Get Free Access for 10 Days!
Activity

The Poor Cartographer—Graph Coloring

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This The Poor Cartographer—Graph Coloring activity also includes:

Color the town red. Demonstrate the concept of graph theory with a task that involves determining the least number of colors needed to color a map so that neighboring countries are not represented by the same color. Pupils make connections to determine the optimum solutions to the problem. 

21 Views 22 Downloads
Concepts
cartographers, cartography, computer applications, computers, problem solving techniques, algorithms, computer science, technology resources
Show More Show Less
Instructional Ideas
  • Lead a discussion using the What's it All About section before having the class perform the activity
  • Have advanced classes determine the number of combinations necessary to color a specified number of countries
Classroom Considerations
  • Younger classes may not use the least number of colors possible
Pros
  • Provides several practice pages
  • The reading provides a background that connects the activity to computer science
Cons
  • Some of the figures are not near where the topic is discussed in the text