Mathematical Logic

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 Logic
• Logic is a system based on propositions.
• A proposition is a statement that is either
true or false (not both).
• We say that the truth value of a proposition
is either true (T) or false (F).

• Corresponds to 1 and 0 in digital circuits

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 The Statement/Proposition Game

“Jupiter is a planet and Mars is a Star.”

Is this a statement? yes

Is this a proposition? yes

What is the truth value

of the proposition? False-0

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 The Statement/Proposition Game

“520 < 111”

Is this a statement? yes

Is this a proposition? yes

What is the truth value

of the proposition? false

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 The Statement/Proposition Game

“y > 5”

Is this a statement? yes

Is this a proposition? no

Its truth value depends on the value of y,

but this value is not specified.
We call this type of statement a
propositional function or open sentence.
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 The Statement/Proposition Game

“Please do not fall asleep.”

Is this a statement? no
It’s a request.

Is this a proposition? no

Only statements can be propositions.

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 The Statement/Proposition Game
“If elephants were red,
they could hide in cherry trees.”

Is this a statement? yes

Is this a proposition? yes

What is the truth value

of the proposition? probably false

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 The Statement/Proposition Game
“x < y if and only if y > x.”
Is this a statement? yes
Is this a proposition? yes
… because its truth value
does not depend on
specific values of x and y.

What is the truth value

of the proposition? true
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 Combining Propositions

As we have seen in the previous examples,

one or more propositions can be combined
to form a single compound proposition.

We formalize this by denoting propositions

with letters such as p, q, r, s, and
introducing several logical operators.

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 Logical Operators (Connectives)
We will examine the following logical operators:
•Conjunction (AND) Symbol: 
•Disjunction (OR) Symbol: 
•Negation (NOT) Symbol: 
•Conditional(Implication) (if – then) Symbol:

•Biconditional (if and only if) Symbol: 
Truth tables can be used to show how these
operators can combine propositions to
compound propositions.
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 Conjunction (AND)
Let p and q be propositions. The conjunction of
p and q, denoted by p Λ q, is the proposition
“p and q”. The conjunction p Λ q is true when
both p and q are true and is false otherwise.

Example: Find the conjunction of the propositions

p and q where p is the proposition “Today is
Friday.” and q is the proposition “It is raining
today.”, and the truth value of the conjunction
Solution: The conjunction is the proposition
“Today is Friday and it is raining today.” The
proposition is true on rainy Fridays.
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 Conjunction (AND)
Binary Operator, Symbol: 
P Q PQ
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

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 Disjunction (OR)
Let p and q be propositions. The disjunction of
p and q, denoted by p ν q, is the proposition
“p or q”. The conjunction p ν q is false when
both p and q are false and is true otherwise.

inclusive or : The disjunction is true when at least one of the two

propositions is true.
E.g. “Students who have taken calculus or computer science can take this class.” –
those who take one or both classes.
exclusive or : The disjunction is true only when one of the
proposition is true.
E.g. “Students who have taken calculus or computer science, but not both, can take
this class.” – only those who take one of them.

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 Disjunction (OR)
Binary Operator, Symbol: 
P Q P Q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

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 Negation (NOT)
– Let p be a proposition. The negation of p,
denoted by ¬p, is the statement “It is not
the case that p.”
– The proposition ¬p is read “not p.” The truth
value of the negation of p, ¬p is the opposite of
the truth value of p.
Examples: Find the negation of the proposition “Today is Friday.”
Solution: The negation is “It is not the case that today is
Friday.”
Example: Find the negation of the proposition “At least 10
inches of rain fell today in Miami.”
Solution: The negation is “It is not the case that at least 10
inches of rain fell today in Miami.”
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 Negation (NOT)
Unary Operator, Symbol: 

P P
true (T) false (F)
false (F) true (T)

Q:6 is an even number or 36 is a perfect square

Ans: 6 is not an even number or 36 is not a perfect
square
 Implication (if - then)
Let p and q be propositions. The conditional
statement p → q, is the proposition “if p,
then q.” The conditional statement is false
when p is true and q is false, and true
otherwise.
In the conditional statement p → q, p is
called the hypothesis (or antecedent or
premise) and q is called the conclusion (or
consequence).
Fall 2002 CMSC 203 - Discrete Structures 17
 Implication (if - then)
Binary Operator, Symbol: 
P Q P Q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

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 Biconditional (if and only if)
Let p and q be propositions. The biconditional
statement p ↔ q is the proposition “p if and
only if q.” The biconditional statement p ↔
q is true when p and q have the same truth
values, and is false otherwise. Biconditional
statements are also called bi-implications.

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Biconditional (if and only if)
Binary Operator, Symbol: 
P Q P Q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

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21
Q: If a function is differentiable then it
is continuous.
Converse: If a function is continuous then it is
differentiable
Inverse: If a function is not differentiable then it is
not continuous
Contra Positive: If it is not a continuous function then
it is not differentiable.

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Statements and Operators
Statements and operators can be combined in any way to form new statements.
Find (P)(Q)

P Q P Q (P)(Q)
T T F F F
T F F T T
F T T F T
F F T T T
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Find (P)(Q)
P Q P Q (P)(Q)

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

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Statements and Operations
Statements and operators can be combined in any
way to form new statements.
(P)(
P Q PQ  (PQ) P Q
Q)
T T T F F F F
T F F T F T T
F T F T T F T
F F F T T T T

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 Equivalent Statements
P Q (PQ) (P)(Q) (PQ)(P)(Q)

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

The statements (PQ) and (P)  (Q) are logically

equivalent, since (PQ)  (P)  (Q) is always true.

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 Tautologies and Contradictions

A tautology is a statement that is always true.

Examples:
• R(R)
 (PQ)(P)(Q)

If ST is a tautology, we write ST.

If ST is a tautology, we write ST.

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 Tautologies and Contradictions
A contradiction is a statement that is always
false.
Examples:
• R(R)
 ((PQ)(P)(Q))
The negation of any tautology is a contra-
diction, and the negation of any contradiction is
a tautology.

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 Logical Equivalence
A logical equivalence means that
the two sides always have the
same truth values
– Symbol is ≡or  (we’ll use ≡)

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DeMorgan’s Law

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 How to prove two propositions are equivalent?
Show that: ( p  r )  (q  r )  ( p  q )  r

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