How many ways can you color the edges of a hexagon in two colors?

In summary, there are multiple ways to color the edges of a hexagon in two colors, and the number of unique colorings can be determined using the Orbit Stabilizer Lemma and Burnside's Lemma. The formula for determining the number of unique colorings is ƒ(n) = \frac{1}{12}⋅(2⋅n + 2⋅n^{2} + 4⋅n^{3} + 3⋅n^{4} + n^{6}), where n represents the number of colors and ƒ(n) represents the number of unique colorings. For example, with 2 colors, there are 13 unique colorings; with
  • #1
thesandbox
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0

Homework Statement



How many ways can you color the edges of a hexagon in two colors? It is assumed two colorings are identical if there is a way to flip or rotate the hexagon.

Homework Equations



Orbit Stabilizer Lemma and Burnside's Lemma

The Attempt at a Solution



This, implements the Orbit Stabilizer Lemma and Burnside's Lemma (think necklace permutations) however, is there anything special or different to computing this because you are now dealing with the faces/edges rather than the vertices (or beads of a necklace)?

Thanks.
 
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  • #2
To answer my own question: it does not matter.

Di6 symmetry with order 12.
6 rotation symmetries
6 reflection symmetries

By Burnside's Lemma:

ƒ([itex]n[/itex]) = [itex]\frac{1}{12}[/itex]⋅(2⋅[itex]n[/itex] + 2⋅[itex]n^{2}[/itex] + 4⋅[itex]n^{3}[/itex] + 3⋅[itex]n^{4}[/itex] + [itex]n^{6}[/itex])

Where
[itex]n[/itex] := # of colors
ƒ([itex]n[/itex]) := # of unique colorings

[itex]n[/itex] = 2
ƒ([itex]2[/itex]) = 13


[itex]n[/itex] = 3
ƒ([itex]3[/itex]) = 92

[itex]n[/itex] = 4
ƒ([itex]4[/itex]) = 430

[itex]n[/itex] = 5
ƒ([itex]5[/itex]) = 1505


[itex]\cdots[/itex]
 

1. How many total ways can you color the edges of a hexagon with two colors?

The total number of ways to color the edges of a hexagon with two colors is 64.

2. Is there a specific pattern or order to the color combinations?

Yes, there are 2 possible color patterns: alternating colors or all edges of the same color.

3. Can you explain the mathematical formula used to calculate the number of ways to color the edges of a hexagon?

The formula used is 2^n, where n is the number of edges in the hexagon. In this case, n=6, so 2^6 = 64 total possible ways.

4. How does the number of ways change if we increase or decrease the number of colors?

If we increase the number of colors, the number of ways to color the edges will also increase. For example, with 3 colors, there would be 3^6 = 729 possible ways. If we decrease the number of colors, the number of ways will decrease as well.

5. Is there a practical application for this mathematical problem?

Yes, this type of problem is commonly used in graph theory and can be applied to real-world scenarios such as designing a network or creating a color-coded map.

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