Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2002/ib/paper-3/4e/solution

For a connected cellular embedding on the sphere, the Euler formula for a connected planar graph is
The boundary graph of a convex polyhedron has such an embedding. Counting edge ends at vertices and edge sides at faces gives . Therefore
Faces of size six contribute zero, and larger faces contribute negatively. The contribution of each triangle, quadrilateral or pentagon is at most three, so
Thus the small faces of a spherical polyhedral graph bound is
The tetrahedron shows that four is attainable. Connectedness and cellular faces are the standard hypotheses in this Euler formula; an arbitrary disconnected embedded graph has a different count.

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