Topic 4

Mathematical
Logic
 Mathematical Logic
 Definition: Methods of reasoning, provides rules
and techniques to determine whether an
argument is valid
 Theorem: a statement that can be shown to be
true (under certain conditions)
 Example: If x is an even integer, then x + 1 is
an odd integer
 This statement is true under the condition that x is an
integer is true

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 Mathematical Logic
 A statement, or a proposition, is a declarative sentence
that is either true or false, but not both
 Uppercase letters denote propositions
 Examples:
 P: 2 is an even number (true)
 Q: 7 is an even number (false)
 R: A is a vowel (true)
 The following are not propositions:
 P: My cat is beautiful
 Q: My house is big

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Propositions
• A statement that has a truth value
• Which of the following are propositions?
– The Washington State flag is red
– It snowed in Whistler, BC on January 4, 2008.
– Hillary Clinton won the democratic caucus in Iowa
– Space aliens landed in Roswell, New Mexico
– Ron Paul would be a great president
– Turn your homework in on Wednesday
– Why are we taking this class?
– If n is an integer greater than two, then the equation an + bn
= cn has no solutions in non-zero integers a, b, and c.
– Every even integer greater than two can be written as the
sum of two primes
– This statement is false
– Propositional variables: p, q, r, s, . . .
– Truth values: T for true, F for false
 Mathematical Logic
 Truth value
 One of the values “truth” (T) or “falsity” (F)
assigned to a statement
 Negation
 The negation of P, written P, is the statement
obtained by negating statement P
 Example:

 P: A is a consonant
 P: it is the case that A is not a consonant
 Truth Table
P P
T F
F T

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 Mathematical Logic
 Conjunction
 Let P and Q be statements.The conjunction of P and
Q, written P ^ Q , is the statement formed by joining
statements P and Q using the word “and”
 The statement P ^ Q is true if both p and q are true;
otherwise P ^ Q is false
 Truth Table for Conjunction:
P Q P ˄Q
F F F
F T F
T F F
T T T

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 Mathematical Logic
 Disjunction
 Let P and Q be statements. The disjunction of P and
Q, written P v Q , is the statement formed by joining
statements P and Q using the word “or”
 The statement P v Q is true if at least one of the
statements P and Q is true; otherwise P v Q is false
 The symbol v is read “or”

 Truth Table for Disjunction:

P Q P ˅Q
F F F
F T T
T F T
T T T 7
 Mathematical Logic
 Implication
 Let P and Q be statements.The statement “if P then Q” is
called an implication or condition.
 The implication “if P then Q” is written P  Q
 P is called the hypothesis, Q is called the conclusion
 Truth Table for Implication:
P Q PQ
F F T
F T F
T F T
T T T

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 Mathematical Logic
 Implication
 Let P: Today is Sunday and Q: I will wash the car.
 PQ:
If today is Sunday, then I will wash the car
 The converse of this implication is written Q  P
If I wash the car, then today is Sunday
 The inverse of this implication is P  Q
If today is not Sunday, then I will not wash the car
 The contrapositive of this implication is Q  P
If I do not wash the car, then today is not Sunday

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English and Logic

 You cannot ride the roller coaster if

( r   s)   q

 s  (r   q)
 Mathematical Logic
A compound proposition is a
 Tautology if it is always true
 Contradiction if it is always false
 Contingency if it can be either true or false

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 Mathematical Logic
 Logically Implies
 A statement formula A is said to logically imply a
statement formula B if the statement formula A → B is a
tautology. If A logically implies B, then symbolically we
write A → B
 Logically Equivalent
 A statement formula A is said to be logically equivalent
to a statement formula B if the statement formula
A ↔ B is a tautology. If A is logically equivalent to B ,
then symbolically we write A B

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