Balanced signed graphs appear in the context of social groups with symmetric relations between individuals where a positive edge represents friendship and a negative edge represents enmities between the individuals. The frustration number f of a signed graph is the size of the minimal set F of vertices whose removal results in a balanced signed graph; hence, a connected signed graph G˙ is balanced if and only if f=0. In this paper, we consider the balance of G˙ via the relationships between the

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... frustration number and eigenvalues of the symmetric Laplacian matrix associated with G˙. It is known that a signed graph is balanced if and only if its least Laplacian eigenvalue μn is zero. We consider the inequalities that involve certain Laplacian eigenvalues, the frustration number f and some related invariants such as the cut size of F and its average vertex degree. In particular, we consider the interplay between μn and f.