The Language of Logic

Logic
Logic is the study of correct thinking and reasoning. It uses principles and methods to distinguish valid
arguments from those that are not. It is the foundation for expressing logical methods used to prove theorems,
design computer software, and to solve mathematical problems.
Logic is a tool for working with complicated statements. It illustrates the importance of precision and
conciseness. It allows us to determine the validity of an argument in and out of mathematics.

Proposition
In logic, assertions are made by combining words and symbols in the form of sentences. Such
assertions are called statements or propositions, which are declarative sentences that are either true or false –
but not both. It is the basic building blocks of logic.
A statement or proposition may be denoted by a variable like P, Q, R,…

Example.
P: University of Northern Philippines is in Vigan City.
Q: Light travels faster than sound.
R: 1 + 3 = 4.
S: 7 is an even number.

Simple 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. It is formed by connecting simple statements with words and phrases such as
and, or, if…then, if and only if, etc.

Example.
1. 20 is divisible by 4.
2. Taylor Swift is a singer and Stephen Curry is a basketball player.
3. If a polygon has three sides, then it is a triangle.
Statement 1 is a simple statement while statements 2 and 3 are examples of compound statements.

Logical Connectives
Connecting simple statements with words and phrases such as and, or, if…then, and if and only if
create a compound statement. For instance, “My mother attends a meeting or buys in a grocery store”. The
word or is a connective for the two simple statements.
Logical connective is a word or symbol that joins two sentences to produce a new one. George Boole
uses symbols such as p, q, r, and s to represent simple statements and the symbols ˄, ˅, ⁓, →, ↔ to represent
connectives.

Logical Connectives and Symbols

Type
Statements Connective Symbolic Form
of Statement
not p Not ⁓ p or ¬𝑝 negation
p and q And p˄q conjunction
p or q Or p˅q disjunction
If p, then q If…then p→q implication/conditional
p if and only if q if and only if p↔q biconditional

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 Example.
Let p: I review my lessons.
q: I play video games.
r: I go to the beach.
s: I get a reward.
The following are compound statements formed by using logical connectives. Write the following
statements and vice versa.
Symbolic Form Statement
a. q ˄ p a. I play video games and review my lessons.
b. q ˅ r b. I play video games or go to the beach.
c. c. I do not go to the beach.
d. d. If I review my lessons, then I get a reward.
e. e. I get a reward if and only if I review my lessons.
f. p → (⁓ q)
g. ⁓ r ˄ q

Example. Indicate the simple statements by p and q and express the compound statement in
symbolic form of the following compound statements.
a. John can program in C++ and he can program in Java.
b. If x is an even number then it is a multiple of 2.

Solution:
a. p: John can program in C++. b. p: x is an even number.
q: John can program in Java. q: x is a multiple of 2.
p˄q p→s

The Truth Table

The truth values of a compound statement are respectively determined by the truth values of the
original statements and the connectives used to form them. The decision of accepting or rejecting a statement
depends on the truth values of a proposition. An acceptable statement is given a truth value “true” and
unacceptable statement is given a truth value “false”

a. Negation.
If a proposition p is true, then the proposition ⁓ p is false. However, if p is false, then ⁓ p is true.
p ⁓p
T F
F T
For example:
Let p: “I study at University of Northern Philippines.” be a true statement. Then, ⁓ p is stated as “I do
not study at the University of Northern Philippines.” or “It is false that I study at the University of Northern
Philippines.”

b. Conjunction
The conjunction of two statements p and q denoted by p ⋀ q is defined by the following truth table.
p q p⋀q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F
The only condition for p ⋀ q to be a true statement is when both p and q are true.
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c. Disjunction
The disjunction of two statements p and q denoted by p q is defined by the following truth table.
p q p⋁q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F
This means that the disjunction of two statements is true if and only if at least one of the statements is
true.

d. Implication or Conditional
In a conditional statement, the truth of p implies the truth of q. If p is true, then q must be true. The
only way that this can fail (or be false) is when p is true while q is false. The truth table of p → q is given in
the following table.
p q p →q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

e. Biconditional
The biconditional statement p ↔ 𝑞, is defined by the following truth table.

p q p ↔𝐪
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

Summary of truth values of compound statements using logical connectives

p q p⋀q p⋁q p →q p ↔𝐪
T T T T T T
T F F T F F
F T F T T F
F F F F T T

Example . Given the truth values of the propositions A, B, C, and D. If A is true, B is false, C is true,
and D is false, give the truth value of the following:
a. [(⁓A ⋀ B) → C] ⋁ D
b. [(A → B) → ⁓ C] ↔ [⁓ B → ⁓ (C ⋀ D)]

Solution:
We simply substitute the truth value of each proposition, i.e.
a. [(⁓T ⋀ F) → T] ⋁ F b. [(A → B) → ⁓ C] ↔ [⁓ B → ⁓ (C ⋀ D)]
[(F ⋀ F) → T] ⋁ F
(F → T) ⋁ F
T⋁F
T

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Example. Construct a truth table for
a. [⁓ p → ( p ⋀ q)]
b. [(p ↔ q) ⋁ (p → r)] → ⁓ (q ⋀ r)
Solution:
a. [⁓ p → ( p ⋀ q)]
Since it involves 2 propositions, there are 4 combinations.
P Q ⁓p p⋀q [⁓ p → ( p ⋀ q)]
T T
T F
F T
F F

b. [(p ↔ q) ⋁ (p → r)] → ⁓ (q ⋀ r)
Since it involves 3 propositions, there are 8 combinations.

p Q r (p↔q) (p→r) (p ↔ q)⋁(p→r) (q⋀r) ⁓(q⋀r) [(p↔q)⋁(p→r)]→⁓(q⋀r)

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

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