7.

1 Propositions

Learning Competencies:
The learner will be able to a.) illustrate and symbolize propositions; b.) distinguish
between simple and compound propositions.

I GO!
A proposition is a declarative sentence that is either true or false, but not both. If a
proposition is true, then its truth value is true, denoted by T; otherwise, its truth value is false and
is denoted by F.
Simple and Compound Propositions
A simple proposition is a proposition that cannot be broken down any further into
other component propositions.
Example 1:
1. The Philippines is a country in Asia.
2. Blue is the world’s favorite color.
3. The capital of Japan is Tokyo.
4. The bag is black.
5. The t-shirt is XS in size.
On the other hand, a compound proposition is a proposition formed from simple
propositions using logical connections or some combination of logical connectors.

Example 2:
not p, p and q, p or q, if p then q, p iff q
1. The shoes are not black.
2. She is playing badminton, and she is singing her favorite song.
3. He dances, or he sings.
4. If Nena is a STEM student, she is in Senior High School.
5. It is Christmas if and only if it is December 25.
 Operations on Propositions

Learning Competencies:
The learner will be able to a.) perform the different types of operations on
propositions, b.) determine the truth values of propositions, and c.) illustrate the
different forms of conditional propositions.

I GO!
Given a proposition, its truth table shows all its possible truth values. In general, a truth
n
table involving n propositions has 2 rows.

Logical Operators/Connectors
A. Negation
The negation of a proposition is denoted by ~P: (read as ‘not p’) and is defined
through its truth table:
p ~P
T F
F T

Note: The negation of “all” and “no” is ‘some.’

Example 1:
p: The child is smart p : The child is not smart.
q: All children are smart. q : Some children are not smart.
r: No trees bear fruits. r : Some trees bear fruits.

B. Conjunction
The conjunction of propositions p and q is denoted by p q : (p and q) and is defined
through its truth table:
p q
T T
T F
F T
F F

The propositions p and q are called conjuncts.

Example 2: p: Christian is handsome. q: Rinhel is cute.
p q : Christian is handsome, and Rinhel is cute.

Note: ‘but,’ ‘even though,’ ‘yet,’ ‘although,’ and ‘while’ are flag conjunctions.
Consider the following:
Carlo is competitive and hardworking.
Carlo is competitive but hardworking.
Carlo is competitive yet hardworking.
Although Carlo is competitive, he is hardworking.
While Carlo is competitive, he is hardworking.

C. Disjunction
The disjunction of propositions p and q is denoted by p q : (p or q) and is defined
through its truth table

p q
T T
T F
F T
F F

The propositions p and q are called disjuncts.

Example:
p: Christian is taking notes. q: Rinhel is solving problems.
p q : Christian is taking notes, or Rinhel is solving problems.

D. Conditional
The conditional of propositions p and q is denoted p → q : (if p, then q) and is defined
by through its truth table:

p q
T T
T F
F T
F F
The conditional p → q may also be read as ‘p implies q’. Proposition p is called the
hypothesis, while proposition q is called a conclusion.
Example 3:
p: Rinhel reviews well. q: Rinhel gets a high score.
p → q : If Rinhel reviews well, then Rinhel gets a high score.

Note: Given propositions p and q, there are three propositions that we can derive from the
conditional p → q , namely, its
1. Converse: q → p
2. Contrapositive: ∼ →∼

3. Inverse: ∼ → ∼

E. Biconditional
The biconditional of propositions p and q is denoted by pq : (p if and only if q) and is
defined through its truth table:

pq
p q

T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

The proposition may also be written as ‘p iff q.’ The propositions p and q are the
components of the biconditional.

Example 4: p: It is Christmas Day. q: It is December 25.

p q : It is Christmas Day if and only if it is December 25.

TAUTOLOGY
A proposition that is always true is called tautology.
p → (pq)
Example 5:
CONTRADICTION
A proposition that is always false is called contradiction.
Example 6: ( ∧ ∼ ) ∧ ( ∧ )

FALLACY
An incorrect argument in logic which is a result of invalid reasoning, is a fallacy.