k in a graph is a succession of k edges of the form

{u,v}, {v,w}, {w,x}, …, {y,z}.

This walk is denoted by u-v-w-x-…y-z, and is referred to as a walk

between u and z.

Note that in a walk we do not require the vertices and edges to be all
distinct. For example, below u-v-w-x-y-w-v-z-z-y is a walk of length 9
between u and y; it includes the edge {v,w} twice and the vertices v, w,
y and z each twice.

Paths and trails:

A trail is a walk in which all the edges, but not necessarily all the
vertices, are different.

A path is a walk in which all the edges and all the vertices are different.

5
Problem. Complete the following statements:
(a) x-y-z-z-v-y is a…….of length……between….and….;

(b) u-v-y-z is a…….of length……between….and…..

Problem. Write down all the paths between s and y in the following graph:

Closed walks, trails and cycles

A closed walk is a succession of edges of the form

{u,v}, {v,w}, {w,x}, …, {y,z}, {z,u}

That starts and ends at the same vertex.

A closed trail is a closed walk in which all the edges are different.

A cycle is a closed walk in which all the edges are different and all the
intermediate vertices are different.

A walk or trail is open if it starts and finishes at different vertices.

Problem. Find a closed walk, closed trail and a cycle in the graph below.

6
Problem. For this graph, write down

(a) closed walk that is not a closed trail;

(b) closed trail that is not a cycle;

(c) all the cycles of lengths 1,2,3 and 4.

Connected graphs
A graph is connected if there is a path between each pair of vertices,
and is diconnected otherwise.

An edge in a connected graph is a bridge if its removal results in a

disconnected graph. Every disconnected graph consists of a number of
connected subgraphs, called components.

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Distances in Graphs:
 The distance between two vertices u and v in a graph d(u,v) is the
length of the shortest path between the two vertices.

 That is; the fewest number of edges that need to be traversed

when going from u to v.

 The maximum distance from a vertex u to any other vertex in the

graph is called the eccentricity of u e(u).

 The largest eccentricity is called the diameter, the smallest

eccentricity is called the radius.

 If the graph is disconnected, the radius and diameter are  .

 Theorem: diameter  2  radius

Example:

The distance from u to v is 4 by the path u-b-c-f-v. There are other paths
from u to v but none shorter than 4.

8
Two graphs are the same if they have the same set of vertices and the
same set of edges, even if they are drawn differently.

Isomorphism:
Two graphs G and H are the isomorphic if H can be obtained by relabeling the
vertices of G. That is, there is a 1-1 correspondence between the vertices of G and
those of H, such that the number of edges joining each pair of vertices in G is
equal to the number of edges joining the corresponding pair of vertices in H. Such
a 1-1 correspondence is called an isomorphism.

OR

Graphs G (V , E ) and H (V , E ) are said to be isomorphic if there exists a 1-1

correspondence f : V  V ' such that {u,v} is an edge of G if and only if {f(u), f(v)}
is an edge of G’.

Checking if two graphs are isomorphic:

 number of vertices and edges

 look for special features such as short cycles, degrees of

vertices loops and multiple edges

9
G and H are not the same but they are isomorphic:

mapping u to 4; v to 3; w to 2; x to 1.

(Check that the edges also correspond!)

Problem. By suitably relabelling the vertices, show that the following
pairs of graphs are isomorphic.

Problem. Are the following two graphs isomorphic? If so, find a suitable 1-1
correspondence between the vertices of the first and those of the
second graph; if not, explain why not.

10
Sometimes labels are not necessary and we deal with unlabelled
graphs.

The above unlabelled graph corresponds to any of the 4 labelled

graphs below. (The 4 graphs are all isomorphic).

Two unlabelled graphs such as

are isomorphic if their vertices can be labelled in such a way that the
two graphs become the same graph.
Problem By suitably labelling the vertices, show that the following unlabelled

graphs are isomorphic.

11
Digraphs
A digraph D(V, E) consists of a set V of elements called vertices, and a
set E of elements called arcs or directed edges; each arc joins two
vertices say u and v, the arc joining u and v is denoted by (u,v).

In a digraph, two or more arcs joining the same pair of vertices in the
same direction are multiple arcs. An arc joining a vertex to itself is a
loop. A digraph with no multiple arcs or loops is a simple digraph.

Problem. Are the digraphs below simple digraphs?

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Adjacency and Incidence
The vertices v and w of a digraph are adjacent vertices if they are
joined (in either direction) by an arc (v,w) or (w,v).

An arc (v,w) that joins v to w is incident from v and incident to w; v is

incident to (v,w), and w is incident from (v,w).

Problem. Which of the following statements hold for the digraph?

(a) vertices v and w are adjacent; (b) vertices v and x are adjacent;

(c) vertex u is incident to arc 2; (d) arc 5 is incident from vertex v.

Subdigraphs
A subdigraph of a digraph D is a digraph all of whose vertices are
vertices of D and all of whose arcs are arcs of D.

For example, the following digraphs are all subdigraphs of the digraph
with vertices {u,v,w,x} and arc {1,2,3,4,5,6}.

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Problem Which of the following digraphs are subdigraphs of the digraph D
below?

Subdigraphs of unlabelled digraphs:

The idea of a subdigraph can be extended to unlabelled digraphs.

Problem Which of the following digraphs are subdigraphs of the digraph C below?

14
Underlying graph:
The underlying graph of a digraph D is the graph obtained by replacing
each arc of D by the corresponding undirected edge.
Example.

Vertex degree:
In a digraph, the out-degree of a vertex v is the number of arcs incident
from v, and is denoted by outdeg v; the in-degree of v is the number of
arcs incident to v, and is denoted by indeg v.

Note that each loop contributes 1 to out-degree and 1 to in-degree of

the corresponding vertex.

Example. outdeg u=1; indeg u=0; outdeg v=3; indeg v=1; outdeg w=2; indeg w=1;
outdeg x=0; indeg x=0; outdeg y=2; indeg y=6; outdeg z=2; indeg z=2

15
The out-degree sequence of a digraph D is the sequence obtained by
listing the out-degrees of D in increasing order, with repeats as
necessary. The in-degree sequence of D is defined analogously.

Outdegree and Indegree sequence:

The Outdegree sequence of a digraph G is the sequence obtained by
listing the vertex outdegrees of G in increasing order, with repeats as
necessary. The Indegree sequence of a graph G is the sequence
obtained by listing the vertex indegrees of G in increasing order, with
repeats as necessary.

The digraph below has out-degree sequence {0,1,2,2,2,3} and in-degree

sequence {0,0,1,1,2,6}.

Problem. Write down the out-degree and in-degree sequences of each of the
following digraphs.

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Handshaking Dilemma
Theorem (Handshaking Dilemma) In any digraph, the sum of all the
out-degrees and the sum of the in-degrees are both equal to the
number of arcs.

Proof. In any digraph, each arc has 2 ends, so it contributes exactly 1 to

the sum of the out-degrees and 1 to the sum of the in-degrees.
Problem. (a) Use the Handshaking Dilemma to prove that, in any digraph, if the
number of vertices with odd out-degree is odd then the number of
vertices with odd in-degree is odd.

(b) Verify that part (a) holds for the digraph on the next slide

Walks:
A walk of length k in a digraph is a succession of k arcs of the form
(u,v), (v,w), (w,x),…,(y,z). This walk is denoted by u-v-w-x…y-z, and is
referred to as a walk from u to z.

Paths and trails:

A trail is a walk in which all the arcs, but not necessarily all the vertices,
are different.

A path is a walk in which all the arcs and all the vertices are different.

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Closed walks, trails and cycles
A closed walk in a digraph is a succession of arcs of the form (u,v),
(v,w), (w,x),…,(y,z), (z,u). A closed trail is a closed walk in which all arcs
are different. A cycle is a closed trail in which all the intermediate
vertices are different.
Problem For the digraph below, write down

(a) all the paths from t to w; (b) all the paths from w to t;

(c) a closed trail of length 8containing t and z;

(d) all the cycles containing both t and w.

Connected digraphs:
A digraph is connected if its underlying graph is a connected graph; and
is disconnected otherwise. A digraph is strongly connected if there is a

18
path between each pair of

vertices
Problem. Classify each of the following digraphs as disconnected, connected but
not strongly connected, or strongly connected.

Distances in Graphs:
 The distance between two vertices u and v in a graph d(u,v) is the
length of the shortest path between the two vertices – if it exists.

 That is; the fewest number of arcs that need to be traversed when
going from u to v.

 The maximum distance from a vertex u to any other vertex in the

graph is called the eccentricity of u e(u).

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  The largest eccentricity is called the diameter, the smallest
eccentricity is called the radius.

 The diameter may be  even if the digraph is connected If the

graph is disconnected, the radius and diameter are  .

Example:

The distance from u to v is 4 by the path ubcfv. There are other paths from u to v but
none shorter than 4.

Isomorphism:
Two digraphs C and D are isomorphic if D can be obtained by relabelling the
vertices of C, that is, if there is a 1-1 correspondence between the vertices of C
and those of D, such that the arcs joining each pair of vertices in C agree in both
number and direction with the arcs joining the corresponding pair of vertices in D.

20
OR

Graphs G (V , E ) and H (V , E ) are said to be isomorphic if there exists a 1-1

correspondence f : V  V ' such that (u,v) is an arc of G if and only if (f(u), f(v)) is
an arc of G’.

For example,

The above two digraphs are isomorphic.

Problem. By suitably relabeling the vertices, show that these digraphs are
isomorphic.

Problem. By suitably labeling the vertices, show that the following unlabelled
digraphs are isomorphic.

21
Special Graphs, Operations on Graphs
Null Graphs:
A null graph is a graph with no edges. The null graph with n vertices is denoted by
Nn.

Regular Graphs:
A graph is regular if its vertices all have the same degree. A regular graph is r-
regular, or regular of degree r, if the degree of each vertex is r.

Exercise: Draw an r-regular graph with 8 vertices when r = 3,4,5.

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Theorem: Let G be an r-regular graph with n vertices. Then G has nr/2 edges.

Proof. Let G be a graph with n vertices, each of degree r. Then the sum of the
degrees is nr. By the Handshaking Lemma, the number of edges is half of this sum.

Exercise: Verify that the Theorem holds for each of the following regular graphs:

Exercise: (a) Prove that there are no 3-regular graphs with 7 vertices;

(b) Prove that, if n and r are both odd, then there are no r-regular
graphs with n vertices.

Cycle Graphs:
A cycle graph is a graph consisting of a single cycle of vertices and edges. The
cycle graph with n vertices is denoted by Cn. The graph Cn is regular of degree 2
and has n edges.

Exercise: Draw the graphs N7 and C7.

23
Complete graph:
A complete graph is a graph in which each vertex is joined to each of the others
by exactly one edge. The complete graph with n vertices is denoted by Kn. The
graph Kn is regular of degree n-1, and has n(n-1)/2 edges.

Every graph on n vertices is a subgraph of Kn. |V(G)| = n  G  Kn

So we also know that (G)  n-1, |E(G)|  n(n-1)/2 and radius(G)  1.

And, of course, |V(G)| = n  G  Km, m  n.

Complement of a graph:
The complement of a graph G (written G) is a graph on the same vertex set as G
containing all edges not in G.

If |E(G)| = e, then |E(G)| = n(n-1)/2 - e

24
Self Complementary Graphs:

Bipartite Graphs:
A bipartite graph is a graph whose set of vertices can be split into 2 subsets A and
B in such a way that each edge of the graph joins a vertex in A and a vertex in B.

Complete Bipartite Graph:

A complete bipartite graph is a bipartite graph in which each vertex in A is joined
to each vertex in B by exactly one edge.

Kr,s denotes a complete bipartite graph with r vertices in A and s vertices in B.

Exercise: (a) Draw the graphs K2,3, K1,7 and K4,4. How many vertices and
edges does each have?

(b) Under what conditions on r and s is Kr,s a regular graph?

25
Trees:
A tree is a connected graph with no cycles.

Note that in a tree there is exactly one path between any two vertices.

Exercise: There are 8 unlabelled trees with 5 or fewer vertices. Draw them.

Exercise: Explain why a tree with n vertices has n-1 edges.

Path Graphs:
A path graph is a tree consisting of a single path through all its vertices. Path
graph with n vertices is denoted by Pn. The graph Pn has n-1 edges and can be
obtained from the cycle graph Cn by removing one edge.

Planar Graphs:
Graphs may be drawn in more than one way:

A graph G is planar if it can be drawn in the plane in such a way that no two edges
meet except at a vertex with which they are both incident. Any such drawing is a
plane drawing of G. A graph G is non-planar if no plane drawing of G exists.

26
Three plane drawings of K4:

The cube and the dodecahedron are also planar graphs:

The graph below is also planar:

Problem Determine which of the following graphs are planar and, for those that
are, give a plane drawing.

27
Eulerian and Hamiltonian graphs:
A connected graph is Eulerian if it contains a closed trail that includes every edge;
such a trail is an Eulerian trail.

A connected graph is Hamiltonian if it contains a cycle that includes every vertex;

such a cycle is a Hamiltonian cycle.

Eulerian: (a) and (b); Hamiltonian: (a) and (c)

Problem Decide which of the following graphs are Eulerian and/or Hamiltonian,
and write down an Eulerian trail or Hamiltonian cycle, where possible.

28
Petersen Graph:
Petersen graph was discovered by Julius Petersen in 1898. Petersen graph is a 3-
regular graph with 10 vertices and 15 edges. It may be drawn in many ways, for
example:

Platonic Graphs:
Platonic solids and the corresponding Platonic graphs:

Converse of a Digraph:
For a digraph G, the converse of G is obtained by simply reversing the direction of
the arrows.

Self Converse Digraphs:

K3 is the same as K3. C6 is isomorphic to C6.
29
Duality:
Let G be a connected planar graph. Then a dual graph G* is constructed from a
plane drawing of G as follows: Draw one new vertex in each face of the plane
drawing; these are the vertices of G*. For each edge e of the plane drawing, draw
a line joining the vertices of G* in the faces on either side of e: these are the
edges of G*.

Problem Draw the dual of each of the following plane drawings of planar graphs.

Problem The following diagrams show two different plane drawings of a planar
graph. Show that their duals are not isomorphic.

Different plane drawings of a planar graph G may give rise to non-isomorphic dual
graphs G*. If G is a plane drawing of a planar connected graph then so is its dual
G*, and so we can construct (G*)*, the dual of G*. Note that (G*)* is isomorphic
to G.

30
Bound for the number of edges in a graph on n vertices.
A simple connected graph on n vertices has fewest edges when it has no cycle,
and most edges when it is a complete graph. This implies that the number of
edges m must lie between n-1 and n(n-1)/2 , i.e., n  1  m  n (n  1) / 2

In general we can say that:

Theorem: Let G be a simple graph on n vertices. If G has k components, then the

number m of edges of G satisfies
n  k  m  (n  k )(n  k  1) / 2

Corollary: Any simple graph with n vertices and more than (n-1)(n-2)/2 edges is
connected.

Theorem: If G is a bipartite graph, then each cycle of G has even length.

Proof: Since G is bipartite, we can split its vertex set into disjoint sets A and B so
that each edge of G joins a vertex of A and a vertex of B.

Let v0  v1  . . .  vm  v0 be a cycle in G, and assume (without loss of generality) that

v0 is in A. Then v1 is in B, v2 is in A, and so on. Since vm must be in B, the cycle
has even length.

Theorem: A non trivial graph G is a bipartite if and only if G contains no odd

cycle.

Mathematical properties of trees:

Theorem: Let T be a graph with n vertices. Then the following statements are
equivalent

(i) T is a tree;

(ii) T contains no cycles, and has n-1 edges;

(iii) T is connected, and has n-1 edges;

31
(iv) T is connected, and each edges is a bridge;

(v) any two vertices of T are connected by exactly one path;

(vi) T contains no cycles, but the addition of any new edge creates exactly one
cycle;

Corollary: If G is a forest with n vertices and k components, then G has n-k edges.

Tree structures:
Example of an artificial object that can be modeled as a tree.

Example of a conceptual tree: family tree.

32
Another example of a conceptual tree: hierarchical tree representing the
responsibilities in a company.

Spanning trees:
Let G be a connected graph. Then a spanning tree in G is a subgraph of G that
includes every vertex of G and is also a tree.

The number of spanning trees in a graph can be very large. For example, the
Petersen graph has 2000 labelled spanning trees.

Two methods for constructing a spanning tree in a connected graph:

Building-up method: Select edges of the graph one at a time in such a way that
no cycles are created; repeat this procedure until all vertices are included.

Cutting down method: Choose any cycle and remove any one of its edges; repeat
this procedure until no cycles remain.

Problem Use each method to construct a spanning tree in the complete graph K5.

Theorem (Cayley, 1889). There are n n  2 distinct labelled trees on n vertices.

Corollary. The number of spanning trees of K n is n n  2 .

33
Rooted trees:
A particular type of a tree structure that appears often is the rooted tree.

Possible outcomes of experiments can be represented by a branching tree.

Example: tossing a coin.

Problem Draw the branching tree representing the outcomes of 2 throws of a six-
sided die.

Branching trees can be used in the analysis of games, esp. games of strategy such
as chess, and for strategic manoeuvres such as those arising in military situations.

34
Planar Graphs:
A graph G is planar if it can be drawn in the plane in such a way that no two edges
meet except at a vertex with which they are both incident. Any such drawing is a
plane drawing of G.

 If G is a planar graph, then any plane drawing of G divides the set of points
of the plane not lying on G into region, called faces.

 Every subgraph of a planar graph is planar, and every graph with a non-
planar subgraph must be non-planar.

 Two graphs to be homeomorphic if both can be obtained from the same

graph by inserting new vertices of degree 2 into its edges.

When studying planarity, we may restrict our attention to simple graphs.

Problem Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false.

(a) Every subgraph of a planar graph is planar.

(b) Every subgraph of a non-planar graph is non-planar.

(c) Every graph that contains a planar subgraph is planar.

(d) Every graph that contains a non-planar subgraph is non-planar.

35
Chip Design:
Planarity is related to practical problems in constructing circuits where printed
connectors may not cross.

Theorem: K3,3 is non-planar.

Proof: Suppose first K3,3 is planar. Since K3,3 has a cycle u-a-v-b-w-c-u of legth 6,
any plane drawing must contain this cycle drawn in the form of a hexagon, as
shown in figure.

Now the edge {v,c} must lie either inside the hexagon or outside it. We deal with
the case in which it lies inside the hexagon, the other case is similar. Since the
edge {u,b} must not cross the edge {v,c}, it must lie ouside the hexagon. It is then
impossible to draw the edge {a,w}, as it would cross either {u,b} or {v,c}. This gives
the reguired contradiction.

36
Theorem: K5 is non-planar

Proof: Suppose first K5 is planar. Since K5 has a cycle v-w-x-y-z-v of legth 5, any
plane drawing must contain this cycle drawn in the form of a pentagon.

Now the edge {w,z} must lie either inside the pentagon or outside it. We deal with
the case in which {w,z} lies inside the pentagon, the other case is similar.

Since the edge {v,x} and {v,y} cannot cross the edge {w,z}, they must both lie
outside the pentagon But the edge {x,z} cannot cross the edge {v,y} and so must
lie inside the pentagon; similarly the edge {w,y} must lie inside the pentagon, and
the edges {w,y} and {x,z} must then cross. This gives the required contradiction.//

Theorem (Kuratowski, 1930): A graph is planar if and only if it contains no

subgraph homeomorphic to K5 or K3,3 .

Problem: Which complete graphs and complete bipartite graphs are planar?

Problem: By using Kuratowski‘s Theorem, show that Petersen graph is non

planar.

37
Euler’s formula:
Euler’s formula relates the number of vertices, edges and faces of a plane drawing
of a planar graph.

Every plane drawing of a planar graph divides the plane into a number of regions.

K4 divides the plane into 4 regions:

K2,5 divides the plane into 5 regions:

Let G be a planar graph. Then any plane drawing of G divides the set of points of
the plane not lying on G into regions, called faces; one face is of infinite extent
and is the infinite face.

Let G be a connected planar graph, and let f be any face of a plane drawing of G.
Then the degree of f, denoted by deg f, is the number of edges encountered in a
walk around the boundary of the face f.

If all faces have the same degree g then G is face-regular of degree g.

Handshaking Lemma for Planar Graphs In any plane drawing of a planar graph,
the sum of the face degrees is equal to twice the number of edges.

Proof. Each edge has two sides so it contributes exactly 2 to the sum of the face
degrees.//

38
Problem Verify the planar version of the handshaking lemma for each of the
following plane drawings of planar graphs.

Problem For each of the plane drawings above, count the number of vertices,
edges and faces, and find the value of

number of vertices – number of edges + number of faces.

Theorem (Euler’s Formula for Planar Graphs)

Let G be a connected planar graph, and let n,m and f denote,

respectively, the numbers of vertices, edges and faces in a plane
drawing of G. Then

n – m + f = 2.
Proof. The proof is by induction on the number of edges of G. If m=0, then n=1
and f=1 (the infinite face). The theorem is therefore true in this case.

Now suppose that the theorem holds for all graphs with at most m-1 edges, and
let G be a graph with m edges. If G is a tree, then m=n-1 and f=1, so that n-m+f=2 ,
as required. If G is not tree, let e be an edge in some cycle of G. Then G-e is a
connected plane graph with n vertices, m-1 dges, and f-1 faces, so that

n-(m-1)+(f-1)=2, by the induction hypothesis.

It follows that n-m+f=2, as required.//

39
Problem Verify Euler’s formula for each of the following graphs.

(a) octahedron graph;

(b) wheel with 5 spokes;

(c) complete bipartite graph K2,6

(d) graph formed from the vertices and edges of a 4x4 square lattice.

Theorem Let G be a plane drawing of a connected planar graph with n

vertices, m edges and f faces. Then G* has f vertices, m edges and n faces.
Proof. It follows directly from the construction of G* that G* has f vertices and m
edges. If G* has f* faces then, by applying Euler’s formula, to both G and G* we
get for G: n – m + f = 2 and for G*: f – m + f* = 2 and so f* = n.//

Euler’s formula can be used to prove that some graphs are non-planar.

Corollary 1 Let G be a simple connected planar graph with n (≥ 3) vertices

and m edges. Then m ≤ 3n – 6.
Proof. Since a simple graph does not have multiple edges or loops then the
degree of each face is at least 3 (each face is bounded by at least three edges).
From the Handshaking Lemma for planar graphs we get 3f ≤ 2m. Substituting for f
from Euler’s formula we get 3m – 3n + 6 ≤ 2m and so m ≤ 3n – 6.//

Example K5 is non-planar.
Proof is by contradiction. Suppose K5 is planar. Since K5 is a simple connected
graph with 5 vertices and 10 edges, by Corollary 1, 10 ≤ (3x5) - 6 = 9 which is
false. Therefore, K5 is non-planar.//

40
Note that we cannot use Corollary 1 to prove that the complete bipartite graph
K3,3 is non-planar since 9 ≤ (3x6) - 6 = 12 does hold. We will need another
argument.

Corollary 2 Let G be a simple connected planar graph with n (≥ 3)

vertices, m edges and no triangles. Then m ≤ 2n – 4.
Proof. Consider a plane drawing of a simple connected planar graph G with f faces
and no triangles. The degree of each face of such a graph is at least 4. It follows
from the Handshaking Lemma for planar graphs that 4f ≤ 2m. Substituting for f
from Euler’s formula we get 2m – 2n + 4 ≤ m and so m ≤ 2n – 4.//

Example K3,3 is non-planar.

Proof is by contradiction. Suppose K3,3 is planar. Since K3,3 is a simple connected

graph with 6 vertices and 9 edges, and no triangles, by Corollary 2, 9 ≤ (2x6) - 4 = 8
which is false. Therefore, K3,3 is non-planar.//

Theorem Every simple planar graph contains a vertex of degree at most 5.

Proof: Without loss of generality we can assume the graph to be connected, and
to have at least three vertices. If each vertex has degree at least 6, then we have
6n ≤ 2m, and so 3n ≤ m. It follows immediately from Corollary 1 that3n ≤ 3n-6,
which is a contradiction. //

Note: A disconnected graph is planar if and only if each of its components is

planar.

Note: A graph that has loops or multiple edges is planar if and only if the graph
obtained by removing the loops and coalescing the multiple edges is planar.

41
Problem: By using Kuratowski‘s Theorem, show that Petersen graph is non
planar.
Proof:

1 1

6
6
5 2
5 2
10 7

9 8

3 8
4 9

Above figure (on left side) shows a subgraph H of the Petersen graph after
deleting the edge joining vertex 3 and vertex 4 as well as the edge joining vertex 7
and vertex 10. Vertices 3, 4, 7 and 10 became vertices of degree 2. It is easy to see
that the subgraph H is a homeomorphic of K 3,3 . X={1,8,9} and Y={2,6,5}. Hence
Petersen graph is nonplanar.//

Problem: By using Euler’s formula, show that Petersen graph is non planar.

Proof: The graph has 10 vertices and 15 edges. Every cycle in the graph has at
least five edges. So if it planar and has f regions, 5 f  30 , implying that the graph
has at most six regions. But since it is connected and planar, it should have exactly
seven regions. A contradiction hence Petersen graph is non planar.//

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Eulerian graphs:
Theorem. A connected graph is Eulerian if and only if each vertex has
even degree.
Problem. Use the Theorem to determine which of the following graphs are
Eulerian. (a) The complete graph K8;

(b) The complete bipartite graph K8,8;

(c) The cycle graph C8.

Semi-Eulerian graphs:
A connected graph is semi-Eulerian if there is an open trail that includes every
edge; such a trail is a semi-Eulerian trail.

The graph below is not semi-Eulerian.

Theorem. A connected graph is semi-Eulerian if and only if it has

exactly two vertices of odd degree.
Problem Use the Theorem to determine which of the following graphs are
semi-Eulerian, and write down a corresponding open trail, where possible.

43
Properties of Hamiltonian graphs:
Unlike for Eulerian graphs, no general necessary and sufficient conditions for
Hamiltonicity are known.

Some particular classes of graphs are known to be Hamiltonian, for example, Cn

and Kn.

Problem. Which of the following graphs are Hamiltonian?

(a) The complete bipartite graph K4,4;

(b) A tree.

(c) Complete bipartite graph with an odd number of

vertices.

(d) Kn,n , where n is odd.

Semi-Hamiltonian graphs:
A connected graph is semi-Hamiltonian if there is a path that includes every
vertex; such a path is a semi-Hamiltonian path.

44
Problem. Determine which of the following graphs are semi-Hamiltonian, and
write down a corresponding semi-Hamiltonian path, where possible.

Theorem (Ore’s Theorem)

Let G be a simple connected graph with n > 3 vertices, and deg v + deg w  n for
each pair of non-adjacent vertices v and w. Then G is Hamiltonian.

Example:

Theorem (Dirac’s Theorem)

Let G be a simple connected graph with n > 3 vertices, and if deg v  n/2 for each
vertex v, then G is Hamiltonian.

Problem: (a) Prove Dirac’s Theorem by using Ore’s Theorem.

(b) Give an example of a Hamiltonian graph that does not satisfy the conditions
of Ore’s Theorem.

(c) Show that an Eulerian graph cannot have a bridge.

Proof of (c) : If a graph is Eulerian, it is connected graph in which the degree of

each vertex is even. Suppose it has a bridge. If this bridge is deleted, there will be
two components, and in each component will be exactly one vertex of odd
degree. But in any graph, the number of odd vertices is always even.

45
Problem : Only one graph of order 5 has the property that the addition of any
edge produce an Eulerian graph. What is it?

Problem : Prove that C n is Hamiltonian for n 5.

Proof: Note that C n is a (n-3)-regular graph. If n=5, then

C 5  C5 which is Hamiltonian. If n  6 , then n  3  n / 2

Problem : Give and example of a graph that is neither Eulerain nor Hamiltonian,
but has an Eulerian trail.

Lemma. If G is a graph in which the degree of each vertex is at least 2,

then G contains a cycle.
Proof: If G has any loops or multiple edges, the result is trivial. We can therefore
suppose that G is a simple graph. Let v be any vertex of G . We construct a walk
v  v1  v 2  ... inductively by choosing v1 to be any vertex adjacent to v and, for
each i  1 , choosing vi 1 to be any vertex adjacent to vi except vi 1 ; the existance
of such a vertex is quaranteed by our hypothesis. Since G has only finite many
vertices, we must eventually choose a vertex that has been chosen before. If v k
is the first such vertex, then that part of the walk lying between the two
occurrences of v k is the required cycle.

Theorem A connected graph G is Eulerian if and only if every vertex of

G has even degree.

Proof: Whenever a closed trail passes through an arbitrary vertex of the graph,
two distinct edges are used up; as such, each such passing results in a
contribution of two to the degree of that vertex. So if there is a closed trail that
contains all the edges of the graph, the degree of each vertex is necessarily even.

46
Conversely, we use induction on the size of a connected graph. If there are no
edges, there is only one vertex in the graph since the graph is connected; thus the
problem is trivial. Suppose the degree of each vertex is even. Since the graph is
connected, each degree is at least 2. So by above lemma, there is a cycle C in the
graph. If this cycle contains all the edges, we are done. Suppose this is not the
case. Then if all the edges belonging to this cycle are deleted from the graph,
resulting in a spanning subgraph H (with fewer edges than G) that need not be
connected. But each vertex in H is even. The induction hypothesis is that every
graph with fewer edges (than G) in which each degree is even is Eulerian. So each
component of H is Eulerian. Furthermore, each component has a vertex in
common with the cycle C (because of connectedness of G). We can thus obtain an
closed trail in G that contains all the edges of G as follows:

Start from any vertex of C and traverse the edges of this cycle sequentially until
we reach vertex v1 that is also a vertex in a component that is Eulerain. Then we
traverse all the edges of this component sequentially starting from v1 and return
to it, and then continue along the edges of C until we find another vertex v 2 that is
a vertex in another component. We repeat this process and eventually return to
the starting vertex in C, thereby obtaining a closed cycle contains all the edges G.
Thus G is Eulerian.//

Corollary A connected graph G is Eulerian if and only if its set of edges

can be split up into disjoint cycles.

47
Matrix representation of a graph:
Although it is convenient to represent a graph by a diagram of points joined by
lines, such a representation may be unsuitable if we wish to store a large graph in
a computer. There are different ways of maintaining a graph in the memory of
computer. One useful representation involve matrices. Matrices are usually used
when the graph is dense.

Adjacency matrices:
Let G be a graph with n vertices labelled 1,2,3,…,n. The adjacency matrix A(G) of G
is the nxn matrix in which the entry in row i and column j is the number of edges
joining the vertices i and j.

Problem Write down the adjacency matrix of each of the following graphs.

Problem Draw the graph represented by each of the following adjacency

matrices.

48
Note that

• The adjacency matrix of a graph is symmetrical about the main

diagonal (top-left to bottom-right line).

• For a graph without loops, each entry on the main diagonal is 0.

• The sum of the entries in a row or column is the degree of the vertex
corresponding to that row/column.

• Adjacency matrix can be defined also for digraphs.

Let D be a digraph with n vertices labelled 1,2,3,…,n. The adjacency matrix A(D) of
D is the nxn matrix in which the entry in row i and column j is the number of arcs
from vertex i to vertex j.

Problem Write down the adjacency matrix of each of the following digraphs.

Note that the adjacency matrix of a digraph is usually not symmetrical by the
main diagonal.

49
Problem Draw the digraph represented by each of the following adjacency
matrices.

Note that the sum of the entries of a column is equal to the in-degree of the
vertex corresponding to that column; the sum of the entries of a row is equal to
the out-degree of the vertex corresponding to that row.

Adjacency matrix can be used to establish the existence of walks in a graph or

digraph. We will consider digraphs here; but of course similar results apply to
graphs.

A walk of length 1 is an arc and is easily seen from the adjacency matrix. What
about longer walks?

Problem (a) Complete the following tables for the numbers of walks of lengths
2 and 3 in the digraph.

(b) Find the matrix products A2 and A3, where A is the adjacency matrix of the
digraph.

50
Problem Consider the digraph below. Write down the adjacency matrix A,
calculate A2, A3, and A4, and hence find the numbers of walks of lengths 1, 2, 3,
and 4 from b to d. Are there walks of lengths 1, 2, 3, or 4 from d to b?

Strong connectivity in digraphs:

Theorem Let D be a digraph with n vertices labelled 1,2,3,…,n; let A be the
adjacency matrix of D with respect to this labelling, and let B be the matrix

B = A + A2 + … An-1.

Then D is strongly connected if and only if each non-diagonal entry in B is positive,

that is, bij > 0 whenever i and j are distinct.

Problem Find B for the digraph below and hence determine whether the digraph
is strongly connected.

Problem Determine whether the digraph with the following adjacency matrix is
strongly connected.

51
Incidence matrices:
Let G be a graph without loops, with n vertices labelled 1,2,…,n, and m edges
labelled 1,2,3,…,m. The incidence matrix I(G) of G is the nxm matrix in which the
entry in row i and column j is if the vertex i is incident with the edge j, and 0
otherwise.

Problem Write down the incidence matrix of each of the following graphs.

Problem Draw the graph represented by each of the following incidence matrices.

52
Let D be a digraph without loops, with n vertices labelled 1,2,…,n, and m arcs
labelled 1,2,3,…,m. The incidence matrix I(D) of D is the nxm matrix in which the
entry in row i and column j is

1 if the arc j is incident from vertex i,

-1 if the arc j is incident to vertex i, and

0 otherwise.

Problem Write down the incidence matrix of each of the following digraphs.

Problem Draw the digraph represented by each of the following incidence

matrices.

53