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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. 

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Concepts
cartographers, cartography, computer applications, computers, problem solving techniques, algorithms, computer science, technology resources
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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