DRAFT SYLLABUS for MATH S-325: Extreme (!

)
Graph Theory and Combinatorics, Summer 2022
Course Head: Dr. John Wesley Cain (“Wes”)
Class times and locations: Classes will meet from 12:00pm-3:00pm on the dates listed on the final page
of this document. All class meetings will take place in Science Center 309.
Office Hours (Tentative): After every class meeting, from 3:30-5:00pm in Science Center 515
E-mail: jcain2@math.harvard.edu
URL: http://www.math.harvard.edu/~jcain2/
Phone: 617-495-1790

Prerequisites and Intended Audience: Solid command of basic algebra and geometry at the high
school level. No background in calculus is necessary. This course is NOT meant to count towards
undergraduate degree credit.

Course Description: How large must a gathering of people be in order to ensure that either six of the people
mutually know one another or that six of the people are mutual strangers? How many rooks (or knights or
bishops) can be placed on a standard chessboard such that no two of them are attacking one another? Are
there optimal, fair experimental designs by which we may mutually compare thirteen competing brands of
fabric softener without having to directly compare all seventy-eight possible pairs of brands? These problems
are examples of extremal problems in combinatorics and graph theory, a sub-discipline of mathematics that
involves a very different way of thinking relative to areas such as algebra, geometry, and calculus. In this
course, we explore some classical extremal (and fun) problems including the ones mentioned above. The
methods we develop are applicable to a variety of important practical problems, such as optimal scheduling
of flights. Topics are drawn from the following areas: Ramsey theory (classical Ramsey numbers, van der
Waerden numbers, and the happy end problem), two-player positional games (tic-tac-toe and the Hales-
Jewett theorem, generalized maker-breaker games), and optimal combinatorial designs (balanced incomplete
block designs, Steiner triple systems, difference sets, finite projective planes).

Course Goals and Learning Objectives: Broadly speaking, my main goal is to develop students’ ability
to “think combinatorially” about problems (many of them of high practical interest) involving networks and
designs. Let me give examples of what I mean by “thinking combinatorially”. By the end of the course, you
should be able to propose strategies for (i) deciding whether there exists a graph/network/design that satisfies
a given set of constraints; (ii) enumerating how many graphs/networks/designs satisfy given constraints; and
(iii) among graphs/networks/designs that do satisfy given constraints, identifying those that are “extremal”
or “optimal” in some sense.

References: There are no required texts for this course. Notes, readings, and homework exercises will be
distributed either electronically or as printed handouts. Examples of texts from which some of our course
material may be drawn are:
• F. Roberts, Applied Combinatorics, 2nd Edition, Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2008.
• R. Graham, B. Rothschild and J. Spencer Ramsey Theory, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 1990.
• D. West, Graph Theory, 2nd Edition, Pearson, 2000.
• J. Beck, Combinatorial Games: Tic-Tac-Toe Theory, Cambridge, 2008.

Homework Problem Sets: Each day, you will be assigned homework problems to be submitted at the
beginning of the next class meeting. On each problem set, the exercises will be subdivided into two “Groups”.
“Group 1” problems are intended to
• Reinforce and enhance your understanding of concepts developed during our class meetings. To this
end, you will be asked to complete exercises which guide you through instructive examples, counterex-
amples, computations and constructions.
 • Develop flexibility in your use of key concepts/strategies and in your ability to generalize.
You are expected to complete (or at least attempt) all “Group 1” problems. “Group 2” problems are intended
to be more challenging. Most of the “Group 2” problems will probe more deeply into the ideas covered during
class meetings, and some of them will ask you to provide mathematically rigorous, logically sound arguments.
Please do not despair if you are unable to answer more than half of the “Group 2” questions—in fact, some
will be deliberately exploratory, with no expectations that any student will be able to solve them. Over the
duration of this course, you are expected to complete at least 10 of the “Group 2” problems. In any case,
you should expect to spend 3-5 hours per day outside of class working on homework problem sets.

Attendance: Please make sure to attend every class meeting if you’re physically able to. In class, we’ll
have frequent problem solving activities for pairs (or small groups) of students, and every student is an
important contributor to this team dynamic. Learning mathematics is a highly collaborative venture, not
something to be done in solitary confinement!

Grading: Your course grade will be based upon your performance on the homework assignments, and on
class participation. Your overall course score will be on a 100-point scale, computed as follows:
1. Your “Group 1” homework score will be
points earned
100 × ,
points possible
taken over your 9 best homework performances (out of the 10 total assignments).
2. Your “Group 2” homework score will equal the total number of “Group 2” homework problems that
you complete successfully, not to exceed 15.
3. Your class participation score will be a number between 0 and 10, based upon your general involvement
in our class meetings, including your productive, respectful engagement with your peers in discussions
about course material.
4. Your overall course score will be

0.8 × (“Group 1” homework score) + (“Group 2” homework subscore) + (class participation score.)

Overall course scores of 90 or higher will result in letter grades of A- or higher. Overall course scores of
80 or higher will result in letter grades of B- or higher. Overall course scores of 70 or higher will result in
letter grades of C- or higher. Overall course scores of 60 or higher will result in letter grades of D- or higher.
Overall course scores below 50 will result in a failing grade.

Academic Integrity: I urge you to introduce yourself to your peers and to exchange ideas and observations
with other students outside of class. In fact, you may work with other students on the homework problem
sets, as long as each individual student writes up their solutions independently. If you work with other
students, please acknowledge such collaboration at the top of your homework paper (i.e., list the names of
your collaborators) and please know this will have no effect on your grade. Feel free to utilize any printed
or electronic resources that you find helpful, but please also acknowledge such references in your homework
write-ups. Additionally, students are expected to adhere to the Harvard Summer School policies on academic
integrity, which may be found here:

https://www.summer.harvard.edu/policies/student-responsibilities

Publishing or Distributing Course Materials: Students may not post, publish, sell, or otherwise
publicly distribute course materials without the written permission of the course instructor. Such materials
include, but are not limited to, the following: lecture notes, lecture slides, video, or audio recordings,
assignments, problem sets, examinations, other students’ work, and answer keys. Students who sell, post,
publish, or distribute course materials without written permission, whether for the purposes of soliciting
answers or otherwise, may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including requirement to withdraw
from the Summer School. Further, students may not make video or audio recordings of class sessions for
their own use without written permission of the instructor.

Accessibility: The Summer School is committed to providing an accessible academic and residential
community. The Accessibility Services Office offers a variety of accommodations and services to students
with documented disabilities, permanent and temporary injuries, and chronic conditions. If you are a student
with a disability, we engage you in an interactive process to provide you an equal opportunity to participate
in, contribute to, and benefit from our academic and residential programs. For more information, see

https://www.summer.harvard.edu/resources-policies/accessibility-services

or send an e-mail to accessibility@dcemail.harvard.edu.

Syllabus1 for Math S-325, Summer 2022

Date Due Math Topics
Tue 06/21 N/A Basics of enumeration, graph theoretic terminology
Wed 06/22 Homework 1 Edge colorings, graph Ramsey numbers
Thu 06/23 Homework 2 Bounds on graph Ramsey numbers
Fri 06/24 Homework 3 Generalizations of Ramsey numbers, Happy End Problem
Mon 06/27 Homework 4 van der Waerden numbers
Tue 06/28 Homework 5 Two-player positional games: tic-tac-toe and chessboard problems
Wed 06/29 Homework 6 Generalized tic-tac-toe and the Hales-Jewett theorem
Thu 06/30 Homework 7 Balanced incomplete block designs, difference sets
Tue 07/05 Homework 8 More on Steiner triple systems and combinatorial designs
Wed 07/06 Homework 9 Applications
Thu 07/07 Homework 10 Open research problems in extremal graph theory/combinatorics

1 The timing of topics is highly flexible, so don’t worry if there are periods when we’re a bit ahead/behind what the syllabus

indicates.