Tutorial 10 Solutions

MATH 239 Winter 2024

Week of March 25

T-10-1. For graphs G1 and G2 below, either find a planar embedding, or find a subgraph H that is an
edge subdivision of K5 or K3,3 . In the latter case, mark the edges in H.

G1 G2

Solution. □

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 MATH 239 Winter 2024 Tutorial 10 Solutions

T-10-2. (a) Prove that, for any e ∈ E(K5 ), the graph K5 − e admits a planar embedding.
(b) A planar embedding G is called outerplanar if every vertex of G lies on the boundary of
its outer face. Given an e ∈ E(K5 ), does K5 − e admit an outerplanar embedding?
Solution.Let V (K5 ) = {v1 , v2 , v3 , v4 , v5 }. (a) Note that, for any edges e1 , e2 ∈ E(K5 ), the
graphs K5 − e1 and K5 − e2 are isomorphic, so we choose an arbitrary e ∈ E(K5 ), say
e = v1 v5 , and it suffices to exhibit a planar embedding of K5 − e, such as the drawing below.

v2

v1

v3

v5 v4

(b) Suppose toward a contradiction that there is an outerplanar embedding of K5 − e, and,

for some s ≥ 1, let f1 , · · · , fs be the faces of this embedding, where f1 is the outer face. Thus,
deg(f1 ) ≥ 5. Since K5 − e is connected and |E(K5 − e)| = 9, it follows from Euler’s formula
that s = 11 − 5 = 6. For each i = 2, · · · , 6, we have deg(fi ) ≥ 3. Thus, by handshaking for
faces, we obtain 2|E(K5 − e)| ≥ 5 + 3(s − 1), so 18 ≥ 20, which is false. □

T-10-3. This question refers to the Petersen graph, see Figure 4.8 (page 99) of the course notes. Prove
in the following two ways that that the Petersen graph does not admit a planar embedding:

(a) Using Kuratowski’s Theorem

(b) Without using Kuratowski’s Theorem

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MATH 239 Winter 2024 Tutorial 10 Solutions

Solution. (a) We produce a subgraph H of the Petersen graph which is an edge-subdivision

of K3,3 as indicated in the figure below, where the thick edges are the edges of the subgraph,
the red vertices of H form one bipartition class, the blue vertices of H form the other bipartite
class, and the remaining vertices of H have degree two in H. When we suppress the degree-
two vertices of H, we obtain a copy of K3,3 .
(b) Suppose toward a contradiction that there is a planar embedding G of the Petersen graph
and, for some s ≥ 1, let f1 , · · · , fs be the faces of this embedding. Note that the Petersen graph
has girth 5, it has no cycles of length either three or four, so deg(fi ) ≥ 5 for each i = 1, · · · , s.
Furthermore, |V (G)| = 10 and |E(G)| = 15, so, by Euler’s formula, s = 7. By handshaking
for faces, we have 2|E(G)| ≥ 5s, so 30 ≥ 35, which is false.

v1

w1

w5 w2
v5 v2

w4 w3

v4 v3