MATHEMATICS IN THE

MODERN WORLD
-MODULE 6-

Prepared by:

JESSICA R. ZALDIVIA
Course Instructor
 GRAPH COLORING
In the mid-1800s, Francis Guthrie was trying to color a map of the counties of England. So that
it would be easy to distinguish the counties, he wanted counties sharing a common border to
have different colors. After several attempts, he noticed that four colors were required to color
the map, but no more. This observation became known as the four-column problem. (It was not
proved until 100 years later.)

Here is a map of the contiguous states of United States colored similarly. Note that the map
has only four colors and that no two states that share a common border have the same color.

There is a connection between coloring maps and graph theory. This connection has many
practical applications, from scheduling tasks, to designing computers, to playing Sudoku.

Suppose the map in the Figure 1 above shows the countries, labeled as letters, of a continent.
We will assume that no country is split into more than one piece and countries that touch at
just a corner point will not be considered neighbors. We can represent each country by a
vertex, placed anywhere within the boundary of that country. We will then connect two vertices
with an edge if the two corresponding countries are neighbors – that is, if they share a common
boundary. The result is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1 Figure 2

If we erase the boundaries of the countries, we are left with the graph in Figure 3.
 Figure 3

The resulting graph will always be a planar graph, because the edges simply connect
neighboring countries. Our map-coloring question then becomes: Can we give each vertex of
the graph a color such that no two vertices connected by an edge share the same color? How
many different colors will be required? If this can be accomplished using four colors, for
instance, we will say that the graph is 4-colorable. The graph in the Figure above is actually 3-
colorable; only three colors are necessary. One possible coloring is given in the Figure 4. A
colored map for Figure 5.

Figure 4 Figure 5

We can formally state the four-color theorem.

Four-Color Theorem
Every planar graph is 4-colorable.

EXAMPLE 1: Using a Graph to Color a Map

The fictional map below shows the boundaries of countries on a rectangular continent.
Represent the map as a graph, and find a coloring of the graph using the fewest possible
number of colors. Then color the map according to the graph coloring.
Solution:

First draw a vertex in each country and then connect two vertices with an edge if the
corresponding countries are neighbors. Now try to color the vertices of the resulting graph so
that no edge connects two vertices of the same color. We know we will need at least two
colors, so one strategy is simply to pick a starting vertex, give it a color, and then assign colors
to the connected vertices one by one. Try to reuse the same colors, and use a new color only
when there is no other option. For this graph, we will need four colors. (The four-color theorem
guarantees that we will not need more than that.) To see why we will need four colors, notice
that the one vertex colored green in the second figure below connects to a ring of five vertices.
Three different colors are required to color five-vertex ring, and the green vertex connects to all
these, so it requires a fourth color.

Now we color each country the same color as the corresponding vertex.

The Chromatic Number of Graph

We mentioned previously that representing a map as a graph always results in a planar graph.
The four-color theorem guarantees that we need only four colors to color a planar graph;
however, if we wish to color a nonplanar graph, we may need more than four colors. The
minimum number of colors needed to color a graph so that no edge connects vertices of the
same vertices of the same color is called the chromatic number of the graph. In general,
there is no efficient method of finding the chromatic number of graph, but we do have a
theorem that can tell us whether a graph is 2-colorable.

2-Colorable Graph Theorem

 A graph is 2-colorable if and only if it has no circuits that consist of an odd number of
vertices.

EXAMPLE 2: Determine the Chromatic Number of Graph

Find the chromatic number of the Utilities Graph.

Solution:

Note that the graph contains circuits such as A-Y-C-Z-B-X-A with six vertices and A-Y-B-X-A
with four vertices. It seems that any circuit we find, in fact, involves an even number of vertices.
It is difficult to determine whether we have looked at all possible circuits, but our observations
suggest that the graph may be 2-colorable. A little trial-and-error confirms this if we simply
color vertices A, B, and C one color and the remaining vertices another. Thus, the Utilities
Graph has a chromatic number of 2.

Applications of Graph Coloring

Determining the chromatic number of a graph and finding a corresponding coloring of the
graph can solve a wide assortment of practical problems. One common application is in
scheduling meetings or events. This is best shown by example.

EXAMPLE 3: A Scheduling Application of Graph Coloring

Eight different school clubs want to schedule meetings on the last day of the semester. Some
club members, however, belong to more than one of these clubs, so clubs that share members
cannot meet at the same time. How many different time slots are required so that all members
can attend all meetings? Clubs that have a member in common are indicated with an “X” in the
table below.
Ski Student Debate Honor Student Community Campus Campus
Club Government Club Society Newspaper Outreach Democrats Republicans
Ski
Club ___ X X X X
Student
Government X ___ X X X
Debate
Club X ___ X X X
Honor
Society X X X ___ X X
Student
Newspaper X X ___ X X
 Community
Outreach X X X ___ X X
Campus
Democrats X X X ___
Campus
Republicans X X X ___

Solution:

We can represent the given information by a graph. Each club is represented by a vertex, and
an edge connects two vertices if the corresponding clubs have at least one common member.

Two clubs that are connected by an edge cannot meet simultaneously. If we let a color
correspond to a time slot, then we need to find a coloring of the graph that uses the fewest
possible number of colors. The graph is not 2-colorable, because we can find circuits of odd
length. However, by trial-and-error, we can find a 3-coloring. One example is shown below.
Thus the chromatic number of the graph is 3, so we need three different time slots.

Each color corresponds to a time slot, so one scheduling is

First time slot: ski club, debate club, student newspaper

Second time slot: student government, community outreach

 Third time slot: honor society, campus Democrats, campus Republicans

EXAMPLE 4: A Scheduling Application of Graph Coloring

Five classes at an elementary school have arranged a tour at zoo where the students get to
feed the animals.

Class 1 wants to feed the elephants, giraffes, and hippos.

Class 2 wants to feed monkeys, rhinos, and elephants.

Class 3 wants to feed monkeys, deer, and sea lions.

Class 4 wants to feed the parrots, giraffes, and polar bears.

Class 5 wants to feed the sea lions, hippos, and polar bears.

If the zoo allows animals to be fed once a day by one class of students, can the tour be
accomplished in two days? (Assume that each class will visit the zoo only one day.) If not, how
many days will be required?

Solution:

No animal is listed more than twice in the tour list, so you may be tempted to say that only two
days will be required. However, to get a better picture of the problem, we can represent the
situation with a graph. Use vertex to represent each class, and connect two vertices with an
edge if the corresponding classes want to feed the same animal. Then we can try to find a 2-
coloring of the graph, where a different color represents a different day at the zoo.

Note that the graph contains the circuit, 1-4-5-1, consisting of three vertices. This circuit will
require three colors, and the remaining vertices will not require additional colors. So the
chromatic number of the graph is 3; one possible coloring is given below. Using this coloring,
three days are required at the zoo. On the first day, classes 2 and 5, represented by the blue
vertices, will visit the zoo; on the second day classes 1 and 3, represented by the red vertices,
will visit the zoo; and on the third day class 4, represented by the green vertex, will visit the
zoo.
References:

Books:

R. Aufmann, et al. (2017). Mathematics in the Modern World. Rex Bookstore.

Sirug, Winston S. (2018). Mathematics in the Modern World. Mindshapers Co., Inc.