Instructors: P. E. Haxell and R. B.

Richter
Course Number MATH 239
Course Title Introduction to Combinatorics
Date of Exam April 11, 2011
Time Period 9:00 11:30 am
Number of Exam Pages 12
(including this cover sheet)
Exam Type Closed Book
Additional Materials Allowed NONE
Additional Instructions Explanations are always required.
You may assume the result of any theorem
proved in class. State clearly in each case
which theorem you are using.
Write your answers in the space provided.
If you need more space, please indicate
clearly where your solution continues.
Problem Value Mark Awarded Problem Value Mark Awarded
1 13 6 9
2 9 7 15
3 10 8 11
4 7 9 15
5 7 10 7
TOTAL 103
Question 1. [13 marks total]
(a) [8 marks] Let S be the set of compositions of n such that each part is congruent to either 1 or 2
modulo 4. Determine the generating function for S, expressed as a rational function. (Remember
to identify any theorems you use.)
(b) [5 marks] The generating function for some set T of compositions is known to be

T
(x) =
1 x
3
1 x 2x
2
x
4
.
Find (but DO NOT SOLVE) a recurrence relation for the coecients of
T
(x) and compute
enough initial conditions to completely determine these coecients.
Question 2. [9 marks total]
(a) [4 marks] Determine a decomposition that uniquely creates all binary strings not containing the
substring 0111.
(b) [2 marks] Give a modication of the 1s decomposition that uniquely creates all binary strings
in which every 1 is followed by at least two 0s.
(c) [5 marks] Here is a restriction of the block decomposition that generates a specic set U of
binary strings:
{11}

({0}{00}

{11}{11}

({} {0}{00}

) .
Compute the generating function
U
(x). Express your answer as a rational function.
Question 3. [10 marks total]
(a) [8 marks] The terms of the sequence {a
n
} satisfy the nonhomogeneous recurrence relation
a
n
4a
n1
+ 5a
n2
2a
n3
= (2
n
) for all n 3
with initial conditions a
0
= 13, a
1
= 35, and a
2
= 51. Solve for the a
n
s as a function of n, for
all n 0.
(b) [2 marks] Can the sequence a
n
from (a) be the coecients of the generating function for some
set S? Explain your answer.
Question 4. [7 marks] Let m and n be integers such that 0 m 2n. Prove that

2n
m

=
m

i=0

n
i

n
mi

.
Question 5. [7 marks] Prove that a 4-regular graph has no bridge.
Question 6. [9 marks total]
(a) [6 marks] Find a breadth-rst search tree in the graph G shown, rooted at the vertex a. When
considering the vertices adjacent to the vertex being examined, take them in increasing alphabetic
order of their labels. List the vertices at each level of your tree.
a
g
f
n
o
p
l
h
c
i
j
m b
k
d
e
Figure 1: The graph G
(b) [3 marks] Determine whether or not G is bipartite.
Question 7. [15 marks total] The matching M in the graph K is indicated in the gure by the bold
edges.
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j z
y
x
w
v
u
t
s
r
q
Figure 2: The graph K with matching M
(a) [5 marks] M is not a maximum matching. Find a larger one (by any means) and either display
it in the copy of K below or list its edges.
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j z
y
x
w
v
u
t
s
r
q
Figure 3: Your larger matching
(b) [5 marks] (Continued from previous page.) Let M

be the matching you found in (a). Let X

0
be
the M

-unsaturated vertices on the side of the bipartition consisting of vertices a to j. Let X be

the set of vertices on that same side that are reachable from a vertex in X
0
by an M

-alternating
path and let Y be the set of vertices on the other side of the bipartition that are reachable from
a vertex in X
0
by an M

-alternating path. Find X

0
, X and Y . (Another copy of K is shown
here to assist you.)
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j z
y
x
w
v
u
t
s
r
q
Figure 4: The graph K
(c) [5 marks] Prove that your matching M

is a maximum matching in K by nding a cover C with

|C| = |M

|. (You may either list the vertices or clearly identify them in the above gure.)
Question 8. [11 marks total] Let G be a connected planar graph in which every vertex has degree
3 and every face has degree either 4 or 6.
(a) [6 marks] Prove that there are precisely six faces of degree 4.
(b) [5 marks] Give a planar drawing of an example of such a graph with at least 12 vertices.
Question 9. [15 marks total]
(a) [10 marks (5 marks each)] For each of the graphs G and H shown, determine whether the
graph is planar. Justify your answer.
G
i
h
g
f
e
d
c
b
a
H
6
9
8
7
5
4
3
2
1
(b) [5 marks] (Continued from previous page.) Are the graphs G and H isomorphic? Be sure to
justify your answer.
G
i
h
g
f
e
d
c
b
a
H
6
9
8
7
5
4
3
2
1
Question 10. [7 marks] Let G be a graph and let C be a cover of G. Prove that G has a colouring
with at most |C| + 1 colours.