Logic and Truth Tables

What is a Truth Table?

A truth table is a tool that helps you analyze statements or arguments in order to verify
whether or not they are logical, or true. There are five basic operations that you will utilize
when creating a truth table. These operations are the conjunction, disjunction, negation,
conditional, and bi-conditional. These operations are also referred to as and, or, not,
if-then, and if and only if. The rules for these operations are as follows:

Logic Operations

AND And Statements These statements are true only when both
(conjunction) p and q are true (as the rigorous definition of and implies.)
p q pq Example: I will bring both a pen AND a pencil to the tutoring
T T T session. Only if I bring both is this true.
T F F .
F T F
F F F

OR Or Statements These statements are false only when both p

(disjunction) and q are false (follows the definition of or.)
p q pq Example: I will bring a pen OR a pencil to the tutoring
T T T appointment. Only if I dont do either is this false.
T F T
F T T
F F F

NOT ~ Not Statements The not is simply the opposite or complement

(negation) of its original value.
p ~p Example: p = It is raining
T F ~p = It is NOT raining
F T

IF-THEN If Then Statements These statements are false only when p is

(conditional) true and q is false (because anything can follow from a false premise.)
p q pq Example: IF I am elected THEN taxes will go down.
T T T Only if I am elected and taxes dont go down is this false.
T F F
F T T
F F T

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Reviewed June 2011
IF AND ONLY IF If and Only If Statements These statements are true only when
(bi-conditional) both p and q have the same truth values.
p q pq Example: Taxes will go down IF AND ONLY IF I am elected.
T T T Only if I am elected and taxes go down, or I am not elected and taxes
T F F do not go down is this true.
F T F
F F T
Constructing Truth Tables
To create a truth table, follow these steps:
n
1. Determine the number of variables; for n variables, create a table with 2 rows.
If there are two variables (p, q), then you will need 22 or 4 rows.
If there are three variables (p, q, and r), you will need 23 or 8 rows.
2. List the variable and every combination of T and F for the given variables.
TWO VARIABLE THREE VARIABLE
p q p q r
T T T T T
T F T T F
F T T F T
F F T F F
F T T
F T F
F F T
F F F
3. Then start with negations (nots or ~), create a new column for each piece of
the statement or argument, filling in the truth values as you go. Work from simple
pieces to more difficult pieces until you have the truth values for the whole problem.
4. If two statements have the same truth values, then they are equivalent.
Equivalents
There are a number of equivalents in logic. This means that these statements have been
proven true, and you can use these statements without having to prove them. The symbol
for equivalent is . The following are the most commonly used equivalents:
pTp ppp ~(p q) ~p ~q
pFF ppp DeMorgans Law #1
pTT p ~p F ~(p q) ~p ~q
pFp p ~p T DeMorgans Law #2
p q ~p q p (q r) (p q) p (q r) (p q)
p q ~q ~p (p r) (p r)

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Truth Table Example
Statement: (p q) (~p q)
p q
T T Step 1:
T F Determine the number of variables and rows needed, then
F T write down all possible combinations of p and q.
F F

p q ~p Step 2:
T T F
p q ~p q
T F F
F T T
Write down values of ~p (or not p)
F F T

p q ~p pq Step 3:
T T F T
T F F F p q ~p q
F T T F
F F T F Left Side: Is (p q) true? Use values from p and q columns.

p q ~p pq ~p q Step 4:
T T F T T
T F F F F p q ~p q
F T T F T
F F T F T Right Side: Is (~p q) true? Use values from ~p and q columns.

p q ~p pq ~p q p q ~p q Step 5:
T T F T T T p q ~p q
T F F F F T
F T T F T F Is the entire statement true? No.
F F T F T F

The entire statement is true only when the last columns truth values are all True. In this
case, (p q) is not equivalent to (~p q) because they do not have the same truth values.

If every cell in the last column is True, then the entire statement is true.
This is called a tautology.

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Truth Tables for Arguments

A logical argument is made up of two parts: the premises and the conclusion.
Arguments are usually written in the following form:

If it is cold, then my motorcycle will not start.

My motorcycle started.
It is not cold.

Arguments of this form can be turned into a logical statement. First, assign variables to each
premise and conclusion.

It is cold = p
If it is cold, then my motorcycle will not start.
It is not cold = ~p
My motorcycle started.
My motorcycle will start = q
It is not cold. My motorcycle will not start = ~q

You can now re-write the argument using logical operators. Look for keywords like if and
not.

If it is cold, then my motorcycle will not start. p ~q

My motorcycle started. q
It is not cold. ~p

Finally, the argument can be rewritten as a logical statement. Arguments can always be
written in the following form:

[Premise One Premise Two] Conclusion

Our example would be rewritten as:

[ (p ~q) q ] ~p
This statement can then be proven valid or invalid using a truth table, as shown on the
following page.

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Truth Table Example

Statement: [ (p ~q) q ] ~p

p q
T T Step 1:
T F Determine the number of variables and rows needed,
F T then write down all possible combinations of p and q.
F F

p q ~p
T T F Step 2:
T F F [ (p ~q) q ] ~p
F T T Write down values of ~p (or not p)
F F T

p q ~p ~q Step 3:
T T F F [ (p ~q) q ] ~p
T F F T Write down values of ~q (or not q)
F T T F
F F T T
Step 4:
p q ~p ~q (p ~q)
[ (p ~q) q ] ~p
T T F F F
T F F T T Left Side: Start within the inner most parentheses. Is (p ~q)
true? Use values from p and ~q columns.
F T T F T
F F T T T
Step 5:
p q ~p ~q (p ~q) (p ~q) q [ (p ~q) q ] ~p
T T F F F F Left Side: Work outwards towards the outer
T F F T T F most parentheses. Is [ (p ~q) q ] true?
F T T F T T Use values from (p ~q) and q columns.
F F T T T F
p q ~p ~q (p ~q) (p ~q) q [ (p ~q) q ] Step 6:
~p [ (p ~q) q ]
T T F F F F T
T F F T T F T ~p
F T T F T T T Is the entire statement true?
Yes. This is a tautology
F F T T T F T

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