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Assignment 4

This assignment covers key concepts in modern mathematics like logical operators and truth tables. It contains 14 questions asking students to complete truth tables, prove logical equivalences, identify contrapositives and converses of conditional statements, and apply logical reasoning. The concepts covered are fundamental to mathematical thinking and problem solving.

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apoorva singh
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44 views

Assignment 4

This assignment covers key concepts in modern mathematics like logical operators and truth tables. It contains 14 questions asking students to complete truth tables, prove logical equivalences, identify contrapositives and converses of conditional statements, and apply logical reasoning. The concepts covered are fundamental to mathematical thinking and problem solving.

Uploaded by

apoorva singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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KEITH DEVLIN: Introduction to Mathematical Thinking (Fall 2012) ASSIGNMENT 4

This assignment is fairly long, but it deals with a number of (related) crucial notions that pervade modern
mathematics. It’s impossible to progress in advanced mathematics without mastering these ideas. You
probably won’t be able to get it all done before the next lecture, but keep coming back to it until you
have at least tried all the questions. The concepts and methods covered by this assignment are the key
to mathematical thinking, and work on this one assignment will yield wide-ranging benefits not just in
mathematics but in many others parts of your life.

1. Build a truth table to prove the claim I made earlier that φ ⇔ ψ is true if φ and ψ are both true
or both false, and φ ⇔ ψ is false if exactly one of φ, ψ is true and the other false. (To constitute
a proof, your table should have columns that show how the entries for φ ⇔ ψ are derived, one
operator at a time.)
2. Build a truth table to show that
(φ ⇒ ψ) ⇔ (¬φ ∨ ψ)
is true for all truth values of φ and ψ. A statement whose truth values are all T is called a logical
validity, or sometimes a tautology.
3. Build a truth table to show that
(φ 6⇒ ψ) ⇔ (φ ∧ ¬ψ)
is a tautology.
4. The ancient Greeks formulated a basic rule of reasoning for proving mathematical statements.
Called modus ponens, it says that if you know φ and you know φ ⇒ ψ, then you can conclude ψ.

(a) Construct a truth table for the logical statement

[φ ∧ (φ ⇒ ψ)] ⇒ ψ

(b) Explain how the truth table you obtain demonstrates that modus ponens is a valid rule of
inference.
5. [This question has a long set-up. The question itself is the very last sentence. TAKE YOUR TIME.]
One way to prove that

¬(φ ∧ ψ) and (¬φ) ∨ (¬ψ)

are equivalent is to show they have the same truth table:

* *
φ ψ φ∧ψ ¬(φ ∧ ψ) ¬φ ¬ψ (¬φ) ∨ (¬ψ)
T T T F F F F
T F F T F T T
F T F T T F T
F F F T T T T

Since the two columns marked * are identical, we know that the two expressions are equivalent.
Thus, negation has the affect that it changes ∨ into ∧ and changes ∧ into ∨. An alternative approach
way to prove this is to argue directly with the meaning of the first statement:
1. φ ∧ ψ means both φ and ψ are true.
2. Thus ¬(φ ∧ ψ) means it is not the case that both φ and ψ are true.
3. If they are not both true, then at least one of φ, ψ must be false.

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4. This is clearly the same as saying that at least one of ¬φ and ¬ψ is true. (By the definition of
negation).
5. By the meaning of or, this can be expressed as (¬φ) ∨ (¬ψ).
Provide an analogous logical argument to show that ¬(φ ∨ ψ) and (¬φ) ∧ (¬ψ) are equivalent.

6. By a denial of a statement φ we mean any statement equivalent to ¬φ. Give a useful (and hence
natural sounding) denial of each of the following statements.
(a) 34,159 is a prime number.
(b) Roses are red and violets are blue.
(c) If there are no hamburgers, I’ll have a hot-dog.
(d) Fred will go but he will not play.
(e) The number x is either negative or greater than 10.
(f) We will win the first game or the second.
7. Show that φ ⇔ ψ is equivalent to (¬φ) ⇔ (¬ψ).

8. Construct truth tables to illustrate the following:


(a) φ ⇔ ψ
(b) φ ⇒ (ψ ∨ θ)
9. Use truth tables to prove that the following are equivalent:

(a) ¬(φ ⇒ ψ) and φ ∧ (¬ψ)


(b) φ ⇒ (ψ ∧ θ) and (φ ⇒ ψ) ∧ (φ ⇒ θ)
(c) (φ ∨ ψ) ⇒ θ and (φ ⇒ θ) ∧ (ψ ⇒ θ)
10. Verify the equivalences in (b) and (c) in the previous question by means of a logical argument. (So,
in the case of (b), for example, you must show that assuming φ and deducing ψ ∧ θ is the same as
both deducing ψ from φ and θ from φ.)
11. Use truth tables to prove the equivalence of φ ⇒ ψ and (¬ψ) ⇒ (¬φ).
(¬ψ) ⇒ (¬φ) is called the contrapositive of φ ⇒ ψ. The logical equivalence of a conditional and its
contrapositive means that one way to prove an implication it is to verify the contrapositive. This
is a common form of proof in mathematics that we’ll encounter later.
12. Write down the contrapositives of the following statements:
(a) If two rectangles are congruent, they have the same area.
(b) If a triangle with sides a, b, c (c largest) is right-angled, then a2 + b2 = c2 .
(c) If 2n − 1 is prime, then n is prime.
(d) If the Yuan rises, the Dollar will fall.
13. It is important not to confuse the contrapositive of a conditional φ ⇒ ψ with its converse ψ ⇒ φ.
Use truth tables to show that the contrapositive and the converse of φ ⇒ ψ are not equivalent.

14. Write down the converses of the four statements in question 12.

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OPTIONAL PROBLEMS

1. Express the combinator

φ unless ψ

in terms of the standard logical combinators.


2. Show that for any two statements φ and ψ either φ ⇒ ψ or its converse is true (or both). This is
another reminder that the conditional is not the same as implication.
3. Let ∨˙ denote the ‘exclusive or’ that corresponds to the English expression “either one or the other
but not both”. Construct a truth table for this connective.
4. Express φ ∨˙ ψ it terms of the basic combinators ∧, ∨, ¬.
5. Give, if possible, an example (one example in each case) of a true conditional sentence for which
(a) the converse is true.
(b) the converse is false.
(c) the contrapositive is true.
(d) the contrapositive is false.
6. Mod-2 arithmetic has just the two numbers 0 and 1 and follows the usual rules of arithmetic together
with the additional rule 1 + 1 = 0. (It is the arithmetic the takes place in a single bit location in a
digital computer.) Complete the following table:

M N M ×N M +N
1 1 ? ?
1 0 ? ?
0 1 ? ?
0 0 ? ?

7. In the table you obtained in the above exercise, interpret 1 as T and 0 as F and view M, N as
denoting statements.
(a) Which of the logical combinators ∧, ∨ corresponds to × ?
(b) Which logical combinator corresponds to + ?
(c) Does ¬ correspond to − (minus)?
8. Repeat the above exercise, but interpret 0 as T and 1 as F. What conclusions can you draw?
9. The following puzzle was introduced by the psychologist Peter Wason in 1966, and is one of the
most famous subject tests in the psychology of reasoning. Most people get it wrong. (So you have
been warned!)
Four cards are placed on the table in front of you. You are told (truthfully) that each has a letter
printed on one side and a digit on the other, but of course you can only see one face of each. What
you see is:

B E 4 7

You are now told that the cards you are looking at were chosen to follow the rule “If there is a
vowel on one side, then there is an odd number on the other side.” What is the least number of
cards you have to turn over to verify this rule, and which cards do you in fact have to turn over?
10. Let m, n denote any two natural numbers. Prove that mn is odd iff m and n are odd.

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11. With reference to the previous question, is it true that mn is even iff m and n are even? Prove your
answer.
12. You are in charge of a party where there are young people. Some are drinking alcohol, others soft
drinks. Some are old enough to drink alcohol legally, others are under age. You are responsible for
ensuring that the drinking laws are not broken, so you have asked each person to put his or her
photo ID on the table. At one table are four young people. One person has a beer, another has a
Coke, but their IDs happen to be face down so you cannot see their ages. You can, however, see the
IDs of the other two people. One is under the drinking age, the other is above it. Unfortunately,
you are not sure if they are drinking Seven-up or vodka and tonic. Which IDs and/or drinks do you
need to check to make sure that no one is breaking the law?

13. Compare the logical structure of the previous question with Wason’s problem (Optional Problem 9
above). Comment on your answers to those two questions. In particular, identify any logical rules
you used in solving each problem, say which one was easier, and why you felt it was easier.

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