Module 3 Trees-1
Module 3 Trees-1
Trees – properties, pendant vertex, Distance and centres in a tree - Rooted and
binary trees, counting trees, spanning trees.
Connectivity Graphs: Vertex Connectivity, Edge Connectivity, Cut set and Cut
Vertices, Fundamental circuits. (8 hours) (RBT Levels: L1, L2 and L3)
TREE:
● A tree is a connected graph without any circuits.
●
PROPERTIES OF TREES
1. There is one and only one path between every pair of vertices in a tree, T.
Proof: Since T is a connected graph, there must exist at least one path between
every pair of vertices in T. Now suppose that between two vertices a and b of T
there are two distinct paths. The union of these two paths will contain a circuit
and T cannot be a tree.
2. If in a graph G there is one and only one path between every pair of
vertices, G is a tree.
Proof: Existence of a path between every pair of vertices assures that G is
connected. A circuit in a graph (with two or more vertices) implies that there is at
least one pair of vertices a, b such that there are two distinct paths between a
and b. Since G has one and only one path between every pair of vertices, G can
have no circuit. Therefore, G is a tree.
3. A tree with n vertices has n − 1 edges.
THEOREM 3-7
In any tree (with two or more vertices), there are at least two pendant vertices.
2(n-1).
Now this sum has to be distributed among n vertices and none of them can
have degree 0 as the graph is connected. So there should atleast 2 vertices of
degree 1 as otherwise the degree sum would exceed 2(n-1).
● Hence in any tree (with two or more vertices) there are atleast 2 pendant
vertices.
Distance in a graph
In a connected graph G, the distance d(vi, vj) between two of its vertices vi and vj
is the length of the shortest path (i.e., the number of edges in the shortest path)
between them.
In the above graph G, consider the vertices v1 and v2. Some of the paths
between v1 and v2 are (a, e), (a, c, f), (b, c, e), (b, f), (b, g, h), and (b, g, i, k). etc.
Here there are two shortest paths (a,e), (b,f), both having length 2. Hence
d(v1,v2)=2
In a tree since there is exactly one path between any 2 vertices, determination of
distances is much easier eg: In a tree t, d(a,b)=1, d(a,c)=2, d(c,b)=1
THEOREM 3-8
As the distance between any 2 vertices is the length of the shortest path
between them, the first two conditions follow. Since d(vi,vj) is the length of the
shortest path between the vertices vi and vj, this path cannot be longer than any
other path between vi and vj which goes through a specific vertex vk. Hence
d(vi,vj)<=d(vi,vk)+d(vk,vj)
A graph in general can have many centres. In a circuit, every vertex is a center.
THEOREM 3-9
MORE ON CENTERS:
● The eccentricity of a center (which is the distance from the center of the tree
to the farthest vertex) in a tree is defined as the radius of the tree.
● The diameter of a tree T, on the other hand, is defined as the length of the
longest path in T.In other words it is the maximum eccentricity
● Radius in a tree is not necessarily half its diameter