Chapter 3: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LOGIC

 Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter, the students is expected to:
1. Define a propositional logic and its categories;
2. Explain logical connectives and exemplify truth values status of a proposition;
3. Transform logical statements into symbolic form (or vice versa); and 4.
Construct combined truth table of propositions Introduction

Why do most people argue over some issue and never get to the bottom of it? Sometimes
people in dispute say that “they do not see eye to eye.” This expression means that the people
invloved in an argument never get to agree on the issues at hand. In many cases, the
disagreement lies on not being able to present sound arguments based on facts, or the failure
to convince the conteding party using logical arguments. To avoid such a scenario in
Mathematics and to uphold certainly in the validity of mathemtical statements, mathematics
employs the powerful language of logic in asserting truths of statements. The use of logic
illustrates the importance of precision and conciseness in communicating Mathematics.

4.1 Propositional Logic

A propositional logic, also known as statement logic, is the branch of mathematical logic
that studies the truth and falsity of propositions. In propositional logic, the simplest statements
are considered as indivisible units, and hence, propositional logic does not study those logical
properties and relations that depend upon parts of statements that are not themselves
statements on their own, such as the subject and predicate of a statement. A proposition is a
declarative sentence subject for affirmation or denial. It is a statement with truth value; either
true (T) or false (F), but not both.

Examples:
Determine if each sentence is a proposition or not.
a. All parallelograms are quadrilaterals.
b. Rhombuses are squares.
c. Is an equilateral triangle an isosceles triangle?
d. Triangle ABC is a right triangle.
e. Draw two parallel lines that are cut by a transversal.
f. 3 + 4 = 7
g. The sum of two prime numbers is even.
h. x > 10
i. n is a prime number.
j. 2 + 5 = 5
Answers:
a. Proposition
b. Proposition
c. Not a Proposition
d. Proposition
e. Not a Proposition
f. Proposition
g. Proposition
h. Proposition
i. Proposition
j. Proposition

Categories of Propositions

 Qualitative Categories of Propositions

Propositions are categorized as affirmative or negative. The following sentences are

examples of affirmative propositions:
1. A quadrilateral has four sides.
2. The Philippines is a member of the ASEAN.
3. Whales are mammals.
The following are examples of negative propositions:
1. A right triangle has no obtuse angle.
2. Tomato is not a fruit.
3. Parallel lines never intersect.

 Quantitative Categories of Propositions

Propositions are further classified according to quantity or the different possible

extensions of their subject-terms.

Type of Categorical Description Examples

Proposition
Universal proposition The subject term is taken in All quadrilaterals are
full extension. polygons.

No parallel lines meet at a

point.

Every integer is a real

number.
 The subject term is taken Some algebraic expressions
Particular Proposition
only in particular extension. are polynomials.
The subject term denotes a A prime number has only two
Singular Proposition
single person or thing. factors.

When quality and quantity are combined, propositions may be classified based on its mood as
follows:
Universal Particular
A I
Affirmative
All x is y. Some x is y.

E O

Negative All x is not Some x is not

y. y.

The letters A, E, I and O can be used to refer to propositions universal affirmative,

universal negative, particular affirmative and particular negative, respectively.
Examples:
Determine whether each statement is A, E, I, or O proposition.
a. There are snakes in every forest.
b. Some crocodiles are found in the city.
c. All lambs are not tame.
d. Some men are never as free as a bird.
Answers:
a. A
b. I
c. E
d. O
EXERCISES 3.1

Name: ___________________________________________Score: ____________________

Section: __________________________________________Date: _____________________

A. Determine if each statement is a proposition or not.

____________ 1. Every triangle is a polygon.
____________ 2. All right angles are congruent.
____________ 3. x is greater than or equal to -2.
____________ 4. If x + 2 = 4, is x = 2?
____________ 5. The sum of the interior angles in a triangle.
____________ 6. Some rectangles are not parallelograms.
____________ 7. Each equilateral triangle is an isosceles triangle. ____________ 8.
For all values of a and b, (a + b)(a – b) = a2 – b2 ____________ 9. If a is a real
number, a2> 2.
____________ 10. Bisect an angle.

B. Determine whether each statement is A, E, I, or O

proposition. _______ 1. Some variables are fractions.
_______ 2. Each scalene triangle has no equal sides.
_______ 3. Some rectangles are parallelograms.
_______ 4. All right angles are congruent.
_______ 5. Every triangle is not a polygon.
_______ 6. Few rational numbers are integers.
_______ 7. Every odd number is prime.
_______ 8. Some irrational numbers are not terminating decimals.
_______ 9. All mathematicians are males.
_______ 10. Some polynomials are not congruent sides.
3.2 Logical Connectives
Logical connectives are words or symbols used to connect two or more sentences in a logical
and grammatically valid way to produce one compound statement that takes its meaning from
the original sentences as well as the logical connective used. They can be used as a means to
connect two or more ideas, to compare and contrast different ideas, or to state certain
conditions.

Statement Connective Symbol Type of Logical Statement

Not p not p Negation
p and q And p˄q Conjunction
p or q Or p˅q Disjunction
If p, then q If –then p→𝑞 Conditional
p if and only if q If and only if p ↔ 𝑞 Biconditional

Examples:
To understand the use of symbols in logic, consider the following simple statements.
Let p: The Earth is round. q: The
Sun is cold.

r: It rains in Spain.

The following compound statements can be written in symbolic form.

1. The Earth is round and the sun is cold. Symbolic
Form: p ˄ q
2. Either the Earth is round or the Sun is not cold.
Symbolic Form: p ˅ ( q )
 3. The Earth is round and either the Sun is not cold or
it rains in the Spain. Symbolic Form: p ˄ (q ˅ r)
4. If the Earth is round, then it rains in Spain.
Symbolic Form: p r
5. The Earth is round if and only if it rains in Spain.
Symbolic Form: p r

The following symbolic forms can be written in compound statement.

1. r ( p ˄ q)
Compound Statement: It does not rain in Spain if and only if the earth is not round and the sun
is cold.
2. (q ˄ p) r
Compound Statement: If the sun is cold and the earth is round, then it rains in Spain.
3. ( q ˅ r) p
Compound Statement: If either the Sun is not cold or it rains in Spain, then the Earth is not
round.
4. r ˅ ( q ˄ p)
Compound Statement: Either it rains in Spain or the Sun is not cold and the Earth is not round.
5. ( p ˅ r) q
Compound Statement: Either the Earth is not round or it rains in Spain if and only if the Sun
is not cold.
EXERCISES 3.2

Name: ___________________________________________Score: ____________________

Section: __________________________________________Date: _____________________
I. Write each statement in symbolic form using connectives ¬, ˅ , ˄, →, or ↔.
_______________________ 1. If today is Friday (p), then tomorrow is Saturday (q).
_______________________ 2. I went to the registrar’s office (p) and I ate lunch at the canteen
(q).
_______________________ 3. A triangle is an equilateral triangle (p) if and only if it is an
equiangular triangle (q).
_______________________ 4. If it is bird (p), then it has feathers (q).
_______________________ 5. If either x is a fraction or y is a decimal (p), then it is not a rational
number ( q).
_______________________ 6. The moon is flat (p) if and only the sun rises at the south (q) and
the dog is flying (r).
_______________________ 7. If either a frog is an amphibian (p) or a jelly fish is not a fish (
q), then 1 + 2 = 3 (r).
_______________________ 8. Online games are not bad to students ( p) if and only if it will
not destroy their studies ( q) and they sleep at least 8 hours a day (r).
_______________________ 9. Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health (p) and it gives
bad breath (q), or it can kill you (r).
_______________________ 10. If x + 5 = 7 (p) and 2x – 7 = 6 (q), then x + 8 = 2 (r) or 6x – 2
= 4 (s).
II. Write each symbolic statement as an English sentence. Use p, q, r, s, and t as defined below.
p: Sarah Geronimo is a singer.
q: Sarah Geronimo is not a songwriter.
r: Sarah Geronimo is an actress. s: Sarah
Geronimo plays guitar.
t: Sarah Geronimo is a dancer.
1. (p ˅ r) q
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2. p (q ˄¬r)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3. (r ˄ p) ↔ q
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4. s (p ˄¬q )
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
5. 𝑡 ↔ ( r ˄¬p)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.3 Truth Table
The truth table is a table that shows the truth values of a compound statement for all possible truth
values of its simple statements.
Negation Statement
A statement is a negation of another if the word is not introduced in the negative
statement. Let p be a proposition. The negation of p is “not p” or p. The following is
its truth table:

p p
T F
F T

Examples:
What is the negative of the following statements?
a. p: √2 is a rational number.
b. q: 6 is an odd number.
Solution:
a. is not a rational number. or is an
irrational number. In symbols, p.
 b. 6 is not an odd number. or 6 is an even
number. In symbols, q.

Conjunction Statement
The conjunction of p and q, denoted p q, is a statement that is true if both p and q are true,
and is false otherwise. We read p q as “p and q”
This definition can be represented by the “truth table”:

p q p q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F
Note: This truth table shows whether the new statement is true or false for each possible
combination of the truth or falsity of each p and q.
Example 1
Let p: It is raining.
q: The streets are wet.
Then, the statement p q is “It is raining and the streets are wet.”

Example 2
Let r: 9 is an even number.
s: Ten is greater than 9.
Then, the statement r s is “9 is an even number and ten is greater than 9.”

Disjunction Statement
The disjunction of p and q, denoted p q, is a statement that is true if either p is true or q is
true or both are true, and is false otherwise. We read p q as “p or q”.

The following truth table presents this definition:

p q p q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F
Note: The truth of the statement p q means that at least one of p or q is true.
Example 1
Let p: It is raining.
q: The streets are
wet.
 Then, the statement p q is “It is raining or the streets are wet.”

Example 2
Let r: 9 is an even number.
s: Ten is greater than 9.
Then, the statement r s is “9 is an even number or ten is greater than 9.”

Conditional Statement
The conditional from p to q, denoted p → q, is a statement that is true if it is never the
case that p is true and q is false. We read p → q as “if p then q”. p is called the “antecedent or
hypothesis” and q is called the “consequent or conclusion”.

The following truth table presents this definition:

p q p →q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T
Notice that the conditional is a new example of a binary logical operator – it assigns to each
pair of statements p and q the new statement p→q.

Consider the following statement: "If you earn an A in logic, then I'll buy you a Yellow
Mustang." It seems to be made up out of two simpler statements:

p: "You earn an A in logic," and q: "I will buy you a Yellow Mustang."

What the original statement is then saying is this: if p is true, then q is true, or, more simply, if p,
then q. We can also phrase this as p implies q, and we write p→q.

Now let us suppose for the sake of argument that the original statement: "If you earn an A in
logic, then I'll buy you a Yellow Mustang," is true. This does not mean that you will earn an
A in logic; all it says is that if you do so, then I will buy you that Yellow Mustang. If we think
of this as a promise, the only way that it can be broken is if you do earn an A and I do not buy
you a Yellow Mustang. In general, we use this idea to define the statement p→q.

Notes:

1. The only way that p→q can be false is if p is true and q is false—this
is the case of the "broken promise."

2. If you look at the truth table again, you see that we say that "p→q" is
true when p is false, no matter what the truth value of q. This again makes
sense in the context of the promise — if you don't get that A, then whether or
not I buy you a Mustang, I have not broken my promise. However, it goes
 against the grain if you think of "if p then q" as saying that p causes q. The
problem is that there are really many ways in which the English phrase "if ...
then ..." is used. Logicians have simply agreed that the meaning given by the
truth table above is the most useful for mathematics, and so that is the meaning
we shall always use. Shortly we'll talk about other English phrases that we
interpret as meaning the same thing.

Here are some examples that will help to explain each line in the truth table.

Example 1 (True Implies True) is True

If p and q are both true, then p→q is true. For instance: If 1+1 = 2
then the sun rises in the east.

Here p: "1+1 = 2" and q: "The sun rises in the east."

Notice that the statements p and q need not have anything to do with one another. We are
not saying that the sun rises in the east because 1+1 = 2, simply that the whole statement is
logically true.

Example 2 True Can't Imply False

If p is true and q is false, then p→q is false. For instance: When it

rains, I carry an umbrella.

Here p: "It is raining," and q: "I am carrying an umbrella." In other words, we can rephrase
the sentence as: "If it is raining then I am carrying an umbrella." Now there are lots of days
when it rains (p is true) and I forget to bring my umbrella (q is false). On any of those days
the statement p→q is clearly false.

Notice that we interpreted "When p, q" as "If p, then q."

Example 3 False Implies Anything

If p is false, then p→q is true, no matter whether q is true or not. For instance:
If the moon is made of green cheese, then I am the King of England.
Here p: "The moon is made of green cheese," which is false, and q: "I am the King of
England." The statement p→q is true, whether or not the speaker happens to be the King of
England (or whether, for that matter, there even is a King of England).

Biconditional Statement
The biconditional from p to q, denoted p ↔ q, is a statement that is true if p and q are both
true or both false, and is false otherwise. We read p ↔ q as “p if and only if q” or “p iff q”.

The following truth table presents this definition:

 p q p↔q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

Note that, from the truth table, we see that, for p↔q to be true, both p and q must have the
same truth values; otherwise it is false.

Each of the following is equivalent to the biconditional p↔q.

p if and only if q.
p is necessary and sufficient for q. p is
equivalent to q.

Examples:
a. True or false? "1+1 = 3 if and only if Mars is a black
hole."
b. Rephrase the statement: "I teach math if and only if I am
paid a large sum of money." Solution:
a. True. The given statement has the form p↔q, where p: "1+1=3" and q: "Mars
is a black hole." Since both statements are false, the biconditional p↔q is true.
b. Here are some equivalent ways of phrasing this sentence:
"My teaching math is necessary and sufficient for me to be paid a large sum of money."
"For me to teach math it is necessary and sufficient that I be paid a large sum of money."

Sadly, for our finances, none of these statements are true.

More Examples:
I. Write the following in symbolic form using p, q, and r for statements and the symbols
¬, ⋀, ⋁, →, where
p: Pres. Duterte is a good president. q:
Government officials are corrupt. r: People are
happy.

a. If Pres. Duterte is a good president, then government officials are corrupt.

b. If government officials are not corrupt, then the people are happy.
c. If Pres. Duterte is a good president and people are happy, then the government
officials are not corrupt.
 d. Pres. Duterte is not a good president if and only if government officials are corrupt
and the people are not happy.

Answers:
a. p→ (¬𝑞)
b. ¬𝑞 → 𝑟
c. (𝑝 ∧ 𝑟) → (¬𝑞)
d. ¬𝑝 ↔ (𝑞 ∧ (¬𝑟))

In constructing truth tables for a statement that involves a combination of conjunctions,

disjunctions, and/or negations, the illustrative examples will be shown below.

Illustrative Examples:
a. Construct a truth table for (¬ p˅q)˅q.
b. Use the truth table in the previous discussion to determine the truth value of (¬
p˅q)˅q, given that p is true and q is false.
Solution:
a. Start with the standard truth table form and then include a ¬ p column.
p q p
T T F
T F F
F T T
F F T
Now use the truth values from the ¬ p and q columns to produce the truth values for p˅q, as
shown in the rightmost column of the following table.
p q p p˅q
T T F T
T F F F
F T T T
F F T T
Negate the truth values in the p˅q column to produce the following.

p q p p˅q ( p˅q)
T T F T F
T F F F T
F T T T F
F F T T F
As the last step, form the disjunction of (¬ p˅q)˅q with q and place the results in the
rightmost column of the table. See the following table. The shaded column is the truth table
for (¬ p˅q)˅q.
 p q p p˅q ( p˅q) (¬ p˅q)˅q
T T F T F T
T F F F T T
F T T T F T
F F T T F F

b. In row 2 of the above truth table, we see that when p is true, and q is false, the
statement (¬ p˅q)˅q in the rightmost column is true.
EXERCISES 3.3

Name: ___________________________________________Score: ____________________

Section: __________________________________________Date: _____________________

I. Write each sentence in symbolic form. Use p, q, r, and s as defined below. Tell whether if
each statement is true or false by applying the truth table.
p: Stephen Curry is a football player. (False) q:
Stephen Curry is a basketball player. (True) r:
Stephen Curry is a rock star. (False) s: Stephen Curry plays
for the Warriors. (True)
__________________________ 1. Stephen Curry is a football player or a basketball player, and
he is not a rock star.
__________________________ 2. Stephen Curry is a rock star, and he is not a basketball player
or a football player.
__________________________ 3. If Stephen Curry is a basketball player and a rock star, then he
is not a football player.
__________________________ 4. Stephen Curry is a basketball player, if and only if he is not
a football player and he is not a rock star.
__________________________ 5. If Stephen Curry plays for the Warriors, then he is a
basketball player and he is not a football player.

II. Construct a truth table for [(¬𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 ∨ 𝑟)] ∧ [𝑠 ∧ (¬𝑞 ∨ ¬𝑟)]

3.4 The Inverse, the Converse, the Contrapositive
Every conditional statement has three related statements. They are called the inverse, the
converse, and the contrapositive.
Suppose 𝑝 and are propositions. Given the implication 𝑝 → 𝑞. Its inverse is ¬p→
q, its converse is q p, and its contrapositive is q→ ¬p.
That is,
Given: If p, then q.
Inverse: If not p, then not q.
Converse: If q, then p.
Contrapositive: If not q, then not p.
To determine whether the conditional statement is true or false, we come up with the
following truth table. Referring to the truth table of the implication statement p q, we then
create the truth table for the inverse, converse, and contrapositive statements.

p q p →q ¬p→ ¬q q p ¬q→ ¬p
T T T T T T
T F F T T F
F T T F F T
F F T T T T

Examples:
Give the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of the following implications:
a. If this movie is interesting, then I am watching it.
b. If p is prime number, then it is odd.

Answers:
a. Inverse: If this movie is not interesting, then I am not
watching it. Converse: If I am watching this movie,
then it is interesting.
Contrapositive: If I am not watching this movie, then it is not interesting.

b. Inverse: If p is not a prime number, then it is not odd.

Converse: If p is an odd number, then it is prime.
Contrapositive: If p is not an odd number, then it is not a prime.
EXERCISES 3.4

Name: ___________________________________________Score: ____________________

Section: __________________________________________Date: _____________________
Give the inverse, converse, and contrapositive of the following implications and tell whether if
the statement is true or false.
1. If is an irrational number, then it is a number that goes on forever.
Inverse:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Converse:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Contrapositive:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. If x is an even number, then x + 1 is even.
Inverse:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Converse:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Contrapositive:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________