Learning Outcome

Students should be able to:

 Understand the rules of logic and know how to
construct correct mathematical arguments
 Distinguish between valid and invalid mathematical
argument
 Solve related problems of logic
 Discuss applications of logic to computer science
Outline
 Propositional Logic
 The Language of Propositions
 Applications
 Logical Equivalences
 Predicate Logic
 The Language of Quantifiers
 Logical Equivalences
 Rules of Inference
Propositions
 A proposition is a declarative sentence that is either True or
False.
 Examples of propositions:
a) The Moon is made of green cheese. (F)
b) Trenton is the capital of New Jersey. (T)
c) 1 + 0 = 1 (T)
d) 0 + 0 = 2 (F)
 Examples that are not propositions.
a) Sit down!
b) What time is it?
c) x + 1 = 2
d) x + y = z
Propositional Logic
 Constructing Propositions
 Propositional Variables: p, q, r, s, …
 The proposition that is always true is denoted by T and
the proposition that is always false is denoted by F.
 Compound Propositions; constructed from logical
connectives and other propositions
 Negation ¬
 Conjunction ∧
 Disjunction ∨
 Implication →
 Biconditional ↔
Compound Propositions: Negation
 The negation of a proposition p is denoted by ¬ p and
has this truth table:
p ¬p
T F
F T

 Example: If p denotes “The earth is round.”, then ¬ p

denotes “It is not the case that the earth is round,” or
more simply “The earth is not round.”
Conjunction
 The conjunction of propositions p and q is denoted
by p ∧ q and has this truth table:
p q p∧q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

 Example: If p denotes “I am at home.” and q denotes

“It is raining.” then p ∧q denotes “I am at home and it
is raining.”
Disjunction
 The disjunction of propositions p and q is denoted
by p ∨q and has this truth table:

p q p ∨q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

 Example: If p denotes “I am at home.” and q denotes

“It is raining.” then p ∨q denotes “I am at home or it is
raining.”
The Connective Or in English
 In English “or” has two distinct meanings.
 “Inclusive Or” - In the sentence “Students who have taken CS202 or
Math120 may take this class,” we assume that students need to have taken
one of the prerequisites, but may have taken both. This is the meaning of
disjunction. For p ∨q to be true, either one or both of p and q must be true.
 “Exclusive Or” - When reading the sentence “Soup or salad comes with this
entrée,” we do not expect to be able to get both soup and salad. This is the
meaning of Exclusive Or (Xor). In p ⊕ q , one of p and q must be true, but
not both. The truth table for ⊕ is:

p q p ⊕q
T T F
T F T
F T T
F F F
Implication
 If p and q are propositions, then p →q is a conditional statement or
implication which is read as “if p, then q ” and has this truth table:
p q p →q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

 Example: If p denotes “I am at home.” and q denotes “It is

raining.” then p →q denotes “If I am at home then it is raining.”
 In p →q , p is the hypothesis (antecedent or premise) and q is
the conclusion (or consequence).
Understanding Implication
 In p →q there does not need to be any connection
between the antecedent or the consequent.
 The “meaning” of p →q depends only on the truth
values of p and q.
 These implications are perfectly fine, but would not be
used in ordinary English.
 “If the moon is made of green cheese, then I have more
money than Bill Gates. ”
 “If the moon is made of green cheese then I’m on
welfare.”
 “If 1 + 1 = 3, then your grandma wears combat boots.”
Understanding Implication (cont..)
 A useful way to understand the truth value of a
conditional statement is to think of an obligation or a
contract.
 “If I am elected, then I will lower taxes.”
 “If you get 100% on the final, then you will get an A.”
 If the politician is elected and does not lower taxes,
then the voters can say that he or she has broken the
campaign pledge.
Converse, Contrapositive, and Inverse
 From p →q we can form new conditional statements .
 q →p is the converse of p →q
 ¬ q → ¬ p is the contrapositive of p →q
 ¬ p → ¬ q is the inverse of p →q
Biconditional
 If p and q are propositions, then we can form the biconditional
proposition p ↔q , read as “p if and only if q” .
 The biconditional p ↔q denotes the proposition with this truth
table:
p q p ↔q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

 If p denotes “I am at home.” and q denotes “It is raining.” then

p ↔q denotes “I am at home if and only if it is raining.”
Example Truth Table
 Construct a truth table for
p q r r pq p  q → r
T T T F T F
T T F T T T
T F T F T F
T F F T T T
F T T F T F
F T F T T T
F F T F F T
F F F T F T
Equivalent Propositions
 Two propositions are equivalent if they always have the
same truth value.
 Example: Show using a truth table that p →q is
equivalent to the contrapositive ¬ q → ¬ p
Solution:
p q ¬p ¬q p →q ¬q → ¬ p
T T F F T T
T F F T F F
F T T F T T
F F T T T T
Using a Truth Table to Show Non-
Equivalence
Example: Show using truth tables that neither the
converse nor inverse of an implication are not
equivalent to the implication.
Solution:
p q ¬p ¬q p →q ¬ p →¬ q q→p
T T F F T T T
T F F T F T T
F T T F T F F
F F T T T T T
Precedence of Logical Operators
Operator Precedence
 1
 2
 3
→ 4
 5

p q → r is equivalent to (p q) → r
If the intended meaning is p (q → r )
then parentheses must be used.
Applications of Propositional Logic
 Translating English to Propositional Logic
 System Specifications
 Boolean Searching
 Logic Circuits
Applications of Propositional Logic
 Logic has many important applications in computer
science and numerous other disciplines
 For example:
 Logic is used in the specification of software and
hardware
 Rule of logic can be used to design computer circuits, to
construct computer programs, to verify the correctness
of programs, and to build expert systems
 Logic can be used to analyze and solve many familiar
puzzles
Translating English Sentences
 English and other human language is often ambiguous
 Steps to convert an English sentence into a
propositional logic
 Identify atomic propositions and represent using
propositional variables.
 Determine appropriate logical connectives
 “If I go to Harry’s or to the country, I will not go
shopping.”
 p: I go to Harry’s If p or q then not r.
 q: I go to the country.
 r: I will go shopping.
Example
Problem: Translate the following sentence into
propositional logic:
“You can access the Internet from campus only if you are
a computer science major or you are not a freshman.”
Solution: Let a, c, and f represent respectively “You
can access the internet from campus,” “You are a
computer science major,” and “You are a freshman.”
a→ (c ∨ ¬ f )
System Specifications
 Translating sentences from natural language into logical
expressions is an essential part of specifying both hardware and
software systems
 System specification should be consistent, that is they should
not contain conflicting requirements that could be used to
derive a contradiction.
 When specifications are not consistent, there would be no way to
develop a system that satisfies all specifications

Example: Express in propositional logic:

“The automated reply cannot be sent when the file system is full”
Solution: One possible solution: Let p denote “The automated
reply can be sent” and q denote “The file system is full.”
q→ ¬ p
Consistent System Specifications
Definition: A list of propositions is consistent if it is possible to
assign truth values to the proposition variables so that each
proposition is true.
Exercise: Are these specifications consistent?
 “The diagnostic message is stored in the buffer or it is retransmitted.”
 “The diagnostic message is not stored in the buffer.”
 “If the diagnostic message is stored in the buffer, then it is retransmitted.”
Solution: Let
p : “The diagnostic message is stored in the buffer.”
q : “The diagnostic message is retransmitted”

The specification can be written as: p ∨ q, ¬ p , p→ q.

When p is false and q is true all three statements are true. So the specification is
consistent.
 What if “The diagnostic message is not retransmitted is added.”
Solution: Now we are adding ¬ q and there is no satisfying assignment. So the
specification is not consistent.
Web Page Searching
Most Web search engines support Boolean searching techniques, which
usually can help find Web pages about particular subjects.
Eg. Use Boolean searching to find Web pages about universities in New
Mexico.
 Look for pages matching NEW AND MEXICO AND UNIVERSITIES.
 The results of this search will include those pages that contain the three
words NEW, MEXICO, and UNIVERSITIES. This will include all of the
pages of interest, together with others such as a page about new
universities in Mexico.

Note: In Google, and many other search engines, the word “AND” is not needed, although it is understood,
because all search terms are included by default. These search engines also support the use of quotation
marks to search for specific phrases. So, it may be more effective to search for pages matching “New Mexico”
AND UNIVERSITIES.)
Web Page Searching
Eg. Find pages that deal with universities in New Mexico or
Arizona.
 Search for pages matching (NEW AND MEXICO OR
ARIZONA) AND UNIVERSITIES.
 (Note: Here the AND operator takes precedence over the
OR operator. Also, in Google, the terms used for this search
would be NEW MEXICO OR ARIZONA.)
 The results of this search will include all pages that contain
the word UNIVERSITIES and either both the words NEW
and MEXICO or the word ARIZONA.
 Again, pages besides those of interest will be listed.
Web Page Searching
Eg. Find Web pages that deal with universities in Mexico (and
not New Mexico).
 Look for pages matching MEXICO AND UNIVERSITIES,
but because the results of this search will include pages
about universities in New Mexico, as well as universities in
Mexico, it might be better to search for pages matching
(MEXICO AND UNIVERSITIES) NOT NEW.
 The results of this search include pages that contain both
the words MEXICO and UNIVERSITIES but do not contain
the word NEW.
Note: (In Google, and many other search engines, the word “NOT” is replaced by the symbol “-”. In
Google, the terms used for this last search would be MEXICO UNIVERSITIES -NEW.)
Logic Circuits

 Electronic circuits; each input/output signal can be viewed as a 0 or 1.

 0 represents False
 1 represents True
 Complicated circuits are constructed from three basic circuits called gates.

 The inverter (NOT gate)takes an input bit and produces the negation of that bit.
 The OR gate takes two input bits and produces the value equivalent to the disjunction of the two
bits.
 The AND gate takes two input bits and produces the value equivalent to the conjunction of the
two bits.
 More complicated digital circuits can be constructed by combining these basic circuits to
produce the desired output given the input signals by building a circuit for each piece of
the output expression and then combining them. For example:
Tautologies, Contradictions, and
Contingencies
 A tautology is a proposition which is always true.
 Example: p ∨¬p
 A contradiction is a proposition which is always false.
 Example: p ∧¬p
 A contingency is a proposition which is neither a
tautology nor a contradiction, such as p

P ¬p p ∨¬p p ∧¬p
T F T F
F T T F
Logically Equivalent
 Two compound propositions p and q are logically equivalent if p↔q
is a tautology.
 We write this as p⇔q or as p≡q where p and q are compound
propositions.
 Two compound propositions p and q are equivalent if and only if the
columns in a truth table giving their truth values agree.
 This truth table show ¬ p ∨ q is equivalent to p → q.

p q ¬p ¬p ∨ q p→ q
T T F T T
T F F F F
F T T T T
F F T T T
 De Morgan’s Laws
Augustus De Morgan

1806-1871

This truth table shows that De Morgan’s Second Law holds.

p q ¬p ¬q (p∨q) ¬(p∨q) ¬p∧¬q

T T F F T F F
T F F T T F F
F T T F T F F
F F T T F T T
Key Logical Equivalences
 Identity Laws: ,

 Domination Laws: ,

 Idempotent laws: ,

 Double Negation Law:

 Negation Laws: ,
Key Logical Equivalences (cont)
 Commutative Laws: ,

 Associative Laws:

 Distributive Laws:

 Absorption Laws:
More Logical Equivalences
Equivalence Proofs
Example: Show that
is logically equivalent to
Solution:
Tautology
Example: Show that
is a tautology.
Solution:
( p  q ) → ( p  q )  ( p  q)  ( p  q )
 (  p  q )  ( p  q )
 (  p  p )  ( q  q )
T T
T
Example
s: Phyllis goes out for a walk.
t: The moon is out.
u: It is snowing.
( t  u ) → s : If the moon is out and it is not snowing, then
Phyllis goes out for a walk.

If it is snowing and the moon is not out, then Phyllis

will not go out for a walk. ( u  t ) → s
Example: Logical Equivalence

p q p p  q p→q
0 0 1 1 1
0 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 0
1 1 0 1 1

s1  s2
logically equivalent
Example
Negate and simplify the compound statement
( p  q) → r

Solution:
[( p  q ) → r ]  [  ( p  q )  r ] 
[( p  q )  r ]   ( p  q )  r 
( p  q )  r
Simplification Compound Statement

( p  q )  (p  q ) Demorgan's Law

 ( p  q )  (p  q ) Law of Double Negation
 ( p  q )  ( p  q ) Distributive Law
 p  ( q  q )
 p  F0  p Inverse Law and
Identity Law
Truth Table

p q pq pq p q p→q pq

0 0 0 0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 1 0 0

1 1 1 1 0 1 1