Unit

2b
Math Logic

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 2.6
Section Logic Statements and
Quantifiers

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Logic Statements

3
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.
“Denver is the capital of Colorado” is a statement of fact.

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Logic Statements
The symbolic logic that Boole was instrumental in creating
applies only to sentences that are statements as defined
below.

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Example 1 – Identify Statements
Determine whether each sentence is a statement.
a. Florida is a state in the United States.
b. How are you?
c. 99 + 2 is a prime number.
d. x + 1 = 5.

Solution:
a. Florida is one of the 50 states in the United States, so
this sentence is true and it is a statement.

b. The sentence “How are you?” is a question; it is not a

declarative sentence. Thus it is not a statement.
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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

c. You may not know whether 99 + 2 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.

d. x + 1 = 5 is a statement. It is known as an open

statement. It is true for x = 4, and it is false for any
other values of x. For any given value of x, it is true or
false but not both.

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Simple Statements and
Compound Statements

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Simple Statements and Compound Statements

Connecting simple statements with words and phrases

such as and, or, if . . . then, and if and only if creates a
compound statement. For instance, “I will attend the
meeting or I will go to school.” is a compound statement.

It is composed of the two simple statements, “I will attend

the meeting.” and “I will go to school.” The word or is a
connective for the two simple statements.
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Simple Statements and Compound Statements

George Boole used symbols such as p, q, r, and s to

represent simple statements and the symbols
and to represent connectives. See Table 2.1.

Logic Connectives and Symbols

Table 2.1

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Simple Statements and Compound Statements

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.
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Example 2 – Write the Negation of a Statement

Write the negation of each statement.

a. Ellie Goulding is an opera singer.

b. The dog does not need to be fed.

Solution:
a. Ellie Goulding is not an opera singer.

b. The dog needs to be fed.

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Simple Statements and Compound Statements

We will often find it useful to write compound statements in

symbolic form.

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Example 3 – Write Compound Statements in Symbolic Form

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.
b. It is not raining and I am going to a movie.
c. I am going to the basketball game or I am going to a
movie.
d. If it is raining, then I am not going to the basketball game.
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Example 3 – Solution

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Simple Statements and Compound Statements

In the next example, we translate symbolic statements into

English sentences.

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Example 4 – Translate Symbolic Statements

Consider the following statements.

p: The game will be played in Atlanta.

q: The game will be shown on CBS.
r: The game will not be shown on ESPN.
s: The Mets are favored to win.

Write each of the following symbolic statements in words.

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Example 4 – Solution
a. The game will be shown on CBS and the game will be
played in Atlanta.

b. The game will be shown on ESPN and the Mets are

favored to win.

c. The Mets are favored to win if and only if the game will
not be played in Atlanta.

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Compound Statements and
Grouping Symbols

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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.

Table 2.2 illustrates the use of parentheses to indicate

groupings for some statements in symbolic form.

Table 2.2

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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. See Table 2.3.

Table 2.3
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Compound Statements and Grouping Symbols

If a statement in symbolic form is written as an English

sentence, then the simple statements that appear together
in parentheses in the symbolic form will all be on the same
side of the comma that appears in the English sentence.

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Example 5 – Translate Compound Statements

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.

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.

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Example 5(a) – Solution
Because the p and the q statements both appear in
parentheses in the symbolic form, they are placed to the
left of the comma in the English sentence.

Thus the translation is: If you get a promotion and complete

the training, then you will receive a bonus.

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Example 5(b) – Solution cont’d

Because the not p and the not r statements are both to

the right of the comma in the English sentence, they are
grouped together in parentheses in the symbolic form.

Thus the translation is:

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Compound Statements and Grouping Symbols

If you order cake and ice cream in a restaurant, the waiter

will bring both cake and ice cream. In general, the
conjunction is true if both p and q are true, and the
conjunction is false if either p or q is false.

The truth table at the right

shows the four possible
cases that arise when we
form a conjunction of two
statements.

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Compound Statements and Grouping Symbols

Any disjunction is true if p is true or q is true or both

p and q are true. The truth table below shows that the
disjunction p or q is false if both p and q are false; however,
it is true in all other cases.

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Example 6 – Determine the Truth Value of a Statement

Determine whether each statement is true or false.

a. 7  5.
b. 5 is a whole number and 5 is an even number.
c. 2 is a prime number and 2 is an even number.

Solution:
a. 7  5 means 7 > 5 or 7 = 5. Because 7 > 5 is true, the
statement 7  5 is a true statement.
b. This is a false statement because 5 is not an even
number.
c. This is a true statement because each simple
statement is true. 28
Quantifiers and Negation

29
Quantifiers and Negation
In a statement, the word some and the phrases there exists
and at least one are called existential quantifiers.
Existential quantifiers are used as prefixes to assert the
existence of something.

In a statement, the words none, no, all, and every are

called universal quantifiers. The universal quantifiers
none and no deny the existence of something, whereas the
universal quantifiers all and every are used to assert that
every element of a given set satisfies some condition.

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Quantifiers and Negation
What is the negation of the false statement, “No doctors
write in a legible manner”?

Whatever the negation is, we know it must be a true

statement. The negation cannot be “All doctors write in a
legible manner,” because this is also a false statement.

The negation is “Some doctors write in a legible manner.”

This can also be stated as, “There exists at least one
doctor who writes in a legible manner.”

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Quantifiers and Negation
Table 2.4A illustrates how to write the negation of some
quantified statements.

Quantified Statements and Their Negations

Table 2.4A

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Example 7 – Write the Negation of a Quantified Statement

Write the negation of each of the following statements.

a. Some airports are open.
b. All movies are worth the price of admission.
c. No odd numbers are divisible by 2.

Solution:
a. No airports are open.
b. Some movies are not worth the price of admission.
c. Some odd numbers are divisible by 2.

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 2.7
Section Truth Tables, Equivalent
Statements, and Tautologies

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34
Truth Tables

35
Truth Tables
In this section, we consider methods of constructing truth
tables for a statement that involves a combination of
conjunctions, disjunctions, and/or negations.

If the given statement involves only two simple statements,

then start with a table with four rows (see the table below),
called the standard truth table form, and proceed as
shown in Example 1.

Standard truth table form for a given statement that

involves only the two simple statements p and q
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Example 1 – Truth Tables
a. Construct a table for .
b. Use the truth table from part a to determine the truth
value of , given that p is true and q is false.

Solution:
a. Start with the standard truth table form and then include
a column.

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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Now use the truth values from the ~p and q columns to

produce the truth values for as shown in the
rightmost column of the following table.

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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Negate the truth values in the column to produce

the following.

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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

As our last step, we form the disjunction of

with q and place the results in the rightmost column of
the table. See the following table. The shaded column is
the truth table for .

b. In row 2 of the above truth table, we see that when p is

true, and q is false, the statement in the
rightmost column is true.
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Truth Tables
Compound statements that involve exactly three simple
statements require a standard truth table form with 23 = 8
rows, as shown below.

Standard truth table form for a statement that

involves the three simple statements p, q, and r
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 Alternative Method for the
Construction of a Truth Table

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Alternative Method for the Construction of a Truth Table

In Example 3 we use an alternative procedure to construct

a truth table.

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Example 3 – Use the Alternative Procedure to Construct a Truth Table

Construct a truth table for .

Solution:
Step 1: The given statement has the two
simple statements p and q. Thus we start with a
standard form that has 22 = 4 rows.

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Example 3 – Solution cont’d

In each column, enter the truth values for the statements

p and ~q, as shown in the columns numbered 1, 2, and 3
of the following table.

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Example 3 – Solution cont’d

Step 2: Use the truth values in columns 2 and 3 to

determine the truth values to enter under the “and”
connective. See column 4 in the following truth
table. Now negate the truth values in column
4 to produce the truth values in column 5.

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Example 3 – Solution cont’d

Step 3: Use the truth values in the columns 1 and 5 to

determine the truth values to enter under
the “or” connective. See column 6 in the following
table. Shaded column 6 is the truth table
for

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Equivalent Statements

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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 p  q is used to indicate that the statements p

and q are equivalent.

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Example 4 – Verify That Two Statements Are Equivalent

Show that and are equivalent statements.

Solution:
Construct two truth tables and compare the results. The
truth tables below show that and have the
same truth values for all possible truth values of their
simple statements. Thus the statements are equivalent.

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Equivalent Statements
These equivalences are known as De Morgan’s laws for
statements.

De Morgan’s laws can be used to restate certain English

sentences in an equivalent form.

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Example 5 – State an Equivalent Form
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.

Solution:
Let p represent the statement “I graduated.” Let q represent
the statement “I got a job.” In symbolic form, the original
sentence is . One of De Morgan’s laws states that
this is equivalent to .

Thus a sentence that is equivalent to the original sentence

is “I did not graduate and I did not get a job.”
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Tautologies and Self-Contradictions

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Tautologies and Self-Contradictions
A tautology is a statement that is always true.

A self-contradiction is a statement that is always false.

Contingency – a statement that it is not always true nor

always false.

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Example 6 – Verify Tautologies and Self-Contradictions

Show that is a tautology.

Solution:
Enter the truth values for each simple statement and its
negation as shown in the columns numbered 1, 2, and 3.

Use the truth values in columns 2 and 3 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 4, under the “or” connective.

Use the truth values in columns 1 and 4 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 5, under the “or” connective.

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Example 6 – Solution cont’d

Column 5 of the table shows that is always true.

Thus is a tautology.

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 2.8
Section The Conditional and the
Biconditional

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57
Conditional Statements

58
Conditional Statements
Conditional statements can be written in if p, then q form
or in if p, q 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.
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Example 1 – Identify the Antecedent and Consequent of a Conditional

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.—The Basketball Diaries

b. If you don’t get in that plane, you’ll regret it.

—Casablanca

c. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful

than you can possibly imagine.—Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star
Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope

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Example 1 – Solution
a. Antecedent: our school was this nice
Consequent: I would go there more than once a week

b. Antecedent: you don’t get in that plane

Consequent: you’ll regret it

c. Antecedent: you strike me down

Consequent: I shall become more powerful than you can
possibly imagine

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Conditional Statements

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The Truth Table for the Conditional
p→q

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p → q

To determine the truth table for p → q, consider the

advertising slogan for a web authoring software product
that states, “If you can use a word processor, you can
create a webpage.”

This slogan is a conditional statement.

The antecedent is p, “you can use a word processor,” and

the consequent is q, “you can create a webpage.”

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p → q
Now consider the truth value of p → q for each of the
following four possibilities.

Table 2.7

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p → q

Row 1: Antecedent T, Consequent T

You can use a word processor, and you can create a
webpage. In this case the truth value of the advertisement
is true. To complete Table 2.7, we place a T in place of the
question mark in row 1.

Row 2: Antecedent T, Consequent F

You can use a word processor, but you cannot create a
webpage. In this case the advertisement is false. We put
an F in place of the question mark in row 2 of Table 2.7.

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p → q

Row 3: Antecedent F, Consequent T

You cannot use a word processor, but you can create a
webpage. Because the advertisement does not make any
statement about what you might or might not be able to do
if you cannot use a word processor, we cannot state that
the advertisement is false, and we are compelled to place a
T in place of the question mark in row 3 of Table 2.7.

Table 2.7
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The Truth Table for the Conditional p → q

Row 4: Antecedent F, Consequent F

You cannot use a word processor, and you cannot create a
webpage. Once again we must consider the truth value in
this case to be true because the advertisement does not
make any statement about what you might or might not be
able to do if you cannot use a word processor. We place a
T in place of the question mark in row 4 of Table 2.7.

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p → q

The truth table for the conditional p → q is given in Table

2.8.

Truth Table for p → q

Table 2.8

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Example 3 – Construct a Truth Table for a Statement Involving a Conditional

Construct a truth table for .

Solution:
Enter the truth values for each simple statement and its
negation as shown in columns 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Use the truth values in columns 2 and 3 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 5, under the “or” connective.

Use the truth values in columns 1 and 5 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 6 under the “and”
connective.
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Example 3 – Solution cont’d

Use the truth values in columns 6 and 4 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 7 under the “If . . . then”
connective.

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An Equivalent Form of the
Conditional

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An Equivalent Form of the Conditional
The truth table for ~p q is shown in Table 2.9. The truth
values in this table are identical to the truth values in Table
2.8.

Truth Table for ~p q Truth Table for p → q

Table 2.9 Table 2.8

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An Equivalent Form of the Conditional
Hence, the conditional p → q is equivalent to the disjunction
~p q.

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Example 4 – Write a Conditional in Its Equivalent Disjunctive Form

Write each of the following in its equivalent disjunctive form.

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

b. If Cam Newton cannot play, then his team will lose.

Solution:
In each case we write the disjunction of the negation of the
antecedent and the consequent.

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

b. Cam Newton can play or his team will lose.

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The Negation of the Conditional

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The 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

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Example 5 – Write the Negation of a Conditional Statement

Write the negation of each conditional statement.

a. If they pay me the money, I will sign the contract.

b. If the lines are parallel, then they do not intersect.

Solution:
In each case, we write the conjunction of the antecedent
and the negation of the consequent.

a. They paid me the money and I did not sign the contract.
b. The lines are parallel and they intersect.

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The Biconditional

79
The Biconditional
Table 2.10 shows that p q is true only when p and q
have the same truth value.

Truth Table for p q

Table 2.10

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Example 7 – Determine the Truth Value of a Biconditional

State whether each biconditional is true or false.

a. x + 4 = 7 if and only if x = 3.
b. x2 = 36 if and only if x = 6.

Solution:
a. Both equations are true when x = 3, and both are false
when x  3. Both equations have the same truth value
for any value of x, so this is a true statement.

b. If x = –6, the first equation is true and the second

equation is false. Thus this is a false statement.

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Section 2.9 The Conditional
and Related Statements

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

82
Equivalent Forms of the
Conditional

83
Equivalent Forms of the Conditional
Every conditional statement can be stated in many
equivalent forms.

It is not even necessary to state the antecedent before the

consequent.

For instance, the conditional “If I live in Boston, then I must

live in Massachusetts” can also be stated as

I must live in Massachusetts, if I live in Boston.

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Equivalent Forms of the Conditional
Table 2.11 lists some of the various forms that may be
used to write a conditional statement.

Common Forms of p → q
Table 2.11

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Example 1 – Write a Statement in an Equivalent Form

Write each of the following in “If p, then q” form.

a. The number is an even number provided that it is
divisible by 2.
b. Today is Friday, only if yesterday was Thursday.

Solution:
a. The statement, “The number is an even number
provided that it is divisible by 2,” is in “q provided that
p” form.
The antecedent is “it is divisible by 2,” and the
consequent is “the number is an even number.”
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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Thus its “If p, then q” form is

If it is divisible by 2, then the number is an even
number.

b. The statement, “Today is Friday, only if yesterday was

Thursday,” is in “p only if q” form. The antecedent is
“today is Friday.”

The consequent is “yesterday was Thursday.” Its “If p,

then q” form is

If today is Friday, then yesterday was Thursday.

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The Converse, the Inverse, and
the Contrapositive

88
The Converse, the Inverse, and the Contrapositive

Every conditional statement has three related statements.

They are called the converse, the inverse, and the
contrapositive.

The above definitions show the following:

• The converse of p → q is formed by interchanging the
antecedent p with the consequent q.
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The Converse, the Inverse, and the Contrapositive

• The inverse of p → q is formed by negating the

antecedent p and negating the consequent q.

• The contrapositive of p → q is formed by negating both

the antecedent p and the consequent q and
interchanging these negated statements.

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Example 2 – Write the Converse, Inverse, and Contrapositive of a Conditional

Write the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of

If I get the job, then I will rent the apartment.

Solution:
Converse: If I rent the apartment, then I get the job.

Inverse: If I do not get the job, then I will not rent the
apartment.

Contrapositive: If I do not rent the apartment, then I did not

get the job.

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