Handshaking Lemma

Outline

Handshaking Lemma

Total Degree
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
1

1
1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
1

1
1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
2
1

1
1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
2
1

1
1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
3
1
1

1
1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

1
3
1
1

1
1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

2
4
1
1

1
1
 Revisiting a Puzzle
Puzzle
Is it possible to connect some pairs of
nine points by segments so that each
point is connected to five other points?

2
4 the number of odd points
1 is always even, hence we
1 will never reach a situation
when there are 9 points
1 of degree 5
1
 Handshaking

• Before a business meeting, some people

shook hands. Then the number of
people who made an odd number of
handshakes is even
 Handshaking

• Before a business meeting, some people

shook hands. Then the number of
people who made an odd number of
handshakes is even
• In graph terms: A graph has an
even number of odd nodes
 Degree Sum
Formula
Lemma
For any graph G(V, E), the sum of degrees
of all its nodes is twice the number of
edges:

∑
degree(v) = 2 · |E| .
v∈V
 Degree Sum
Formula
Lemma
For any graph G(V, E), the sum of degrees
of all its nodes is twice the number of
edges:

∑
degree(v) = 2 · |E| .
v∈V

Implies the handshaking lemma: if a graph

had an odd number of odd nodes, then the
sum of degrees would be also odd.
Example
 Example
3 5

2 3

1 2
 Example
3 5

2 3

1 2

3+5+3+2+1+2=2
·8
 Proof
3 5

2 3

1 2
 Proof
3 5

2 3

1 2

remove all edges

 Proof
0 0

0 0

0 0

remove all edges

 Proof
0 0

0 0

0 0

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1 0

0 0
1

0 0

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1 0
1

0
1 0
1

0 0

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1 0
1
2

0
1 0
1
2

0 0

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1 0
1
3
2

0
1 0
1
2

0 0
1

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1 0
1
3
2

0
1
2 0
1
3
2

0 0
1

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1 0
1
3
4
2

0
1
2 0
1
3
2

0
1 0
1

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1
2 5
0
1
3
4
2

0
1
2 0
1
3
2

0
1 0
1

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1
3
2 5
0
1
3
4
2

0
1
2 0
1
3
2

0
1 0
1
2

now, start adding them back, one by

one
 Proof
0
1
3
2 5
0
1
3
4
2

0
1
2 0
1
3
2

0
1 0
1
2

each edge contributes 2 to the sum of

degrees
 Proof
0
1
3
2 5
0
1
3
4
2

0
1
2 0
1
3
2

0
1 0
1
2

as well as t o twice the number of

edges!
 Summary

• Essentially, we proved the formula

by induction on the number of
edges
 Summary

• Essentially, we proved the formula

by induction on the number of
edges
• Base case: the formula holds if there
are no edges (all degrees are equal to
0)
 Summary

• Essentially, we proved the formula

by induction on the number of
edges
• Base case: the formula holds if there
are no edges (all degrees are equal to
0)
• Induction step: when we add an edge,
the sum of degrees increases by 2
 Outline

Handshaking Lemma

Total Degree
 Exa
Problem m
At an exam, each of 20 students
solved 3 problems. Each problem was
solved by 5 students. What was the
number of problems?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AATC_Admission_Exam.JPG
 Solution

• Assume that each student wrote

a solution on a separate piece of
paper
 Solution

• Assume that each student wrote

a solution on a separate piece of
paper
• Then, there are 20 × 3 = 60 pieces
of paper
 Solution

• Assume that each student wrote

a solution on a separate piece of paper
• Then, there are 20 × 3 = 60 pieces
of paper
• For each problem, let’s stack together
all its five solutions
 Solution

• Assume that each student wrote

a solution on a separate piece of paper
• Then, there are 20 × 3 = 60 pieces
of paper
• For each problem, let’s stack together
all its five solutions
• Thus, the number of problems is 60/5 =
12
 In Graph
Terms

20 students
 In Graph
Terms

20 students k problems
 In Graph
Terms

20 students k problems
 In Graph
Terms

20 students k problems
 In Graph
Terms

20 students k problems
 In Graph
Terms

20 students k problems

20 × 3 = |E| = 5 ×
k
 In Graph
Terms

20 students k problems

k = 12
 Summary

• This is a bipartite graph: each edge

joins a student and a problem
 Summary

• This is a bipartite graph: each edge

joins a student and a problem
• We used the double counting technique
to solve the problem:
 Summary

• This is a bipartite graph: each edge

joins a student and a problem
• We used the double counting technique
to solve the problem:
• on one hand, the number of edges is equal
to the total degree of the left part (i.e., the
sum of all degree of the nodes from the left
 Summary

• This is a bipartite graph: each edge

joins a student and a problem
• We used the double counting technique
to solve the problem:
• on one hand, the number of edges is equal
to the total degree of the left part (i.e., the
sum of all degree of the nodes from the left
• on the other hand, it is equal to the
total degree of the right part