Math 161 : Discrete Mathematics

Sebsibe T.
June 7, 2021
BITS College
Logical form, logical equivalence and
Conditional statements
Lecture 1: Basic Notions

Definition (Intuitive)
A proposition is a sentence to which one and only one of the terms
true or false can be meaningfully applied.

Example
The following sentences are members of this class of sentences:

1. The sum of the measures of the interior angles of any plane

triangle is equal to 180◦ . (True)
2. 2 + 6 = 7. (False)

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Example
The following sentences are not members of this class:

1. Mathematics is green. (Nonsense)

2. A triangle consists of three lines and three points. (Vague)
3. It is raining. (Requires qualifications as to place)
4. x + 6 = 0. (Truth cannot be determined until x is given a specific
value)

Remark
We shall represent propositions by lower case letters such as p, q, r, s,
etc., and shall let T and F stand for true and false, respectively. T
and F are called TRUTH values, so that each proposition p has a
truth value which is either T or F but not both.

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Logical connectives

Conjunction: The conjunction of two propositions is formed by

putting them together with an and in between.
Example
The conjunction of p: Jemal is a farmer and q: Semu is a plumber is
p ∧ q: Jemal is a farmer, and Semu is a plumber.
The truth value of p ∧ q depends upon the truth values of p and q.
This dependence is given in the truth table below.

p q p∧q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

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Example
Let p :These lines are parallel and q: These lines intersect.
Then p ∧ q: These lines are parallel or they intersect.

Remark
1. Words like but, while etc can be used in a conjunction instead of
and.
2. You can show that p ∧ q and q ∧ p have the same table. Such
propositions are called equivalent propositions.

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Another connective is the disjunction. In a disjunction we put the two
propositions p and q together with an or between them and write
symbolically as p ∨ q.
There is ambiguity in English regarding the meaning of or. When we
say that “p or q is true”, we can mean one of two things:

(1) Either p is true, or q is true, but not both are true

(exclusive or).
(2) Either p is true, or q is true, or both are true (inclusive
or).

When we use or as a disjunction, we mean it in the inclusive sense.

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The truth value of p ∨ q depends upon the truth values of p and q.
This dependence is given in the truth table below.

p q p∨q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

Example
Let p :These lines are parallel and q: These lines intersect.
Then p ∨ q: These lines are parallel or they intersect.
Remark
We denote exclusive or by the symbol ∨.
Exercise
1. Show that p ∨ q and q ∨ p are equivalent.
2. Give the truth table of p∨q.

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The negation of a proposition is a new proposition which has the
opposite truth value. We write¬p (read “not p”) for the negation of p.
The appropriate truth table is:

p ¬p
T F
F T

Example
(a) p : The number 3 is a perfect square.
¬p : The number 3 is not a perfect square.
(b) p : The sum of the measures of the interior angles of a
given triangle is 180◦ .
¬p : The sum of the measures of the interior angles of a
given triangle is not 180◦ .

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An implication is a proposition formed from two propositions as an
ifthen statement.
Example
Given two statements “Addis Ababa is a capital city” and “Kenenisa
Bekele is an athlete” we can form the implication statements
“If Addis Ababa is a capital city, then Kenenisa Bekele is an athlete”
and “If Kenenisa Bekele is an athlete, then Addis Ababa is a capital
city”.

Remark
You will notice that in our example there is no relationship between
the two clauses, and none is required in an implication. The clause
which follows the if is called the antecedent, or hypothesis, and the
clause which follows the then is called the consequent, or conclusion.

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For the conditional “If p, then q”, we use the symbolic form p ⇒ q and
give the truth table.

p q p⇒q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

Remark
p ⇒ q can be read and written in various equivalent forms. Thus, “If
p, then q”; “q, if p”, “p, only if q”, “p implies q” and “Whenever p,
then q” all mean the same.
We also say “The antecedent is a sufficient condition and the
consequent is a necessary condition”.

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Example
Let “p: Addis Ababa is a capital city” and “q: Kenenisa Bekele is an
athlete”. Give p ⇒ q in its various forms

Solution.
“If Addis Ababa is a capital city, then Kenenisa Bekele is an athlete”
“Addis Ababa is a capital city, only Kenenisa Bekele is an athlete”
“Kenenisa Bekele is an athlete, if Addis Ababa is a capital city”
“It is sufficient that Addis Ababa is a capital city in order that
Kenenisa Bekele is an athlete”
“It is necessary that Kenenisa Bekele is an athlete in order that Addis
Ababa is a capital city”
are some of the possible ways of writing p ⇒ q.

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The last connective we will see is the biconditional or biimplication.
Given p and q, the biconditional is denoted by pLeftrightarrowq and
read as “p if and only if q” or as “p is sufficient and necessary for q”.
The truth table is the following:

p q p⇔q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

Example
(a) The equivalence (22 = 4) ⇔ (32 = 9) is true, since both
propositions arc true.
(b) The equivalence (22 = 4) ⇔ (3 + 5 = 7) is false, since one
proposition is true and one is false.
(c) The equivalence (22 = 5) ⇔ (3 + 5 = 7) is true, since both
propositions are false.
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