Republic of the Philippines

Sorsogon State University

School of Graduate Studies
Sorsogon City
A.Y. 2020 – 2021

I. Objectives:
1. Define and illustrate an Euler path and Euler circuit;
2. Apply Euler’s Theorem.
3. Recognize the importance of graph theory.

II. Content:
Graph theory may be said to have its beginning in 1736 when Euler considered the (general case of the)
Königsberg bridge problem. Leonhard Euler was an 18th century physicist and scholar who was responsible for
developing many concepts that are an integral part of modern mathematics. His interests covered almost all aspects
of Mathematics.

A graph G consists of a set V called the set of points (nodes, vertices) of the graph and a set of edges such
that each edge e ∈ E is associated with ordered or unordered pair of elements of V. The set V (G) is called the
vertex set of G and E (G) is the edge set. The graph G with vertices V and edges E is written as G= (V , E ) or
G ( V , E ).
The degree of a vertex of a graph is the number of edges incident with it, except that a loop at a vertex
contributes twice to the degree of that vertex. The degree of the vertex v in a graph G denoted by deg(v).
If G= (V , E ) be an undirected graph with e edges. Then i.e., the sum of degrees of the
vertices in an undirected graph is twice the number of edges (Handshaking therem).

If be a directed graph with e edges, then i.e., the sum of the out
G= (V , E )

degrees of the vertices of a digraph G equals the sum of in degrees of the vertices which equals the number of
edges in G.

An Euler path is a path that uses every edge in a graph with no repeats. It does not have to return to the
starting vertex. A B C
D ● ● ●
B ●
●
G●

●
C ● ● ●
A ●
F E D

EULER PATH: C-B-A-C-D EULER PATH: A-B-C-D-E-F-A-G-F

An Euler circuit is a circuit that uses every edge in a graph with no repeats. It must start and end at the
same vertex. C B
● ●
Z A Euler Circuit: B-A-E-B-C-D-E-B
Z Z ●
● ●
D E
To have an Euler circuit, you must be able to travel in and out of each vertex.

EULER’S THEOREM
Examples:
Determine if the graph has an Euler Circuit, an Euler Path, or neither and explain why. You do not have to find an
actual path or circuit through the graph.

1.

 The graph has exactly two odd vertices, then:

o It has an Euler path.
o It does not have an Euler circuit.

2.

 The graph has even vertices, then:

o It has an Euler path.
o It has an Euler circuit.

3.

 The graph has more than two odd vertices,

then:
o It does not have an Euler path.
o It does not have an Euler circuit.
 THE KONIGSBERG BRIDGE PROBLEM

The Pregolya River runs through the city of Kaliningrad, Russia. In the past, the city was known as Königsberg
and was a part of Germany. The river then split around an island in the middle of the city then briefly came back
together before finally splitting into two separate rivers. In order to travel between landmasses, the people of
Königsberg built seven bridges crossing the river.

As a way of entertaining themselves, they devised a game where they tried to cross every one of the bridges
once and only once, and some tried to both start and end at the same place as an extra challenge.
The criteria for the original problem was to find a path across all seven bridges without crossing any bridge
twice. Euler realized that trying to find a path by drawing the layout of the bridges and connecting them various ways
would take a lot of time and would not necessarily result in a path that fulfilled the criteria. Instead, he made the
problem into a graph problem. He made each bridge an edge, and each landmass became a node or vertex labeled by an
uppercase letter (A through D). In the context of graphs, which are sets of vertices and edges, edges are lines that
connect two nodes, while vertices or nodes are defined points of a graph, and the number of edges that connect to a
vertex is that vertex’s degree. The graph he made to represent the Königsberg bridges was similar to graph 1 pictured
below.

Graph 1

In this graph, each of the four nodes have an odd degree which means they have an odd number of edges
connected to them. Vertices A, C, and D all have a degree of three while only vertex B has a degree of five. If you start
the path at one of the vertices with odd degree, you can visit each node but one of the bridges is left out of the path. In
the example labeled graph 2,
the path starts at node A and then continues to node B before returning to A, then on to D, then B, then C, before
finally going back to D. However, with the path detailed, one edge is left out between nodes B and C (see highlighted
edge) and so the criteria for the problem is not meet because each bridge is not crossed.

In our problem graph, we have four odd vertices hence

there can’t be any Euler path possible.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

 A bridge is added between C and D

 This makes the number of odd vertices 2 and number of
even vertices 2 which satisfies the theorems.

OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

 While adding or removing one edge results in a Eulerian path and satisfies the requirement of a path that
crosses each bridge once and only once, it does not satisfy the additional requirement of a path that starts and ends at
the same point. A path that crosses each edge once and only once and that starts and ends at the same point is called a
Eulerian circuit or Eulerian cycle. For this to occur, no vertex of the graph can have an odd degree because if there is
an odd degree, then the path has to either start or end there, but it cannot do both. If the path starts at the node with odd
degree, the path leads out, comes back, then goes out again, but there is not another edge so it can come back and end
there as well.

Try this out!

Exercises:
Consider the graph G below.

a. Does G have an Euler circuit? Why or why not? Your answer needs to use the Euler circuit
theorem.
b. Does G have an Euler path? Why or why not? Your answer needs to use the Euler path
theorem.
c. If G has an Euler path or an Euler circuit, find it.
Prepared by:

MA. SANDRA S. TRAQUEÑA

MAED – MATH