Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/iii/paper-12/1/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 12 1 ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write and let be the triangle count in a binomial random graph. For every three-element set of vertices, let be the indicator random variable that its three edges are present. ThenFor two distinct triples , their indicator random variables are independent random variables unless they share an edge. Sharing just one vertex still leaves the sets of relevant edges disjoint. If they share an edge, their union has five edges, and thereforeThere are unordered pairs of distinct triangles in a graph sharing an edge: choose that edge, and then choose their two additional vertices. The variance of a sum consequently gives the exact formulaFor sufficiently large , the hypothesis ensures , so . Dropping negative terms and simplifying the binomial coefficients,Here as well. The event implies . Applying the Chebyshev inequality from part (i) gives the requested conclusion:Thus the triangle count is concentrated around its expectation throughout this range of the binomial random graph.
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