4MTH312 (Graph Theory) - Examination Scope

and Mock Questions

Mr Philani R. Majozi
20 October 2023

Examination Scope and Mark Breakdown

Total Marks: 100
1. Basic Concepts and Terminology (20 marks)
ˆ Introduction to Graphs
ˆ Vertex, Edge, Degree
ˆ Directed and Undirected Graphs
ˆ Weighted and Unweighted Graphs
ˆ Paths, Cycles, and Connectivity
2. Trees (20 marks)
ˆ Properties of Trees
ˆ Spanning Trees
ˆ Minimum Spanning Trees: Kruskal’s and Prim’s Algorithms
3. Graph Coloring (20 marks)
ˆ Chromatic Number
ˆ Coloring Algorithms
ˆ Applications
4. Planar Graphs (20 marks)
ˆ Definitions and Properties
ˆ Kuratowski’s Theorem
ˆ Euler’s Formula
5. Network Flow (20 marks)
ˆ Maximum Flow Problems
ˆ Ford-Fulkerson Algorithm
ˆ Applications

1
Mock Questions
1. Basic Concepts and Terminology
1.1. Given the following graph:

B
A C

D F
E

(a) List all the vertices and edges. (4 marks)

(b) Determine the degree of each vertex. (4 marks)
(c) Identify all the paths from the top-left vertex to the bottom-right vertex.
(4 marks)
(d) Is the graph cyclic or acyclic? Justify your answer. (4 marks)
(e) Is the graph connected? Justify your answer. (4 marks)

2. Trees
2.1.
(a) Define a tree in graph theory. (4 marks)
(b) For a tree with 10 vertices, how many edges does it have? Justify your
answer. (4 marks)
(c) Describe the difference between a spanning tree and a minimum spanning
tree. (4 marks)
(d) Using Kruskal’s algorithm, find the minimum spanning tree for the given
weighted graph. (8 marks)

1
2 4

5
3 2
7
3
6 4
5 1 8

2
3. Graph Coloring
3.1.
(a) What is the chromatic number of a graph? (4 marks)

(b) Given a graph, determine its chromatic number. (8 marks)

3 1
5
2
6 4

(c) Explain the significance of graph coloring in real-world applications. (4

marks)
(d) Briefly describe the greedy coloring algorithm. (4 marks)

4. Planar Graphs
4.1.
(a) Define a planar graph. (4 marks)

(b) Is the given graph planar? Justify your answer. (8 marks)

2 1

(c) State and explain Kuratowski’s theorem. (4 marks)

(d) Using Euler’s formula, verify if the provided graph is planar. (4 marks)

4
2

1
5 3

3
5. Network Flow
5.1.
(a) Define the concept of network flow in graph theory. (4 marks)
(b) Given a flow network, determine the maximum flow using the Ford-Fulkerson
algorithm. (12 marks)

10
t c

10 6

7
s d

12 14 7

5
a b

(c) Discuss an application of the network flow problem in real-world scenarios.

(4 marks)

6. Breadth-First Search (BFS)

6.1.
(a) Describe the BFS algorithm. (5 marks)
(b) How does BFS determine the shortest path in an unweighted graph? (5
marks)
(c) Given a graph, apply BFS to determine the shortest path between two
specific vertices. (6 marks)

6
8

1
4
2
5

4
 (d) Discuss the time complexity of the BFS algorithm and its implications. (4
marks)

7. Edge and Vertex Cover

7.1.
(a) Define edge cover and vertex cover in the context of graph theory. (4
marks)
(b) Given a graph, determine a minimum vertex cover. (6 marks)

5 3
4
2

(c) Describe the relationship between maximum matching and minimum ver-
tex cover in a bipartite graph. (5 marks)
(d) Given a bipartite graph, find its maximum matching and minimum vertex
cover. (5 marks)

3 b

2 c

1 a

8. Connectivity
8.1.
(a) Define vertex connectivity and edge connectivity of a graph. (4 marks)
(b) Given a graph, determine its vertex and edge connectivity. (8 marks)

D C F

A B G

5
 (c) Explain the concept of k-connected and k-edge-connected graphs. (4
marks)
(d) For a k-connected graph, discuss the implications on the number of vertices
and edges it must have. (4 marks)

9. Menger’s Theorem
9.1.
(a) State and explain Menger’s theorem. (6 marks)

(b) Discuss the significance of Menger’s theorem in understanding the con-

nectivity of graphs. (4 marks)
(c) Given a graph, use Menger’s theorem to determine the minimum number
of vertices that need to be removed to disconnect the graph. (6 marks)

E F G

A B C D

(d) Contrast Menger’s theorem with other connectivity concepts in graph the-
ory. (4 marks)

10. Breadth-First Search (BFS)

10.1.
(a) Describe the BFS algorithm. (6 marks)
(b) Explain the primary difference between BFS and Depth-First Search (DFS).
(6 marks)

(c) How does BFS determine the shortest path in an unweighted graph? Il-
lustrate with an example. (8 marks)
10.2.
(a) Given a graph, apply BFS to determine the shortest path between two
specified vertices. (8 marks)

6
 F G H

D E

A B C

(b) Discuss the time complexity of the BFS algorithm and its implications. (4
marks)
(c) In what scenarios would BFS be more appropriate than other graph traver-
sal methods? (4 marks)

11. Edge and Vertex Cover

11.1.
(a) Define edge cover and vertex cover. (4 marks)

(b) Explain the relationship between the size of a minimum vertex cover and
the size of a maximum matching in a graph. (6 marks)
(c) Given a graph, determine a minimum vertex cover and a minimum edge
cover. (8 marks)

D E F

A B C

11.2.
(a) Describe an algorithmic approach to find the minimum vertex cover in a
bipartite graph. (6 marks)
(b) Discuss the difference between edge cover and vertex cover concerning
real-world applications. (6 marks)

7
12. Connectivity
12.1.
(a) Define vertex connectivity and edge connectivity. (5 marks)
(b) Explain the importance of connectivity in network design, providing real-
world examples. (7 marks)
(c) Given a graph, determine its vertex and edge connectivity. (6 marks)

D E

A B C

12.2.
(a) Discuss the implications of k-connectivity in graphs. (6 marks)
(b) How can one determine if a graph is k-connected? (6 marks)

13. Menger’s Theorem

13.1.
(a) State Menger’s theorem and discuss its significance in graph theory. (6
marks)
(b) Given a graph, use Menger’s theorem to determine the minimum number
of vertices that must be removed to disconnect it. (6 marks)

D E F

A B C

8
(c) Explain the relationship between Menger’s theorem and vertex and edge
connectivity. (6 marks)
13.2.
(a) How can Menger’s theorem be applied in network reliability analysis? (6
marks)
(b) Discuss real-world applications where Menger’s theorem plays a crucial
role in decision-making. (6 marks)