LESSON 10 GENERAL MATHEMATICS LOGIC (PROPOSITIONS)

Target:

At the end of the lesson, you

should be able to:
Each one of you will make a convincing argument for or against
illustrates and symbolizes statement. Each of you should write your argument on Manila paper.
propositions;
distinguishes between simple You may provide the following example.
and compound propositions.;
Statement: Everyone should study logic.

Argument for the statement: Logic is used in engineering, law,

philosophy, computer science, mathematics, and many other
disciplines. Logic makes our electronic gadgets, such as cellphones,
work. Logic is fun and interesting. If logic is useful, fun and
interesting, then everyone should study it. Therefore, everyone
should study logic.

A proposition is a declarative sentence that is either true or false,

but not both. If a proportion is true, then its truth value is true which
is denoted by T; otherwise, its truth value is false and is denoted by F.

Remark that propositions are usually denoted by small letters as

shown in the next example. For example,
p: Everyone should study logic.
may be read as
p is the proposition “Everyone should study logic.”
If a sequence of propositions is considered, we denote the
propositions by p1, p2….

EXAMPLE 1. Determine whether each of the following statements is

a proposition or not. If a proposition, give its truth value.
p: Mindanao is an island in the Philippines.
q: Find a number which divides your- age.
r: My seatmate will get a perfect score in the Logic exam.
s: Welcome to the Philippines!
t: 3+2 = 5
x
u: f(x) = √ - is a rational function.
x+1
v: What is the domain of tire function?
w: I am lying.
Pi: It is not the case that 2 is a rational number.
P2: Either logic is fun and interesting, or it is boring.
P3: If you are a Grade 11 student, then you are a Filipino.
P4: If you are more than 60 years old, then you are entitled to a
Senior Citizen’s card, and if you are entitled to a Senior Citizen’s card,
then you are more than 60 years old.
 Solution. Recall that for a statement to be a proposition it has to be a
declarative sentence, and it should have a truth value of either true or
false, but not both true and false at the same time.
p. This is a declarative sentence, and Mindanao is an island in the
Scan the QR code to
view the video or go Philippines. Hence, p is a true proposition.
to q. This is an imperative sentence, and so it is not a proposition.
http://www.youtube.
r. The statement is a declarative sentence. Although the truth value will
com/watch?
v=rBD2bnsgFrc only be known after the Logic exam, we know that it can only be cither
true (my seatmate gets a perfect score) or false (she lies some
mistakes), but not both. Hence, r is a proposition. Remark that for a
declarative sentence to be a proposition, it is not necessary that its true
value is immediately known.
s. Statement s is an exclamatory sentence, and so it is not a
proposition.
t. Obviously, 3 + 2 = 5 is a true mathematical sentence. But, is it a
declarative sentence? Yes! To see this, note that you may read it as ‘The
sum of three and two is five," which is clearly a declarative sentence.
Therefore, t is a true proposition.
Remark that the propositions that we consider in mathematics are of
this form. More examples are given below.
Proposition in Proposition in English
symbolic form
2∈N Two is a natural number.
-100 ∈ Z Negative 100 is an integer.
Π∉Q The constant π is an irrational number.
Π∈ R The constant π is a real number.
√2 ‹ 2 The square root of two is less than two.
The set of all natural numbers is subset of the of
N CZCQCR all integers, the set of all integers is a subset of
the set of all rational numbers, and the set of all
rational numbers is a subset of the set of all real
numbers.
u. This is a declarative sentence. Since the numerator of the function is not a polynomial, the
function f is not rational and so the statement if false. Therefore, u is a false proposition.
You can remark that false mathematical sentences are still propositions.
v. It is an interrogative sentence. Hence, it is not a proposition.
w. Although w is a declarative sentence, it is not a proposition because it can neither be true?
Nor false. To see this, suppose one assumes that w is true-that is, it is the case that I am lying.
Since I am lying, my statement is not true, and so w must also be false. Similarly, assuming
that w is false would also lead to the conclusion that it is true as well.
p1. This is a declarative sentence and it will be shown later that √ 2cannot be expressed as a
quotient of two integers. Thus, pi is a proportion.
p2. It is a declarative sentence, which is true for anyone because each of us finds logic other fun
or boring. Hence, p2 is a true proposition.
p3. This is a declarative sentence, but it is not true. There are also Grade 11 students of other
nationalities.
p4. We know that it is a true proportion. Furthermore, we can express the whole sentence as
“You are more than 60 years old if and only if you fire entitled to a Senior Citizen’s card.”
(You may remark that this is an example of a biconditional statement, which will be discussed
in the next lesson.)
Remark: Consider the following mathematical sentences
(a) 2x = 1
(b) ( x + y )2 = x 2+ y 2
Note that both are declarative sentences, which may be read as “Twice a number 2 is 1," and
“The square of a sum is the sum of the squares," respectively, But, are they true or false? We
cannot tell because both sentences involve some unknowns x and y. Thus, the given statements
are not propositions.
Activity 1, Determine whether each of the following statements is a proposition or not. If a
proposition, give its truth value.
(a) Mabuhay!
(b) Jose Rizal is our National Hero.

(c) Who is the first president of the republic?

(a) Ferdinand Magellan did not arrive the Philippines in 1521.

(c) 2.5 is an integer,

(f) Our Logic teacher is either pretty or handsome.

(g) Smile at your seatmate.

(h) The last kilometer marker up north is in Sta, Ana, Cagayan, and the Palani Island is also
found there.

(i) 2s even and prime.

(j) Is 2a square of some number?

(k) If an integer is even, then its square is also even.

Define simple and compound proposition

A compound proposition is a proposition formed from simpler propositions using logical

connectors or some combination of logical connectors. Some logical connectors involving
propositions p and q may be expressed as follows:
not p
p and q
p or q
if p then q
Where < - > stands for some proposition.
A proposition is simple if it cannot be broken down any further into other component
propositions.

Remark that simple propositions are also called atomic propositions because they are the
building blocks of propositional logic as atoms are considered building blocks in chemistry.
Consequently, any compound proposition is composed of simple propositions.

EXAMPLE 2. For each of the propositions in Example 1, determine whether it is a simple

or compound proposition. If it is a compound proposition, identify the simple components.
Solution. The propositions p, r, t, and u are all simple propositions. On the other hand, the
following are compound propositions.
p1: It is not the case that √ 2 is a rational number.
p2: Either logic is fun and interesting, or it is boring,
p3: If you study hard, then you will get good grades.
p4: If you are more than 60 years old, then you are entitled to a Senior Citizen’s card,
and if you are entitled to a Senior Citizen’s card, then you are more than 60 years
old.
Furthermore, we can determine the simple propositions that make up the propositions p1,
p2, p3, and p4. We do so in the following table.
 Proposition Simple Components
p1. r: √ 2 is a rational number.
f: Logic is fun .
p2. i: Logic is interesting.
b: Logic is boring.
p3. h: You study hard
g: You get good grades
p4. d: You can drive.
l: You have a driver’s license.

Then the compound proposition may be expressed as follows:

p1: not r.
p2: f and i, or b.
p3: if h, then g.
p4: (if d, then l) and (if l, then d)

Remark the compound propositions will be revisited more closely in the next meeting.

Activity 2. For each proposition in activity 1, identify whether it is a simple or compound

proposition. If it is a compound proposition, identify its primitive components.

Group work.
In the explore activity, each of you was asked to provide an argument for or against a
statement of their choice. Each of you will determine whether each sentence in your
argument is a proposition. You should also identify whether it is simple or compound, if it is
a compound proposition, you should also identify its simple components.
Formalize the following arguments and verify whether they are correct:

• “If Carlo won the competition, then either Mario came second or Sergio came third.
Sergio didn’t come third. Thus, if Mario didn’t come second, then Carlo didn’t win the
competition.”

• “If Carlo won the competition, then either Mario came second or Sergio came third.
Mario didn’t come second. Thus, if Carlo won the competition, then Sergio didn’t
come third.”

• “If Carlo won the competition, then Mario came second and Sergio came third.
Mario didn’t come second. Thus Carlo didn’t win the competition.”

• “If Carlo won the competition, then, if Mario came second then Sergio came third.
Mario didn’t come second. Thus, either Carlo won or Sergio arrived third”

• “If you play and you study you’ll pass the exams, while if you play and don’t study
you won’t pass. Thus, if you play, either you study and you’ll pass the exams, or you
don’t study and you won’t pass.”