Graph Theory Prof.

János Pach
Spring 2013 Assist. Filip Morić

Midterm Exam: Solutions

Caveat emptor: These are merely extended hints, rather than complete solutions.

Question 1. [10 marks] Find a maximum matching and a minimum vertex

cover in the graph from the picture.
a b c d e

f g h i j

Solution. There’s no perfect matching, since N ({a, c, e}) = {g, i}, so the match-
ing {ag, bh, ci, dj} is of maximum size. By König’s theorem the size of a mini-
mum vertex cover is also 4, so the cover {b, d, g, i} is minimum.

Question 2. [10 marks] Determine the connectivity and the edge-connectivity

of the graph from the picture.

Solution. The connectivity is 2: on one hand, the graph is connected no matter

which vertex we remove (in fact, all the vertices can be covered by two cycles),
and on the other hand, if we remove 2 central vertices it gets disconnected.
The edge-connectivity is 4. It’s a bit tedious to show (let me know if you
have a laconic way of proving it!). First, it’s at most 4, since δ = 4. To
show that the graph is 4-edge-connected, we either argue that the removal of
any 3 edges doesn’t affect the connectedness, or we apply the global version of
Menger’s theorem. Either way, the symmetry of the graph can help.

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Graph Theory Prof. János Pach
Spring 2013 Assist. Filip Morić

Question 3. [10 marks] For the graphs G1 and G2 from the picture, prove
non-planarity or provide a planar embedding.

G1 G2

Solution. The graph G1 is planar and one can easily construct a planar embed-
ding. The graph G2 is not, since it contains a K3,3 -subdivision (it also contains
a K5 -minor).
Question 4. [30 marks] For each of the following statements decide if it is true
or false. Give a succinct explanation.
1. If a graph on n vertices does not contain a cycle, then it must have exactly
n − 1 edges.
2. If a graph contains an Euler tour, then it does not have a cut-edge.
3. There exists a 3-regular tree.
4. In any graph G, the existence of a perfect matching is equivalent to the
condition that |N (X)| ≥ |X| for every X ⊆ V (G).
5. Every 3-regular graph has a perfect matching.
6. If all cycles in a graph G are of even length, then G contains a matching
whose size is equal to the minimum cardinality of a vertex cover of its
edges.
7. If a graph is 100-edge-connected, then it must be 3-connected.
8. There exists a 5-connected planar graph.
9. There exists a 6-connected planar graph.
10. Any graph without a K3 -subdivision is planar.
Solution. 1. False, it can very well be an empty graph.
2. True, easy to prove by contradiction.
3. False, every tree has a leaf to say the least.
4. False, e.g. K3 .

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Graph Theory Prof. János Pach
Spring 2013 Assist. Filip Morić

5. False, see the picture below.

6. True, a reformulation of König’s theorem.
7. False, e.g. K1 + (K200 ∪ K200 ) (join operation).
8. True, the icosahedral graph is 5-connected, which can be proven e.g. using
the global version of Menger’s theorem.
9. False, since every planar graph has a vertex of degree at most 5.
10. True, any forest is planar.

Question 5. [10 marks] If all vertices in a graph G are of degree at least δ ≥ 2,

show that G contains a cycle of length at least δ + 1.
Solution. Proposition 1.3.1 in Diestel’s book.
Question 6. [15 marks] In a village there are three schools with n students in
each of them. Every student from any of the schools is on speaking terms with
at least n + 1 students from the other two schools. Show that we can find three
students, no two from the same school, who are on speaking terms with each
other.
Solution. Certainly, we are talking about a tripartite graph. Choose a vertex
u adjacent with k vertices from another class (call it A) and at least n + 1 − k
vertices from the third class (call it B), such that the k is the smallest possible.
Let v be a neighbor of u in A. Since v has at least k neighbors in B, it must
have a common neighbor w with u. Then uvw is a triangle.
Question 7. [15 marks] Consider a three-dimensional convex polytope whose
faces are triangles and whose edges are oriented. A singularity is a face whose
edges form an oriented cycle, a vertex that belongs only to incoming edges, or
a vertex that belongs only to outgoing edges. Show that the polytope has at
least two singularities.
Solution. Denote by F, V, E, n1 , n2 , n3 the number of faces, vertices, edges,
singularities of the first, second and third type, respectively. By Euler’s formula,
it suffices to show that (F − n1 ) + (V − n2 − n3 ) ≤ E. To prove this we put

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Graph Theory Prof. János Pach
Spring 2013 Assist. Filip Morić

a weight of +1 to all non-singular faces and to all non-singular vertices, while

we set the weight of the singular faces and vertices to be 0. Next, from each
non-singular face we move the weight (which is +1) to the vertex that is the
sink of the face (i.e., it belongs to two incoming edges from the face). Now
it’s easy to see that the weight of any singular vertex is equal to the number of
its incoming edges, while the weight of any non-singular vertex is at most the
number of incoming edges. This proves the inequality.
Remark: The method used in this solution is called the discharging method,
and it’s used very often when dealing with planar graphs (in particular, it can
be useful for proving various inequalities).