LESSON 36:

PROPOSITIONS
PREPARED BY:
MARK WARITH A. TIMBANG
  OBJECTIVE:
DEFINE PROPOSITION. GIVE EXAMPLES
AND NON-EXAMPLES.
DEFINE SIMPLE AND COMPOUND
PROPOSITIONS. DISTINGUISH SIMPLE AND
COMPOUND.
 DEFINITION:
A proposition is a declarative sentence that either true
or false, but not both. If a proposition is true, then its
truth value is true, which is denoted by t; otherwise. Its
truth value is false, which is denoted by f.
Proposition are usually denoted by. For example, the
proposition.
p. Everyone should study logic.
May be read as
p is the proposition” everyone should study logic”.
If a sequence of propositions is considered, we denote
the proposition by p1,p2….
 EXAMPLE 1:
Determine whether each of the
following statements is a
proposition or not. If it is a
proposition, give its truth value.
 EXAMPLE 1.1:
p: Mindanao is an island in the
Philippines.

p. this is a declarative sentence, and

Mindanao is an island in the
Philippines. Hence p is a proposition.
 EXAMPLE 1.2:
q: find a number which divides
your age.

q. this is an imperative

sentence, and hence it is not a
proposition.
 EXAMPLE 1.3:
r: My seatmate will get a perfect score
in the logical exam.

r. The statement is a declarative

sentence, but its truth value will not
only be known after the logical exam.
Nonetheless, it can either be true or
false, but not both. Hence r is a
proposition.
 EXAMPLE 1.4:
s: Welcome to the Philippines!

This statement is exclamatory, and

hence it is not a proposition.
 EXAMPLE 1.5:
• t: 3+2=5

• t: The given question is a mathematical

sentence, translated into English, the
equation reads “the sum of three and
two is five”. Which is not a declarative
sentence. It is also a true statement.
Hence t is a true proposition
 EXAMPLE 1.6:
• 
u: f(x)= is a rational function.

This is a declarative statement. since

the numerator of the function is not a
polynomial function, the function f is
not rational, so the statement is false. It
is therefore a false proposition.
 EXAMPLE 1.7:
v:what is the domain of an
function?

v. This is an interrogative sentence,

Hence is not a proposition.
 EXAMPLE 1.8:
w: I am lying

w. although w is a declarative sentence, it is

not a proposition because it can neither be a
true nor false. Suppose w is true- that is, it is
the case that I am lying. Since I am lying,
my statement is not true, and so w must be
false. The same conclusion can be drawn if
w is assumed to be false.
 EXAMPLE 1.9:
• 
p1:
it is not the case that is a rational
number.

p1. while this is a declarative sentence,

it can be shown that cannot be
expressed as a quotient of two integers.
Thus p1 is a false proposition.
 EXAMPLE 1.10:
p2: Either logic is fun and
interesting, or it is boring.

p. This is a declarative sentence,

which is true, since students may
find logic fun or boring. Hence p2 is
a true proposition
 EXAMPLE 1.11:`
p3: if you are a grade 11 student, then
you are filipino.

This is a declarative sentence. But it is

not true. There are also grade 11
students of other nationalities
 EXAMPLE 1.12:
p4: If you are more than 60 years old. Then you
are entitled to a Senior Citizen’s card ,and if you
are entitled to a Senior Citizen’s card, then you are
more than 60 years old.

p4. we know that it is a true proposition. This is

also known as a biconditional statement, since we
can rewrite it is “You are more than 60 years old if
and only if you are entitled to a Senior Citizen’s
card”.
 COMPOUND PROPOSITION
A compound proposition formed from simpler
proposition using logical connectors or some
combination of logical connectors. Some logical
connectors involving propositions pAnd/orq may be
expressed as follows:
Not p
 p and q
 p or q
If p, then q
Where <,> stands for some proposition. A
proposition is simple if it cannot be broken down
any further into other component propositions.

Example 2. For each of the propositions in

example 1, determine whether it is a simple or a
compound proposition. If it is a compound
proposition, identify the simple components.
 Solution
• The
  proposition p, r, t, and u are all simple proposition. On
the other hand, the following are compound proposition.
• p1: it isnot the case that is a rational number.
• p2: Either logic is fun and interesting,
or it is boring.
• p3: If you are a grade 11 student, Then you are filipino.
• p4: If you are more than 60 years old.Then you are
entitled to a Senior Citizen’s card
If ,and you are entitled
to a Senior Citizen’s card, then you
Thenare more 60
years old.
 • Furthermore, we can determine the simple propositions that
make up the propositions p1, p2, p3, and p4. we do so in the
fallowing table

Proposition Simple Component/s

p1 r. is a rational number
p1
p2 f: Logic is fan
i: Logic is interesting
p2 f:
b: Logic
Logic isis fan
boring
i: Logic is interesting
p3 h:
b: You
Logicstudy hard
is boring
g: You get good grades
p3
p4 h: You are
a: You study hardthan 60 years old
more
g: You are
s: You get entitled
good grades
to a Senior
p4 Citizen’s
a: You are more than 60 years old
s: You are entitled to a Senior
Citizen’s
The compound propositions can thus be
expressed as follows:
p1; not r
p2; f and i or b
p3; if h, then g
p4; (if a then s) and (if s then a)