How the Königsberg bridge problem changed mathematics - Dan Van der Vieren

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You’d have a hard time finding the medieval city Königsberg on any modern maps, but one particular quirk in its geography has made it one of the most famous cities in mathematics. Dan Van der Vieren explains how grappling with Königsberg’s puzzling seven bridges led famous mathematician Leonhard Euler to invent a new field of mathematics.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Dan Van der Vieren
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Director Outis
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Graph Theory has developed rapidly in the last couple of centuries. Graph Theory has been extended to the application of color mapping. Several sites discuss this, one being Math is Fun. Diagramming using nodes and edges is a helpful method to solve problems like these.

Another interesting problem in graph theory is the “Traveling Salesman” Problem (TSP). This is more complicated because it requires weighting the edges. If you are interested in learning about this, visit Wolfram Mathworld.

Did you enjoy this riddle on the introduction to graph theory? Try this riddle by Dennis Shasha: The Control Room Riddle and see if you can apply what you've learned here.

Also, try another riddle by the same educator, Dan Van der Vieren: Einstein’s Riddle

Like riddles? Visit this link at TED Ed to find more!

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Dan Van der Vieren
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Director Outis
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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