Fundamentals of Logic

(Part 1)
Mathematics in the Modern World

Mathematics Area
De La Salle Lipa

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 Contents

Contents

1 Some Fundamentals of Logic

Statements
Compound Statements and Connectives

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Statements

Statements

In everyday English, we use many different kinds of

sentences. Some of these sentences are clearly true or false.
Others are opinions, questions, and exclamations. However,
in logic we are concerned solely with statements, and not all
English sentences are statements.
Definition
A statement is a sentence that is either true or false, but
not both simultaneously.

Remark
As long as a sentence is either true or false, even if we do
not know which it is, then that sentence is a statement.

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Statements

Statements

Here are examples of statements:

1 Manila is the capital of Philippines. (This is true.)
2 William Shakespeare wrote the television series Modern
Family. (This is false. Shakespeare had nothing to do
with Modern Family (perhaps writer’s block after
Macbeth).)
3 The United States has the world’s highest divorce rate.
(It’s clearly either true or false, and it’s not necessary
to know which it is.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Statements

Statements

Some sentences, such as commands, questions, and

opinions, are not statements because they are not either
true or false.
The following sentences are not statements:
1 Read pages 18 - 29. (This is an order or command.)
2 If I start losing my memory, how will I know?
(This is a question.)
3 Titanic is the greatest movie of all time.
(This is an opinion.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Statements

Statements (Notation)

Notation
The truthfulness or falsity of a statement is called its truth
value.
In general we denote mathematical statements by small
letters p, q, r, . . . and we denote their truth value by either
T (True) or F (False).

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Definition
When one or more simple statements are combined with
logical connectives such as and, or, not, if . . . then, and
if and only if, the result is called a compound statement,
while the simple statements that make up the compound
statement are called component statements.

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples
Decide whether each statement is compound.
1 George Washington was the first U.S. president, and
John Adams was his vice president.
(This statement is compound using the connective
“and”. The component statements are “George
Washington was the first U.S. president” and “John
Adams was his vice president”.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples
Decide whether each statement is compound.
2 If what you’ve told me is true, then we are in great
peril.
(This statement is also compound. The component
statements “what you’ve told me is true” and “we are
in great peril” are linked with the connective
“if . . . then”.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples
Decide whether each statement is compound.
3 We drive across New Mexico toward the town with the
curious name Truth or Consequences.
(This statement is not compound. Even though “or” is
a connective, here it is part of the name of the city. It
is not connecting two statements.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Definition (Conjunction & Disjunction)

Any two statements can be combined by the word “and” or
“or” to form a compound statement called the conjuction
or the disjunction statement respectively.

Notation
Mathematically, the symbol for conjunction is ∧ and the
symbol for disjunction is ∨; in brief

conjunction and ∧
disjunction or ∨

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Definition (Negation)
For any given statement p, the negation of p can be
formed by writing “It is not the case...” or “It is false that...”
before p or, if possible, by inserting in p the word “not”.

Notation
Mathematically, the symbol for negation is ∼ or ¬; in brief

negation not ∼ or ¬

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples: Translating a Symbolic Statement into Words

Let p and r represent the following component statements:
p : My backpack is heavy.
r : It’s going to rain.
Write each symbolic statement in words.
1 p∧r
(My backpack is heavy and it’s going to rain.)
2 ∼p∨r
(The symbol ∼ is translated as “not” and applies only
to the first symbol not the entire expression. Therefore,
the symbolic statement represents “My backpack is not
heavy or it’s going to rain.”)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples: Translating a Symbolic Statement into Words
Let p and r represent the following component statements:
p : My backpack is heavy.
r : It’s going to rain.
Write each symbolic statement in words.
3 ∼ (p ∨ r)
(Because of the parenthesis, the “not” applies to the
entire expression. Therefore, the symbolic statement
represents “It is not the case that either my backpack
is heavy or it’s going to rain.”)
4 ∼ (p ∧ r)
(It is not the case that both my backpack is heavy and
it’s going to rain.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples: Translating from English to Symbolic Form

Let p and q represent the following component statements:
p : The bill receives majority approval.
q : The bill becomes a law.
Write each compound satement below in symbolic form:
1 The bill receives majority approval or the bill does not
become a law. (p ∨ ∼ q)
2 The bill receives majority approval and the bill becomes
a law. (p ∧ q)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Definition (Conditional Statement)
A conditional statement (implication) is a compound
statement that uses the connective if . . . then, or anything
equivalent.

Here are a few conditional statement:

1 If it rains, then I carry my umbrella.
2 If the president comes, then security will be tight.
3 If the check doesn’t arrive today, I will call to find out
why. (Notice that the word then was implied but not
explicitly stated; the sentence is equivalent to the
statement “If the check doesn’t arrive today, then I will
call to find out why.”)
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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Conditional Statement Notation

The conditional is written with an arrow, so that “if p, then
q” is symbolized as
p→q
We read p → q as “p implies q” or “if p, then q”.
In the conditional p → q, the statement p is the
antecedent (hypothesis or premise) while q is the
consequent (conclusion).

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

The table below shows some of the common ways to

translate conditional statement p → q into English.

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples: Translating from English to Symbolic Form

Let r represent “A triangle is a right triangle” and s
represent “The sum of the squares of the two sides equals
the square of the hypotenuse.”
Write each compound statement below in symbolic form:
a A triangle is a right triangle if the sum of the squares
of the two sides equals the square of the hypotenuse.
(s → r)
b A triangle is a right triangle only if the sum of the
squares of the two sides equals the square of the
hypotenuse. (r → s)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Remark (Conditional Statement)

“p only if q” is the opposite of “p if q”

The first means p → q, while the second means q → p.

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples: Expressing Symbolic Statements in English
Let p, q, and r represent the following component
statements:
p : A student misses lecture.
q : A student studies.
r : A student fails.
Write each of the symbolic statements below in words.
1 (q ∧ ∼ p) → ∼ r
(If a student studies and does not miss lecture, then
the student does not fail.)
2 q ∧ (∼ p → ∼ r)
(A student studies, and if a student does not miss
lecture then the student does not fail.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Definition (Biconditional Statement)

A biconditional statement is a compound statement that
uses the connective if and only if.
In symbol, p if and only if q (often abbreviated p iff q) is
written as p ↔ q.

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

The table below shows some of the common ways to

translate biconditional statement p ↔ q into English.

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Compound Statements and Connectives

Examples: Expressing Symbolic Statements in English
Let p, q, and r represent the following component
statements:
p : She will go on vacation.
q : She cannot take the train.
r : She cannot get a loan.
Write each of the symbolic statements below in words.
1 p ↔∼q
(She will go on vacation if and only if she can take the
train.)
2 ∼r↔∼p
(She can get a loan if and only if she does not go on
vacation.)

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Summary (Logic Connectives and Symbols)

Statement Connective Symbolic Form Type

not p not ∼p negation
p and q and p∧q conjuction
p or q or p∨q disjunction
If p, then q If ... then p→q conditional
p if and
only if q if and only if p↔q biconditional

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 Some Fundamentals of Logic Compound Statements and Connectives

Try This! (Practice Exercise)

p : Pres. Duterte is a good president
q : Government officials are corrupt.
r : People are happy.
Write the following compound statements in symbolic form.
a If Pres. Duterte is a good president, then government
officials are not corrupt.
b If government officials are not corrupt, then the people
are happy.
c If Pres. Duterte is a good president and people are
happy, then government officials are not corrupt.
d Pres. Duterte is not a good president if and only if
government officials are corrupt and the people are not
happy.
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