ELEMENTARY LOGIC

Arniel A. Alderite, MSc

Mathematics Department
Institute of Computing and Engineering
Logic Statements
Every language contains different types of sentences, such as
statements, questions, and commands. For instance,
• “Is the test today?” is a question.
• “Go get the newspaper” is a command.
• “This is a nice car” is an opinion.
• “Manila is the capital of Philippines” is a statement of fact.
Statement
A statement is a declarative sentence that is either true or false, but
not both true and false.
• It may not be necessary to determine whether a sentence is true to
determine whether it is a statement. For instance, consider the
following sentence.
American Shaun White won an Olympic gold medal in speed skating.
• You may not know if the sentence is true, but you do know that the
sentence is either true or it is false, and that it is not both true and
false. Thus, you know that the sentence is a statement.
Let’s try!
•Determine
  whether each sentence is a statement.
a. Lupon is a municipality in Davao Oriental
b. How are you?
c. is a prime number.
d.

e. Lupon is a municipality in Davao Oriental, so the sentence is true and it is a statement.

f. The sentence “How are you?” is a question; it is not a declarative sentence. Thus it is not a statement.
g. You may not know whether is a prime number; however, you do know that it is a whole number larger than 1, so it is either a prime
number or it is not a prime number. The sentence is either true or it is false, and it is not both true and false, so it is a statement.
h. is a statement. It is known as an open statement. It is true for , and it is false for any other values of . For any given value of , it is true or
false but not both.
Simple Statements and Compound
Statements
A simple statement is a statement that conveys a single idea. A
compound statement is a statement that conveys two or more
ideas.
Connecting simple statements with words and phrases such as and, or, if
. . . then, and if and only if creates a compound statement.

Example:
“I will attend the meeting or I will go to school.” is a compound statement.
Logic Connectives and Symbols
Let’s try!
Consider the following simple statements.
p: Today is Friday.
q: It is raining.
r: I am going to a movie.
s: I am not going to the basketball game.
Write the following compound statements in symbolic form.
a.
 
Today is Friday and it is raining.
𝒑 ∧𝒒
  𝒒∧𝒓
b. It is not raining and I am going to a movie.   𝒔 ∨𝒓
c. I am going to the basketball game or I am going to a movie.  𝒒 → 𝒔
d. If it is raining, then I am not going to the basketball game.
Let’s try!
•Consider
  the following simple statements.
p: The game will be played in Araneta.
q: The game will be shown on ABS.
r: The game will not be shown in GMA.
s: The Raptors are favored to win.
Write the following symbolic statements in words.
a. The game will be shown on ABS and the game will be played in Araneta.
b. The game will be shown on GMA and the Raptors are favored to win.
c. The Raptors are favored to win if and only if the game will not be played in Araneta.
Compound Statements and Grouping
Symbols
If a compound statement is written in symbolic form, then parentheses are used to
indicate which simple statements are grouped together.
Compound Statements and Grouping
Symbols
If a compound statement is written as an English sentence, then a comma is used to indicate
which simple statements are grouped together. Statements on the same side of a comma are
grouped together
Let’s try!
•Let
  p, q, and r represent the following.
p: You get a promotion.
q: You complete the training.
r: You will receive a bonus.
a. Write as an English sentence.
If you get a promotion and you complete the training, then you will receive a bonus.

b. Write “If you do not complete the training, then you will not get a promotion
and you will not receive a bonus.” in symbolic form.
QUANTIFIED STATEMENTS
The words "all" "some" and "none" are examples of quantifiers.
A statement containing one or more of these words is a quantified
statement.
Note: the word "some" means "at least one."
Let’s Try
According to your everyday experience, decide whether each statement
is true or false:
1. All dogs are poodles. False

2. Some books have hard covers. True

3. No PH presidents were residents of Davao. False

4. Some cats are mammals. True

5. Some cats aren't mammals. False

Truth Value and Truth Tables
The truth value of a simple statement is either true (T) or false (F).

The truth value of a compound statement depends on the truth values of

its simple statements and its connectives.

A truth table is a table that shows the truth value of a compound

statement for all possible truth values of its simple statements.
Truth Value and Truth Tables
The negation of the statement “Today is Friday.” is the
statement “Today is not Friday.”
In symbolic logic, the tilde symbol ~ is used to denote
the negation of a statement. If a statement p is true, its
negation ~p is false, and if a statement p is false, its
negation ~p is true.
The negation of the negation of a statement is the
original statement. Thus ~(~p) can be replaced by p in
any statement.
Truth Value of a Conjunction
•The
  conjunction is true if and only if both and are true.
Truth Value of a Disjunction
•The
  disjunction is true if and only if is true, is true, or both and are
true.
Truth Value and Truth Tables
•Construct
  a truth table for

T T F T F T

T F F F T T

F T T T F T

F F T T F F
Truth Value and Truth Tables
•Construct
  a truth table for

T T T T F T T
T T F T T T T
T F T F F F F
T F F F T T F
F T T F F T F
F T F F T T F
F F T F F F F
F F F F T T F
Truth Tables (via Order of Precedence)
•Construct
  a truth table for
Equivalent Statements
•Two
  statements are equivalent if they both have the
same truth value for all possible truth values of their
simple statements. Equivalent statements have identical
truth values in the final columns of their truth tables.
The notation is used to indicate that the statements and
are equivalent.
Equivalent Statements
•Show
  that and are equivalent statements.
De Morgan’s Law
For any statements p and q

De Morgan’s law can be used to restate certain English sentence in its

equivalent form
De Morgan’s Law
•Use
  one of De Morgan’s laws to restate the following sentence in an
equivalent form.

It is not true that, I graduated or I got a job.

Let p represent the statement “I graduated” and let q represent the

statement “I got a job”. By , we have,

I did not graduate and I did not get a job

Tautologies and Self-Contradictions
A tautology is a statement that is always true. A
self-contradiction is a statement that is always
false.
Tautologies and Self-Contradictions
•Show
  that is a tautology.
Tautologies and Self-Contradictions
•Show
  that is a self-contradiction.
Conditional Statements
•Conditional
  statements can be written in form or in form. For
instance, all of the following are conditional statements.
• If we order pizza, then we can have it delivered.
• If you go to the movie, you will not be able to meet us for dinner.
• If n is a prime number greater than 2, then n is an odd number.
In any conditional statement represented by “If p, then q” or by
“If p, q,” the p statement is called the antecedent and the q
statement is called the consequent.
The conditional statement, “If p, then q,” can be written using the arrow notation . The arrow
notation is read as “if p, then q” or as “p implies q.”
Conditional Statements
Identify the antecedent and consequent in the following statements.

a. If our school was this nice, I would go there more than once a week.
b. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
c. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly
imagine.
a. Antecedent: our school was this nice
Consequent: I would go there more than once a week
b. Antecedent: you don’t stop and look around once in a while
Consequent: you could miss it
c. Antecedent: you strike me down
Consequent: I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine
 Truth Value and Truth Table for
•The
  conditional is false if p is true and q is false. It is true in all other
cases.
 Truth Value and Truth Table for
Determine the truth value of each of the following.

a. If 2 is an integer, then 2 is a rational number.

b. If 3 is a negative number, then 5>7.
c. If 5>3, then 2+7=4.

a. Because the consequent is true, this is a true statement.

b. Because the antecedent is false, this is a true statement.
c. Because the antecedent is true and the consequent is false, this is a false statement.
 Truth Value and Truth Table for
•Construct
  a truth table for .
An Equivalent Form of the Conditional
•The
  conditional is equivalent to the disjunction

Example:

If I could play the guitar, I would join the band.

I cannot play the guitar or I would join the band.

 
Negation of the Conditional
•Because
  , an equivalent form of is given by , which, by one of De
Morgan’s laws, can be expressed as the conjunction .

 
( 𝑝 →𝑞 ) ≡ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞
Example:
If they pay me the money, I will sign the contract.
They paid me the money and I did not sign the contract.
The Biconditional
•The
  statement is called a biconditional and is denoted by , which is
read as “p if and only if q.”
 Truth Value and Truth Table for
•The
  biconditional is true only when p and q have the same truth value.
 Truth Value and Truth Table for
•State
  whether each biconditional is true or false.

a. if and only if .
b. if and only if .

a. Both equations are true when , and both are false when . Both equations have the same truth
value for any value of x, so this is a true statement.
b. If , the first equation is true and the second equation is false. Thus this is a false statement.
Symbolic Arguments
An argument consists of a set of statements called premises
and another statement called the conclusion. An argument is
valid if the conclusion is true whenever all the premises are
assumed to be true. An argument is invalid if it is not a valid
argument.
Symbolic Arguments
• 
Example:
If Aristotle was human, then Aristotle was mortal. Aristotle was human.
Therefore, Aristotle was mortal.

The argument has two premises and 1 conclusion:

First premise: If Aristotle was human, then Aristotle was mortal.

Second premise: Aristotle was human. .
Conclusion: Therefore, Aristotle was mortal.

Let represent the statement “Aristotle was human” and let represent the statement “Aristotle was mortal” The argument in
symbolic form is,

The three dots are a symbol for “therefore.”

Symbolic Arguments
•Example:
 
The fish is fresh or I will not order it. The fish is fresh. Therefore I will
order it.

Let represent the statement “The fish is fresh” and let represent the statement “I will order it” The
argument in symbolic form is,
Arguments and Truth Table
Validity of the Aristotle example

If the conclusion is true in every row of

the truth table in which all the premises
are true, the argument is valid. If the
conclusion is false in any row in which
all of the premises are true, the argument
is invalid.

Row 1 is the only row in which all the premises are true, so it is the only row that we examine. Because the
conclusion is true in row 1, the argument is valid.
Arguments and Truth Table
Determine whether the following argument is valid or invalid.

If it rains, then the game will not be played. It is not raining. Therefore,
the game will be played.

Because the conclusion in row 4 is false and the premises are both true, the argument is invalid.
Arguments and Truth Table
Determine whether the following argument is valid or invalid.

Because the conclusion is true in the rows 2, 6, 7 and 8, the argument is valid.
Standard Forms of Valid Arguments
Standard Forms of Invalid Arguments
Validity of argument examples
Use a standard form to determine whether the following argument is
valid or invalid.

This symbolic form matches the standard form known as disjunctive

syllogism. Thus the argument is valid.
Validity of argument examples
Consider an argument with the following symbolic form.

This sequence of valid arguments shows that t is a valid conclusion for the original argument.
Validity of argument examples
•Determine
  whether the following argument is valid.
If the movie was directed by Steven Spielberg , then I want to see it . The movie’s production costs
must exceed $50 million or I do not want to see it. The movie’s production costs were less than $50
million. Therefore, the movie was not directed by Steven Spielberg.

This sequence of valid arguments shows that t is a valid conclusion for the original argument.