ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

Roxas Campus
Rang-ayan, Roxas, Isabela

Mathematics in the Modern World

MODULE 8:
The Logic of Statements

I. Introduction
One area of mathematics that has its roots deep in philosophy is the study of
logic. As you indulge yourselves in this course, you will be learning the language and use
of logic.

II. Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, you should be able to
a. define logic and its branches;
b. determine and distinguish statements or propositions with not propositions;
c. transform a statement into logical symbols;
d. have mastery on the rules in connectives and apply them in truth tables; and
e. construct truth tables for logical statements.

III. Learning Content

LOGIC
Definition: It Is the study of formal reasoning based upon statements or propositions.

BRANCHES OF LOGIC
Logic has frequently been defined as the art and science of correct thinking Like other
sciences, logic guides a person to investigate, to discover and to systematize body of
knowledge. As an art, logic helps to direct reason itself, the products of which are all intellectual
in nature. Some logicians consider the discipline as the Ars Artium or Art of Arts

There are three branches of logic

1) Deductive Logic
This is a logic based on syllogism to present philosophical arguments in orderly form.
This is sometimes called the Syllogistic Logic.
Aristotle, the father of logic, was the first philosopher to study the subject scientifically
or to construct a complete system of logic. He wrote six works on logic that were later
gathered together under the title of ORGANON or "Instrument" (of knowledge)

2) Inductive Logic
A branch of logic that derives a general, all-encompassing statement from a limited
number of particular facts is the inductive logic Sir Francis Bacon first published in 1607 the
first formal discussion of inductive logic
 3) Symbolic Logic/Mathematical Logic
Symbolic logic uses exacting formal methods to achieve precision and objectivity in
explaining what it is to be logical in argument and reasoning It concentrates on the
explanation and development of proof and on the nature of formal system used in
constructing proofs

Gottlob Frege, a German mathematical philosopher, is considered as the father of

symbolic logic. Two noted works however are attributed to George Boole's The Mathematical
Analysis of Logic and De Morgan's Formal Logic in 1840s:

Symbolic logic is very useful in Mathematics to prove theorems and in Computer

Science to develop programs and prove that those programs do what they are expected to
do.

There are also two kinds of symbolic logic:

a) Propositional Logic is that area of logic which deals with the truth and falsity of statements.
b) First Order Predicate Logic (FOPL) is that part of logic which does not only deal with the
form of the sentences, but also with their content. The language of FOPL is most commonly
used in knowledge representation in Artificial Intelligence that is one of the special areas in
Computer Science

STATEMENTS (Proposition)
Definition: It is a declarative statement having truth value which is either true or false, but
not simultaneously.

Consider the statement “Two is both even and prime number”. This is an example of
proposition because we all know that it is true. The statement “five is divisible by 10” is also a
proposition because its truth value is false. Moreover, “Do you need to pass this subject?” is
not a proposition. What do you think the reason behind?

Let’s try your understanding of propositions. Which set contains examples of propositions?
Set A Set B
a. Joshua is a mathematics major. a. Are you a math major?
b. Today is Friday. b. Give me that book!
c. 2x - 8 = 0 when x = 4 c. 2x = 10
d. 3 > 2 d. Yes! I passed the battery exam.

The set that contains propositions is set A. In what way can you distinguish propositions to
not-propositions?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
SYMBOLS FOR STATEMENTS
It is conventional to use lower case letters such as p, q, r, or s to represent logical statements.
Referring to the statements listed in set A above, let
P: Joshua is a mathematics major
q: Today is Friday.
r: 2x - 8 = 0 when x = 4
s: 3 > 2

Exercise. Try to make propositions using the letters of your first name.

NEGATION
Definition: If p is a statement, the negation of p, denoted by ~ p (not p), is another statement
that is exactly the opposite of p.

Example: q: Today is Friday.

~q: Today is not Friday.
On any given day, if q is true then ~q will be false; if q is false, then ~q will be true.

In negating a statement, “not” is usually used. We can also use term that is an opposite of the
word in the statement. Let’s consider the statement “Ten is an even number”. The negation of
this statement without using the word “not” is “Ten is an odd number”. Notice that even and
odd are not the same but they are opposite to each to other.

Exercise: Try to negate the following statements.

1. Five is a natural number.
2. Earth belongs to Milky Way Galaxy.
3. There are 360 days in a year.
4. Isabela is located in the Cagayan Valley Region.
5. Eight equals to two times four.

Fact: A statement p and its negation ~p will always have opposite truth values; it is impossible
to conceive of a situation in which a statement and its negation will have the same truth value.

TRUTH TABLE
A truth table is a diagram in rows and columns showing how the truth or falsity of a proposition
varies with that of its components. It allows us to analyze and compare compound logic
statements.

We will use this table later on as you proceed in logical connectives.

THE BASIC RULES FOR CONSTRUCTING A TRUTH TABLE FOR A COMPOUND STATEMENT

1. The number of rows in the truth table depends upon the number of basic variables in the
compound statement. To determine the number of rows required, count the number of
basic variables in the statement, but don't re-count multiple occurrences of a variable.
1 variable---2 rows
 2 variables--4 rows
3 variables--8 rows
4 variables--16 rows and so forth.

2. The number of columns in a truth table depends upon the number of logical connectives
in the statement. The following guidelines are usually reliable.

A. There will be one column for each basic variable; and

B. To determine the number of other columns, count the number of logical
connectives in the statement; do re-count multiple occurrences of the same
connective. The “~” symbol counts as a logical connective.

3. The beginning columns are filled in so as to take into account every possible combination
of the basic variables being true or false. Each row represents one of the possible
combinations.

4. In order to fill in any other column in the truth table, you must refer to a previous column
or columns.

LOGICAL CONNECTIVES
The words "and", "or", "but", "if...then" are examples of logical connectives. They are words
that can be used to connect two or more simple statements to form a more complicated
compound statement.

Examples of compound statements:

"If I am a math major, then I am taking math class.”
"I love English class but I am not an English major.”

Give at least three examples of compound statements related to COVID-19:

1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________

LOGICAL CONNECTIVES

1. CONJUNCTION
Definition: If p and q are statements, their conjunction is the statement “p and q” denoted by
p  q . In order for any statement of the form “ p  q ” to be true, both p and q must be true.

Example: “Mayon Volcano is in Albay and Chocolate Hill is in Isabela” is a false statement.

The word “but” is also a conjunction. It is sometimes used to precede a negative phrase.
Example: “I've fallen and I can't get up" means the same as "I've fallen but I can't get up." In
either case, if p is "I've fallen" and q is "I can get up" the conjunction above is symbolized as
p ~ q .
Now let’s determine the truth values of the connective conjunction. Let’s use two variables p
and q. Note that 2 variables will have 4 rows. This means that the variables have 4 combinations
of being true or false. Thus we have

P q pq
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

2. DISJUNCTION
Definition: If p and q are statements, their disjunction is the statement “p or q” denoted by
p q . In order for a statement of the form p q to be true, at least one of its two parts must
be true. The only time a disjunction is false is when both parts (both “components”) are false.

Example: “Rizal is a man or 1 + 3 = 2” is a true statement. Let p is “Rizal is a man” which is a

true statement and q is “1 + 3 = 2” is a false statement. The statement p q which implies
T  F is indeed a True statement.

P q p q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

3. CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS
The proposition p  q is called a conditional statement. In p  q , p is called the hypothesis,
or premise, or antecedent and q is called the conclusion or consequence. The conditional
statement p  q is FALSE, when p (hypothesis) is true and q (conclusion) is false.

p q pq
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

Other ways to express a conditional statement p  q are as follow:

“if p, then q”, “p is sufficient for q”, “q if p”, “q is necessary for p”,
“p only if q”, “ q whenever p” “q when p” “q follows from p”

You can form some new conditional statements from the implication p  q .
The proposition q  p is called a converse of p  q .
The proposition of ~ q ~ p is called the contrapositive of p  q .
The proposition ~ p ~ q is called the inverse of p  q .
Example: Consider the statement “If 3 is not divisible by 2, then 3 is not an even number.”
p  q

Equivalent statement: 3 is not divisible by 2 is sufficient for 3 is not an even number.

Equivalent statement: 3 is not an even number is necessary for 3 is not divisible by 2.
Equivalent statement: 3 is not an even number whenever 3 is not divisible by 2.
Converse ( q  p ): If 3 is not an even number, then 3 is not divisible by 2.
Contrapositive ( ~ q ~ p ): If 3 is an even number, then 3 is divisible by 2.
Inverse ( ~ p ~ q ): 3 is divisible by 2 only if 3 is an even number.

4. BICONDITIONAL STATEMENTS.
A proposition p  q , read as “p if and only if”, becomes TRUE when both p and q have the
same truth value and it is FALSE otherwise.

p q r pq qr
T T T T T
T T F T F
T F T F F
T F F F T
F T T F T
F T F F F
F F T T F
F F F T T

Illustrative Examples:
1. Suppose p is true, r is true, s is false. Find the truth value of (~sp)  (rs)
We substitute first the truth value of each statement:
(~F  T)  (T  F)
Then use the rules in logical connectives:
(T  T)  (T  F)
TF
T

Thus, the truth value of (~sp)  (rs) is TRUE.

2. Suppose p is false, s is false, r is true. Find the truth value of ~[(sp)  r]

~[(F  F)  T]
~(F  T)
~F
T

Thus, the truth value of ~[(sp)  r] is TRUE.

TAUTOLOGY, CONTRADICTION AND CONTINGENCY

1. TAUTOLOGY – if a proposition has truth values which are all true then that proposition
is a tautology.

2. CONTRADICTION – if a proposition has truth values which are all false then that
proposition is a contradiction.

3. CONTINGENCY – if a proposition has truth values which are neither tautology nor
contradiction then that proposition is a contingency.

Illustrative Example:
Construct the truth table for p  q  ~ p  and determine whether the proposition is
a tautology, contradiction or contingency.

p q ~p q ~ p p  q  ~ p 
T T F F F
T F F F F
F T T T T
F F T F T
Thus, the proposition p  q  ~ p  is a contingency.

Assessment Task
1. Select the statement that is the negation of "Today is Monday and it isn't raining."
A. Today isn't Monday and it isn't raining.
B. Today isn't Monday or it isn't raining.
C. Today isn't Monday or it is raining.
D. Today isn't Monday and it is raining.
E. Today is Friday and it is snowing.
2. Select the statement that is the negation of "I'm careful or I make mistakes."
A. I'm not careful and I don't make mistakes.
B. I'm not careful or I don't make mistakes.
C. I'm not careful and I make mistakes.
D. I'm not careful or I make mistakes.
E. I never make mistakes.
3. Select the statement that is the negation of "I walk or I chew gum."
A. I don't walk and I chew gum.
B. I don't walk or I chew gum.
C. I don't walk and I don't chew gum.
D. I don't walk or I don't chew gum.
E. I walk until I step on chewed gum.

4. Suppose p is the statement 'I play softball' and q is the statement 'The moon is 250,000
miles from Earth.' Select the correct statement corresponding to the symbols ~pq.
A. I don't play softball and the moon is 250,000 miles from Earth.
B. It is not the case that either I play softball or the moon is 250,000 miles from Earth.
 C. I don't play softball or the moon is 250,000 miles from Earth.
D. It is not the case that both I play softball and the moon is 250,000 miles from Earth.

5. Suppose p is false, q is false, s is true. Find the truth value of (sp)(q~s)

6. Suppose p is true, q is true, r is false, s is false. Find the truth value of (sp)(~r~s)
7. Suppose p is true, q is true, s is false. Find the truth value of (~sp)  (q~s)
8. Suppose p is false, s is false, r is true. Find the truth value of ~[(sp)  ~r]
9. Suppose p is false, q is true, s is true. Find the truth value of (p~q)  ~s
10. Suppose p is false, q is true, r is false. Find the truth value of (p~q)  r
11. Suppose p is true, q is true, r is true, s is false. Find the truth value of (~ps)  (sr)

12-17: Make a truth table for the given expression.

12. (~pq)  (p~q) 13. (p~q)  r 14. ~[(p~q)  ~p]
15. (pq)  ~(~qr) 16. (~pq)  (~pq) 17. ~[(pq)  ~q]

18 – 21: In each case, decide whether the statement is true or false.

18. True or false: (~pq)  (~pq) ~[(pq)  ~q]
19. True or false: (~pq)  (p~q) is a tautology.
20. True or false: (~pq)  (~pq) (~pq)
21. True or false: (pq)  ~(~qr) (p~q)  r
22. Write the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of the following statements.
a. If my calculator has no syntax error, then it will run.
b. If today is Sunday, then I will attend my dancing classes.
c. If it rains, then I will not go to the park.
d. If it is hot outside, then you will buy an ice cream.
e. If you read the newspaper every day, then you will be informed.
23. Determine whether each of the following propositional forms are tautologies,
contradictions or contingencies.
a. (p  q)  ~ p  p  ~ q 
b. (p ~ q)  (p  q)
c. (~ p  q)  (p ~ q)
d. (p ~ p)  q
e. p  (p  q)  q
f. p  q   p  q 
g. p  ~ ~ p 
h. p  ~ p 
i. p ~ p   q
j. p  q   q  p 

IV. Teaching and Learning Activities

1. Use of Modules
2. Sharing of ideas
3. Problem solving
4. Assignment
V. Recommended Learning Materials and Resources for Supplementary Reading
1. Other related books
2. Youtube.com
VI. Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM) Adopted
1. Blended Distance Learning
2. The following online platforms will be utilized for online class: FB groups, google meet
and messenger
3. Utilizing designated Pick-up points or Drop-off point for the module and for submission
of requirements for remote learning.

VII. Assessment Tasks

1. Quizzes
2. Problem sets

VIII. References
1. Aguinaldo, Clemente M. Logic and Set Theory: Teaching Guide. PNU North Luzon.