Section 1.
3
Section Summary
Tautologies, Contradictions, and Contingencies.
Logical Equivalence
Important Logical Equivalences
Showing Logical Equivalence
Propositional Satisfiability
Tautologies, Contradictions, and
Contingencies
A compound proposition that is always true, no matter what
the truth values of the propositional variables that occur in it,
is called a tautology. A compound proposition that is always
false is called a contradiction. A compound proposition that is
neither a tautology nor a contradiction is called a contingency.
EXAMPLE: We can construct examples of tautologies and
contradictions using just one propositional variable.
Consider the truth tables of 𝑝¬𝑝 and 𝑝¬𝑝, shown in Table.
Because 𝑝¬𝑝 is always true, it is a tautology. Because 𝑝¬𝑝
is always false, it is a contradiction.
Tautologies, Contradictions, and
Contingencies
EXAMPLE: Show that the following conditional statement is a
tautology by using truth tables
𝑝𝑞 → 𝑝 → 𝑞
Solution
Logically Equivalent
The compound propositions p and q are called logically equivalent if p
q is a tautology. The notation p ≡ q denotes that p and q are logically
equivalent.
Two compound propositions p and q are equivalent if and only if the
columns in a truth table giving their truth values agree.
This truth table shows that ¬p ∨ q is equivalent to p → q.
p q ¬p ¬p ∨ q p→ q
T T F T T
T F F F F
F T T T T
F F T T T
De Morgan’s Laws
Augustus De Morgan
1806-1871
EXAMPLE: Show that ¬ 𝑝𝑞 and ¬𝑝¬𝑞 are logically equivalent.
Logically Equivalent
EXAMPLE: Show that p → q and ¬𝑝𝑞 are logically equivalent.
(This is known as the conditional disjunction equivalence.)
Solution
Logically Equivalent
EXAMPLE: Show that p ∨ (q ∧ r) and (p ∨ q) ∧ (p ∨ r) are
logically equivalent. This is the distributive law of disjunction
over conjunction.
Solution
Logical Equivalences
Logical Equivalences Involving Conditional
and Biconditional Statements.
Constructing New Logical Equivalences
We can show that two expressions are logically equivalent by
developing a series of logically equivalent statements.
To prove that we produce a series of equivalences
beginning with A and ending with B.
Keep in mind that whenever a proposition (represented by a
propositional variable) occurs in the equivalences listed earlier,
it may be replaced by an arbitrarily complex compound
proposition.
Constructing New Logical Equivalences
EXAMPLE: Show that ¬ 𝑝 ¬𝑝𝑞 and ¬𝑝¬𝑞 are logically
equivalent by developing a series of logical equivalences.
Solution
Constructing New Logical Equivalences
EXAMPLE : Show that (p ∧ q) → (p ∨ q) is a tautology.
Satisfiability
A compound proposition is satisfiable if there is an
assignment of truth values to its variables that makes it
true (that is, when it is a tautology or a contingency).
When no such assignments exists, that is, when the
compound proposition is false for all assignments of truth
values to its variables, the compound proposition is
unsatisfiable.
Satisfiability
EXAMPLE: Determine whether each of the compound propositions
𝑝¬𝑞 𝑞¬𝑟 𝑟¬𝑝 and 𝑝𝑞𝑟 ¬𝑝¬𝑞¬𝑟 is
satisfiable.
Solution
Note that 𝑝¬𝑞 𝑞¬𝑟 𝑟¬𝑝 is true when the three
variables p, q, and r have the same truth value. Hence, it is
satisfiable as there is at least one assignment of truth values for p, q,
and r that makes it true.
Similarly, note that 𝑝𝑞𝑟 ¬𝑝¬𝑞¬𝑟 is true when at least
one of p, q, and r is true and at least one is false. Hence,
𝑝𝑞𝑟 ¬𝑝¬𝑞¬𝑟 is satisfiable, as there is at least one
assignment of truth values for p, q, and r that makes it true.
Solving Satisfiability Problems
A truth table can be used to determine whether a
compound proposition is satisfiable, or equivalently,
whether its negation is a tautology. This can be done by
hand for a compound proposition with a small number of
variables, but when the number of variables grows, this
becomes impractical. For instance, there are 220
= 1,048,576 rows in the truth table for a compound
proposition with 20 variables. Thus, you need a computer
to help you determine, in this way, whether a compound
proposition in 20 variables is satisfiable.
