Graph Theory Extension

Teacher Preparation

Teachers will need:



Lesson Outline

  1. Focus and Review
    • Hand out a blank map of the United States (or another country/region).
    • Give each student 4 markers/crayons.
    • Let the students experiment with coloring the graph with only those 4 colors.
    • Before the students begin coloring, inform them that no state can have the same color as its neighbors.
  1. Objectives
    • Students will learn about the Four Color theorm and make real world connections.
  1. Guided Practice
  1. Teacher Input
    • If you didn't already, go into more detail about Chromatic Number and the Four Color Theorm.
  1. Independent Practice
  1. Closure
    • Discuss some of the coloring schemes students used.
    • Discuss methods that the students used to successfully color the houses and sidewalks.
    • Talk about real world applications of graph coloring.


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