Scribd
Upload
20 views17 pages

04 - Predicate Logic - Predicates

This document discusses predicates and quantifiers in predicate logic. It defines predicates, their domains, and the difference between predicates and propositions. It also explains universal and existential quantifiers, quantifier negation, and logical equivalence rules for quantifiers such as De Morgan's law.

Uploaded by

pelembanancy24
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
20 views17 pages

04 - Predicate Logic - Predicates

This document discusses predicates and quantifiers in predicate logic. It defines predicates, their domains, and the difference between predicates and propositions. It also explains universal and existential quantifiers, quantifier negation, and logical equivalence rules for quantifiers such as De Morgan's law.

Uploaded by

pelembanancy24
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 17

ICT 2021: Computational Mathematics

Predicate Logic: Predicates


Lecture 4

Phyela Mbewe
LIS Department
University of Zambia
February 2023
Overview
▪ predicates
➢ meaning
➢ domain

▪ Quantifiers
➢ Universal quantifier
➢ Existential quantifier
➢ Quantifier negation
➢ Logical equivalence for quantifiers
ICT 2021 2
Predicate
▪ A predicate
➢ a function, takes a variable as an argument(input) and returns true or
false as output (based on the input)
For example:
Suppose P(x): x + 1 = 5 is a predicate

P(1): 1 + 1 = 5 is a proposition (true or false)

▪ Difference
➢ a proposition is not a function, it is a statement which either true or
false. It cannot include a variable
ICT 2021 3
Predicate & Proposition Difference
➢ a proposition is not a function, it is a statement which either true or
false. It cannot include a variable

➢ a predicate is a function, because it has a variable it isn’t definitively


true or false. It returns a true or false for each possible argument
• i.e. when the variable is a known value, a predicate will return a
proposition
Example 2:
Suppose P(x) is the predicate x - 2 = 7

then P(4) is the proposition “4 – 2 = 7” is a proposition (false)


P(9) is another proposition “9 – 2 = 7” (true)
ICT 2021 4
Predicate Domain
▪ A predicate’s domain:
➢ predicate variables are associated with a universe (or domain)
➢ the domain indicates the argument(input) values which are allowed
for that predicate

For example:

Suppose P(x) is a predicate, whereby the universe(domain) is {1,2,3}. In this case


P(1), P(2) & P(3) are the possible propositions

ICT 2021 5
Predicate Example (2 variables)
▪ 𝑷 𝒙, 𝒚 ∶ "𝒙 − 𝟓 = 𝒚" is a predicate

▪ Domain: given with the predicate


➢ 𝒙 is in {4,5,6,7}
➢ and 𝒚 is in {2,3,4}

▪ Then, certain propositions are possible:


➢ 𝑃 4, 3 ∶ 𝟒 − 5 = 𝟑 (false proposition)
➢ 𝑃 7, 2 ∶ 7 − 5 = 2 (true)

➢ 𝑃 4,9 : unknown, since 9 is not in the domain for variable 𝑦


ICT 2021 6
Predicate Exercise (2 variables)
▪ Given the predicate 𝑷 𝒙, 𝒚 ∶ "𝒙 + 𝒚 < 𝟏𝟓“ where the
domain is all positive integers. State whether the following
propositions are true or false

1. 𝑃 9, 3
True
2. 𝑃 11, 4 False
3. 𝑃 22, −10 Unknown
4. 𝑃 11, 10 False

note: number 3 is not a proposition (it is unknown since -10 is not in the domain
of all positive integers), pay attention to the domain when solving predicate problems
ICT 2021 7
Universal quantifier
▪ The symbol ∀ is called the universal quantifier
➢ it is read as “for all”
➢ means 𝑃(𝑥) is true for all possible 𝑥 values in the given domain (universe)

For example:

𝑃 𝑥 ∶ "𝑥 + 2 > 3"


for domain: {2,3,4}

∀ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) means “for all 𝑥 in {2,3,4}, 𝑥+2>3

➢ ∀ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) is true if 𝑃(𝑥) is true for every possible 𝑥


➢ ∀ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) is false if there is an 𝑥 for which 𝑃(𝑥) is false
ICT 2021 8
Universal quantifier (example)
▪ statements with ∀ (the universal quantifier) convert a predicate
into a proposition (true or false)
For example:

𝑷 𝒙 ∶ "𝒙 > 𝟏“
𝑩 𝒙 ∶ 𝒙 − 𝟐>𝟎
and Q 𝒙 ∶ "𝒙 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆“
for domain {2,3,4}

∀𝒙 𝑷 𝒙 →𝑸 𝒙 is read as for all 𝒙, if 𝑥 > 1 then 𝑥 is positive (true)

∀𝒙 𝑩 𝒙 ∧𝑸 𝒙 is read as for all 𝒙, 𝑥 − 2 > 0


and 𝑥 is positive (false, not true when 𝑥 is 2, see the domain)
ICT 2021 9
Existential quantifier
▪ The symbol ∃ is called the existential quantifier
➢ it is read as “there exists”
➢ means 𝑃(𝑥) is true for some 𝑥 in the given domain (universe)

For example:

𝑃 𝑥 ∶ "𝑥 + 1 > 3" for domain: {2,3,4}

∃ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) means “there exists an 𝑥 in {2,3,4} whereby 𝑥 + 1 > 3

➢ ∃𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) is true if 𝑃(𝑥) is true for at least one possible 𝑥


➢ ∃𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) is false if 𝑃(𝑥) is false for every 𝑥 value in the domain
ICT 2021 10
Existential quantifier (example)
▪ statements with ∃ convert a predicate into a proposition (true or
false)

Exercise:
Given that:
𝑷 𝒙 ∶ "𝒙 > 𝟏“
𝑩 𝒙 ∶ 𝒙 − 𝟐>𝟎
and Q 𝒙 ∶ "𝒙 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆“
for domain {3,4,5}

state whether the following are true or false:


1. ∀ 𝒙 𝑷 𝒙 → 𝑸 𝒙 (read as “for all 𝑥, if 𝑥 > 1 then 𝑥 is positive”)

2. ∃𝒙 𝑩 𝒙 ∧𝑸 𝒙
ICT 2021 11
Quantifier negation
▪ The symbol ¬ (negation operator)
➢ indicates the inverse of a given predicate
➢ or, indicates the inverse of a quantifier (∀ 𝑜𝑟 ∃)

𝑃 𝑥 ∶ "𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝐼𝐶𝑇 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡“


for domain: all students

Meaning:
∀ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) means “all students are ICT students”
∃ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) means “there exists a student that is an ICT student”

¬∀ 𝒙 𝑷(𝒙) means “not all students are ICT students”


∀ 𝒙 ¬𝑷(𝒙) means “all students are not ICT students”
ICT 2021 12
Quantifier negation – Example (cont.)

𝑃 𝑥 ∶ "𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝐼𝐶𝑇 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡“


𝑄 𝑥 : "𝑥 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝐶𝐴“
for domain: all students

Meaning:
∃𝒙(𝑷 𝒙 ∧𝑸 𝒙 )
means “there exists a student that is an ICT student and has a good CA”

¬∃ 𝒙 ( 𝑷 𝒙 ∧ 𝑸 𝒙 )
means “there is no student that is an ICT student and has a good CA”

∀𝒙(𝑷 𝒙 → 𝑸 𝒙 )
means “all students that are ICT students have a good CA”
(for all students, if the student is an ICT student, then the student has a good CA)
ICT 2021 13
Logical equivalence for quantifiers

𝑃 𝑥 ∶ "𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝐼𝐶𝑇 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡“


for domain: all students

Consider the following propositions

¬∀𝒙 𝑷 𝒙
means “not all students are ICT students”

∃ 𝒙 ¬𝑷 𝒙
means “there is(exists) a student who is not an ICT student”

Note: these 2 propositions have the same meaning

ICT 2021 14
Logical equivalence for quantifiers [2]
▪ De Morgan’s Law for quantifiers states that:
¬∀𝒙 𝑷 𝒙 ≡ ∃ 𝒙 ¬𝑷 𝒙

¬∃𝒙 𝑷 𝒙 ≡ ∀ 𝒙 ¬𝑷 𝒙

Guideline (from LHS to RHS)


i. move the negation to the predicate
ii. switch the ∀ to an ∃, (or switch ∃ to an ∀)

ICT 2021 15
De Morgan’s Law for quantifiers (example 2)
𝑃 𝑥 ∶ "𝑥 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝐶𝐴 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 10“
for domain: all students

¬∃𝒙 𝑷 𝒙 ≡ ∀ 𝒙 ¬𝑷 𝒙

Consider the following propositions

¬∃𝒙 𝑷 𝒙
means “there is no student that has a CA below 10”

∀𝒙 ¬𝑷 𝒙
means “all the students have a CA not below 10”
or “all the students have a CA which is not below 10”

Note:
ICT 2021these 2 propositions have the same logical meaning 16
Exercise
P 𝑥 : “𝑥 is a comedian”
Q 𝑥 : “𝑥 is funny”
for domain: all people

Using the given predicates, translate the following statements into


English/regular language

a) ∀𝑥 𝑃 𝑥 ∨ 𝑄 𝑥
b) ∀𝑥 𝑃 𝑥 → 𝑄 𝑥
c) ¬∃𝑥 ( 𝑃 𝑥 ∧ ¬𝑄 𝑥 )

ICT 2021 17

You might also like