MT3910/4910/5491 Topology,

Solutions to Exercise sheet 1

Question 1. For each of the following knot diagrams, determine the values
of n for which it is n-colourable.

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)*

(v)*
 Solution:

(i) We did this in the lectures; here the knot is n colourable iff 5 divides
n.

(ii) As in the lectures, we label the top arc by 0. Now we move along
counterclockwise and label the first top arc by α = α1 . We go along
the crossings, labelling each new (below) arc by αi+1 as we go along.

Crossing 1: Here we have that 0 + α2 = 2α1 , hence α2 = 2α.

Crossing 2: α1 + α3 = 2α2 = 4α ⇒ α3 = 3α.
Crossing 3: 2α1 + α4 = 2α3 = 6α1 ⇒ α4 = 4α.
Crossing 4: 3α1 + α5 = 2α4 = 8α1 ⇒ α5 = 5α.
Crossing 5: Here we see that the arc labelled 0 is the same as the arc labelled
α5 .

Hence we have that 5α ≡n 0 and hence the knot is n-colourable if and

only if 5|n.

(iii) Here we apply the same method as in example (ii) noting that αi = iα
and that there are 7 crossings and hence α7 = 0. Hence the knot is
n-colourable if and only if 7|n.

(iv) Here we have to be patient and see in the end that the knot is n-
colourable iff 13 divides n.

(v) And here we have to be even more patient until we get a contradiction
and hence the knot is not n-colourable for any n.

Question 2. For n odd, make a knot diagram Dn by joining together n copies

of the piece shown below:
Have you met any of these knots before? What goes wrong in the case when
n is even? In the case when n = p, an odd prime, show that Dp can be
m-coloured if and only if p divides m.

Solution: Yes, these are the knots obtained by an n-crossing picture as in

Question 1 (ii) and (iii). If n is even we have two separate strands, i.e.
something called a link. And if p is a prime we use the method above to get
that αp = pα ≡m 0 and the claim follows.

Question 3. Show that there are infinitely many inequivalent knot diagrams.

Solution: This follows directly from Question 2. For each pair of odd primes
p 6= q, we have that the knot Dp is p-colourable but not q-colourable, hence
Dp and Dq are inequivalent. Now use the fact that there are infinitely many
primes.

Question 4. * Prove that the congruence mα = 0 mod n has a solution in

which α 6= 0 mod n if and only if m and n have a common factor.

Solution: If d divides both m and n, then α = n/d will work. Conversely, if

(m, n) = 1, then there exist p, q so that mp + nq = 1. But then if mα ≡ 0,
we also have
α = (pm + qn)α ≡ pmα ≡ 0 mod n.

Question 5. (No knot can be 2-coloured.) Suppose you are given a diagram
D which looks like a knot diagram, and a 2-colouring of D. Deduce that
each strand of D has the same colour all along its length, and hence that D
consists of at least two separate loops.

Solution: Suppose D is 2-coloured, and suppose given a crossing with labels

α and γ underneath, and β above. The relation α+γ ≡ 2β mod 2 gives that
α ≡ γ mod 2, Hence the colour of a strand cannot change when it passes
under another strand. Thus a diagram that can be 2-coloured contains at
least two separate strands.
Question 6. * Given what you have learned in questions 4 and 5, see if
you can describe the m such that the diagram Dn of question 2 can be
m-coloured for every odd n.

Solution: One may show that Dn can be m-coloured if and only if the highest
common factor (m, n) is greater than one.