For a geodesic triangle with interior angles , the local Gauss-Bonnet theorem is
because its geodesic sides have zero geodesic curvature.
Triangulate a closed oriented surface into geodesic triangles, with edges and vertices. Summing the local formula, the angles around each vertex total , so
Since every triangular face has three edges and every edge belongs to two faces, . Hence
which is the global Gauss-Bonnet theorem.
For the sphere , the unit normal is . Its shape operator is, up to the conventional sign, on each tangent plane. Both principal curvatures therefore have magnitude , and the Gaussian curvature is
An octant has one eighth of the sphere's area:
Thus . Its three great-circle sides meet at three right angles, so
The two sides of the local Gauss-Bonnet formula agree directly.

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