Graph Theory

(Graph Terminology and Handshaking

Theorem)

Dr. Shubh N. Singh

Department of Mathematics
Central University of South Bihar

May 6, 2020
Lecture-01:

0.1 Graph Terminology

Informally, Graphs usually (but not always) are thought

of showing how objects, in a set of objects, are connected
together.
Definition 0.1.1. A graph consists of two sets: a
nonempty finite set V whose elements are called ver-
tices or nodes, and a possibly empty set E of 2-element
subsets of V whose elements are called edges. Such a
graph is denoted by G = (V, E).
Every edge {u, v} ∈ E has two distinct vertices u 6= v
as endpoints, and such vertices u and v are then said to
be adjacent in the graph G. We also denote an edge
{u, v} ∈ E by uv or vu.
Problem 0.1.1. Let V be an n-element set. How many
different graphs with vertex set V are there ?
Solution. Each graph G with vertex set V is uniquely
determined

by its edge set E. E must be a subset of
n
k , the set of all pairs in V . We have seen already that
every set with m elements has 2m different subsets. In


our case, m = | 2 |, hence there are 2(2 ) different graphs
n
n

with vertex set V with n elements. 

Graph theory can be used in modeling of:

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 • Social networks
• Communications networks
• Information networks
• Software design
• Transportation networks
• Biological networks
• ......
Example 0.1.1 (Model social structures). We can
model relationships between people or groups as a graph.
Here, vertices represent individuals or organizations, and
edges represent relationships between them. Useful graph
models of social networks include: Friendship graphs
— graphs where two people are connected if they are
friends (e.g., on Facebook), and Collaboration graphs
— graphs where two people are connected if they collab-
orate in a specific way.
Remark 0.1.1. Let G = (V, E). Then
(1) the order of G means the number of vertices in G.
(2) if the order of G is n, then we say that G is an n-
vertex graph.
(3) the size of G means the number of edges in G.
(4) if the order and size of G are n and m respectively,
then we say that G is an (n, m)-graph.
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Definition 0.1.2. Let G = (V, E). Then G is called
(1) a trivial graph if its order is one.
(2) an even graph if its order is even.
(3) an odd graph if its order is odd.
(4) an empty graph if its size is zero. We denote by
En the empty graph of order n.
Definition 0.1.3. Let G = (V, E) be a graph, and let
v ∈V.
(1) The degree of v in G is the number of edges incident
with it. The degree of the vertex v is denoted by
deg(v).
(2) The neighborhood of v in G, denoted by N (v),
is the set of vertices adjacent to v. Thus, deg(v) =
|N (v)|.
Definition 0.1.4. Let G = (V, E). A vertex v of G is
said to be
• an isolated vertex if deg(v) = 0.
• a pendant vertex (or leaf ) if deg(v) = 1.
• an even vertex if deg(v) is even.
• an odd vertex if deg(v) is odd.
Definition 0.1.5. Let G = (V, E).

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 • The minimum degree of G, denoted by δ(G), is
defined as
δ(G) = min{deg(v) | v ∈ V (G)}.

• The maximum degree of G, denoted by ∆(G), is

defined as
∆(G) = max{deg(v) | v ∈ V (G)}.

Consequently, if G is a graph of order n and if v is a

vertex of G, then
0 ≤ δ(G) ≤ deg(v) ≤ ∆(G) ≤ n − 1.
Exercise 0.1.1. Draw a graph G whose vertex set is
{3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}, and any two distinct vertices i and
j are adjacent if and only if gcd(i, j) = 1. Further, cal-
culate the number of edges in G.
Exercise 0.1.2. Suppose we have a graph G of order n.
What is the maximum number of edges G can contain ?

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Lecture-02:

0.2 Handshaking Theorem

Since each edge of a graph contributes exactly 2 to the

sum of degrees of all the vertices in a graph, we have the
following theorem given by Leonhard Euler in 1736.
Theorem 0.2.1 (Handshaking Theorem). If G is
an (n, m)-graph with V (G) = {v1, . . . , vn }, then
deg(v1) + · · · + deg(vn) = 2m.
n
X
In short, deg(vi) = 2m.
i=1

Proof. Each edge in G contributes twice to the degree

count of all vertices. Hence, the left-hand side of this
equation equal twice the number of edges.
We now give two examples illustrating the usefulness
of the handshaking theorem.
Problem 0.2.1. How many edges are there in a graph
with 10 vertices, each having degree six ?
Solution. The sum of the degrees of the vertices is 6 ×
10 = 60. The handshaking theorem says 2m = 60. So
the number of edges is m = 30. 
Problem 0.2.2. If a graph has 25 vertices, can each
vertex have degree 3?
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Solution. This is not possible by the handshaking the-
orem, because the sum of the degrees of the vertices
3 × 5 = 15 is odd. 
Proposition 0.2.2. Every graph G has an even num-
ber of vertices of odd degree.
Proof. Let X be the set of even vertices, and let Y be
the set of odd vertices in a graph G = (V, E) of size m.
Then V = X ∪ Y and X ∩ Y = ∅. By Handshaking
theorem, we have
X
2m = deg(v)
v∈V
X
= deg(v) (since V = X ∪ Y )
v∈X∪Y
X X
= deg(v) + deg(v) (since X ∩ Y = ∅)
v∈X v∈Y

We know that L.H.S. of the above equation is even. The

first term on R.H.S. is even since each vertex in X has an
even degree. Thus, the second term on the R.H.S. must
be even. Since each vertex in Y has odd degree, for the
sum of the degrees of vertices in Y to be even, |Y | must
be even. This proves the claim.
Problem 0.2.3. If G is an (n, n − 1) graph, show that
G has at least one vertex of degree less than 2.
Solution. We will prove this by contradiction. We will
start out by assuming that the degree of each of the ver-
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tices of G is greater than or equal to 2. Under this as-
sumption, the Hand-Shaking Theorem gives us
2n − 2 = 2(n − 1)
= 2|E|
X
= deg(v)
v∈V
≥ 2| + 2 +{z· · · + 2}
n-times
= 2n.
But this is clearly impossible. Therefore our assumption
must be false and there must be at least one vertex that
has degree less than 2. 
Problem 0.2.4. Suppose you are at a party with six
other people, so that there are seven people total at the
party. Is it possible that everybody knows exactly three
other people at the party?
Solution. To translate this into graph theory, we make
the people vertices, and put an edge between two people
if they know each other. We are then asking if a graph
exists with seven vertices, where each vertex has degree
three. It turns out that this is not possible; 
Exercise 0.2.1. Be sure to explain your answer.
1. Is it possible to have a group of 11 people, each of
whom knows exactly 3 others of the group ? If it is

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 possible, draw a graph illustrating the situation. If
it is impossible, explain why.
2. Prove that
(i) every graph with at least two vertices has two
vertices of equal degree.
(ii) there are always at least two people with exactly
the same number of friends in any group of two
or more people.

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Lecture-03:

0.3 Special Types of Graphs

Definition 0.3.1 (Complete Graphs). A complete

graph of order n, denoted by Kn , is the graph that
contains exactly one edge between each pair of distinct
vertices.
Definition 0.3.2 (Path Graphs). A path graph
of order n ≥ 1, denoted by Pn, consists of n vertices
v1, v2, . . . , vn, and edges
{v1, v2}, {v2, v3}, . . . , {vn−1, vn }.
Definition 0.3.3 (Cyclic Graphs). A cyclic graph
of order n ≥ 3, denoted by Cn, consists of n vertices
v1, v2, . . . , vn, and edges
{v1, v2}, {v2, v3}, . . . , {vn−1, vn}, {vn, v1}.
Definition 0.3.4 (Wheel Graphs). A wheel graph,
denoted by Wn, n ≥ 3, is a graph that consists of a cycle
Cn with an extra vertex that adjacent to each vertex in
Cn
Definition 0.3.5 (n-Cube). An n-dimensional hy-
percube, or n-cube, is a graph with vertices represent-
ing all bit strings of length n, where there is an edge be-
tween two vertices if and only if they differ in exactly one
bit position.
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Definition 0.3.6 (Bipartite Graphs). A bipartite
graph is a graph G = (V, E) whose vertices can be
partitioned into two disjoint nonempty subsets (U, W ),
with U ∩ W = ∅ and U ∪ W = V , such that for every
edge e = {u, v} ∈ E has one end-vertex, say u in U and
another end-vertex, say v in W . Such a bipartite graph
is denoted by B(U, W ).
Definition 0.3.7 (Complete Bipartite Graphs).
A complete bipartite graph is a bipartite graph
B(U, W ) such that there is an edge from every vertex
in U to every vertex in W . Moreover, if |U | = p and
|W | = q, then we denote such complete bipartite graph
by Kp,q .
Definition 0.3.8. Let G be a graph of order n. We say
that G is a
(1) regular graph if all its vertices have the same de-
gree.
(2) k-regular graph, where 0 ≤ k ≤ n−1, if deg(v) =
k for every vertex v of G.
A 3-regular graph is also referred to as a cubic graph.
The graphs K4 and K3,3 are cubic graphs; however, the
best known cubic graph may very well be the Petersen
graph.
We now have a straightforward lemma.

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Lemma 0.3.1. Let G = B(U, W ). If the size of bi-
partite graph G is m, then
X X
m= deg(v) = deg(v).
v∈U v∈W

Problem 0.3.1. Let G = B(U, W ), and let k be a

positive integer. If G is a k-regular graph, then show
that |U | = |W |.

X Since the degree of each vertex

Solution. X in U is k, we see
that deg(v) = k|U |. Similarly, deg(v) = k|W |.
v∈U v∈W
Since G is a bipartite graph, by Lemma 0.3.1, we have
X X
deg(v) = deg(v) =⇒ k|U | = k|W | =⇒ |U | = |W |.
v∈U v∈W


Problem 0.3.2. Let G = B(U, W ) be a bipartite graph
of order 22, where |U | = 12. Suppose that every vertex
of U has degree 3, while every vertex of W has degree 2
or 4. Find the number of vertices of degree 2 in graph G.
Solution. The solution has already been discussed in the
class. 
Exercise 0.3.1. Be sure to explain your answer.
1. Find a formula for the number of edges in Km,n. If
Km,n is regular, what can you say about m and n ?

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2. Prove that there are no k-regular graphs of order
2n + 1, where k is an odd positive integer.
3. Prove that a graph of order n ≥ 2 has at least two
vertices of the same degree.

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Lecture-04:

0.4 Graph Isomorphisms

Often, two graphs may look completely different on pa-

per, but are essentially the same from a mathematical
point of view. There are different ways to draw the same
graph. Isomorphism is an idea that captures the kind
of sameness that we recognize between two isomorphic
graphs.
Definition 0.4.1. Two graphs G and H are called iso-
morphic, denoted by G ∼ = H, if there exists a bijection
between their vertices so that two vertices are adjacent
in G if and only if corresponding vertices are adjacent in
H. Moreover, that bijection is called an isomorphism.
Notation 0.4.1. We also denote the vertex set of a
graph G by V (G).
Remark 0.4.1. If G = (V (G), E(G)), H = (V (H), E(H))
are graphs such that G ∼
= H, then
(i) |V (G)| = |V (H)|.
(ii) |E(G)| = |E(H)|.
(iii) deg(v) = deg(f (v)) for each v ∈ V (G), where f is
an isomorphism.
Remark 0.4.2. Just because two graphs have the same
number of vertices and edges does not mean that they
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are isomorphic. In fact, even if the degrees of all vertices
are identical, still the two graphs can be non-isomorphic.
Exercise 0.4.1. Be sure to explain your answer.
1. How many non-isomorphic graphs are possible with
3 vertices? Draw all of them.
2. How many non-isomorphic graphs with four vertices
are there ? Draw all of them
Definition 0.4.2. Let G be a graph with vertex-set
V (G). The complement of G, denoted by G, is the
graph with vertex-set V (G) in which two vertices are
adjacent if and only if they are not adjacent in G.
Definition 0.4.3. A graph G is called self-complementary
if it is isomorphic to its complement.
Exercise 0.4.2. Be sure to explain your answer.
1. If G is a graph of size 15, and if G has 13 edges, how
many vertices does G have ?
2. Draw a self-complementary graph of order 4 and 5.
3. Let G be a graph of order n. Show that
(i) G is regular if and only if G is regular.
(ii) if G and G are both k-regular for some integer
k, where 0 ≤ k ≤ n − 1, then n is odd.
4. Let G be an (n, m)-graph. If G is self-complementary,
show that
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 n(n−1)
(i) m = 4
.
(ii) n ≡ 0 (mod 4) or n − 1 ≡ 0 (mod 4).
5. Let G and H be two graphs. Show that G ∼
= H if
and only if G ∼
= H.

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Lecture-05:

0.5 Degree Sequence of Graphs

Definition 0.5.1. The degree sequence of a graph

G is a non-increasing list/sequence of the degrees of all
the vertices of G.
Example 0.5.1. The complete graph K4 has the degree
sequence: 3, 3, 3, 3.
Problem 0.5.1. Is there a graph with the degree se-
quence: 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 ? If yes, draw the graph;
otherwise, explain why there is no such graph.
Solution. No. The sum of element in the degree se-
quence is odd. 
Problem 0.5.2. Is there a graph with the degree se-
quence: 1, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 ? If yes, draw the graph;
otherwise, explain why there is no such graph.
Solution. No. If yes, then the graph has 10 vertices
v1, v2, . . . , v10 with corresponding degree
1, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9.
Clearly v10 is adjacent to all other vertices and so deg(vi ) ≥
1. Also v9 is adjacent to remaining 8 vertices and so
deg(v1) ≥ 2 or deg(v2) ≥ 2, a contradiction. 

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 Determining a degree sequence of a graph is not dif-
ficult. There is a converse question that is considerably
more intriguing, however. Suppose that we are given a
finite non-increasing sequence s of nonnegative integers.
Is s a degree sequence of some graph ?
Definition 0.5.2. A finite non-increasing sequence of
nonnegative integers is called graphical if it is a degree
sequence of some graph.
Problem 0.5.3. Which of the following sequences are
graphical ?
(i) 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1
(ii) 6, 5, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2
(iii) 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 0
(iv) 7, 6, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3
(v) 3, 3, 3, 1
Solution. The solution has already been discussed in the
class. 
Exercise 0.5.1. Be sure to explain your answer.
1. If the degree sequence of a graph G is 4, 3, 3, 2, 2,
what is the degree sequence of G ?
2. If the degree sequence of an n-vertex graph G is
d1, d2, . . . , dn, what is the degree sequence of G ?

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3. Draw two non-isomorphic graphs with the same de-
gree sequence.
4. Prove that two isomorphic graphs must have the
same degree sequence. Is it true that every two
graphs with the same degree sequence are isomor-
phic? Justify your answer!
5. Prove or disprove: Any two graphs with different
degree sequences cannot be isomorphic.

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