Paper 3, Section II, G

Geometry | Part IB, 2009

Consider a tessellation of the two-dimensional sphere, that is to say a decomposition of the sphere into polygons each of which has at least three sides. Let E,VE, V and FF denote the numbers of edges, vertices and faces in the tessellation, respectively. State Euler's formula. Prove that 2E3F2 E \geqslant 3 F. Deduce that not all the vertices of the tessellation have valence 6\geqslant 6.

By considering the plane {z=1}R3\{z=1\} \subset \mathbb{R}^{3}, or otherwise, deduce the following: if Σ\Sigma is a finite set of straight lines in the plane R2\mathbb{R}^{2} with the property that every intersection point of two lines is an intersection point of at least three, then all the lines in Σ\Sigma meet at a single point.

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