Lesson 2.

5
ELEMENTARY LOGIC

Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to be able to
1. Define a proposition in their own words;
2. Differentiate a proposition from not a proposition;
3. Enumerate, define, and describe the logical operators;
4. Symbolize compound statements;
5. Construct the truth table of a compound proposition;
Logic

Etymology. Logic comes from the classical Greek “logos,” meaning “word, thought,
idea, argument, account, reason or principle.” It is the study of the principles and criteria
of valid inference and demonstration.

Definition. It is the study of the methods and principles used to distinguish valid
from invalid reasoning. It is a science that aims to develop the reasoning power of man.
It is also the science of correct thinking.

Division of Logic

Traditional Logic. This is another name for Aristotelian logic. This may be
described as syllogistic logic, logic of classes, or logic of terms. It’s the logic of statements
that can be represented in terms of classes of things, and relationships between
those classes.

Propositional Logic. This is another name for Liebnizian logic. This is may be
described as modern logic, logic of statements, logic of proposition, or logic of sentences.
Specifically, propositional logic studies the ways of joining and/or modifying the entire
propositions to form more complex propositions.

Propositional Logic

Proposition. A declarative statement which is either true or false but not both.

Example 2.5.1

Consider the following statements:

1. My name is Juan De La Cruz.
2. I am a person under investigation.
3. Please erase the blackboard.
4. I was surprised!
5. x-2=4.

The first two sentences are propositions because they may either be true or false.
On the other hand, the rest of the sentences are not propositions because their truth
values cannot be determined. Further, the last statement is called an open sentence since
it involves a variable. An open sentence may only become a proposition when an element
of a set under consideration is substituted to the variable.
Practice Exercise

Identify the sentences that are considered propositions. Then tell if they are true
or false.
1. Today is Monday.
2. This book is expensive.
3. If a number is smaller than 0 then it is positive.
4. Fire your gun Man, fire!
5. La Trinidad is one of the 13 Municipalities of Benguet.
6. The earth is spherical in shape.
7. 2 -7 = -5.
8. 9+ 3 > 7 + 3.
9. He is the president of Benguet State University
10. Rosal is the national Philippine flower.
11. 15 – 3 = 10.
12. 8 > 6 + 2.
13. x + 6 = 10.
14. Blow your horns!
15. What makes you busy?
16. You should relax and move forward.
17. Tomorrow is a holiday.

Propositional Variable

Propositional variables are arbitrary propositions represented by uppercase

letters. They serve as the building blocks from which new propositions are formed. These
variables assume two truth values, true (1) or false (0).

Connectives/Logical Operators

Operators are used to construct compound propositions by joining two or more

simple propositions. Here are the five connectives that we may use.

Conjunction. The proposition P  Q , read as " P and Q " is called the conjunction
of the simple propositions P and Q . This statement is true when both P and Q are true,
otherwise false. Moreover, P and Q are called conjuncts.

Aside from “and,” the following words indicate a conjunction of propositions: but,
however, moreover, nevertheless, whereas, while, despite, yet, furthermore, more so,
although, nonetheless.

Disjunction. The proposition P  Q , read as "P or Q " is called the disjunction of

P and Q . This statement is false when both P and Q are false, otherwise it is true.
Moreover, P and Q are called disjuncts.

Aside from “or,” the following words indicate a disjunction of propositions: either-
or, neither-nor, unless, or else.

Implication/Conditional. The proposition P → Q , read as “ P implies Q ” or “If P ,

then Q ” is called an implication. P is called the antecedent while Q the consequent.
This proposition is false only when P is true and Q is false; otherwise, it is true. It is
important to note that the causal relationship between the antecedent and the consequent
is not a requirement for the implication to be true or false.
 Aside from “if-then,” the following words indicate an implication between
propositions: implies that, entails that, granted that, on the condition that, given that, is
sufficient for, is necessary for.

Some related implications from P → Q .

Converse Q → P.
Contra-positive Q → P
Inverse P →  Q
Practice Exercise

Write the converse, contra-positive, and inverse of the proposition below.

If you are a Mathematics major, then you must be hardworking.
Converse: ______________________________________________
Contra-positive: __________________________________________
Inverse: ________________________________________________

Bi-conditional. The proposition P  Q , read as “ P if and only if Q ” is called a bi-

conditional. This proposition is true when P and Q have the same truth values. The
phrase “if and only if” is often abbreviated as “iff.”

Quality of a Proposition

Refers to whether a sentence is negative or affirmative.

Quality Symbol Expressions

Negative  No, not, never, it is false that, it is not the
case that, it is true that, nowhere, no one,
not in the least, in no wise, no means
Affirmative none none
Symbolizing Propositions

A simple proposition is usually symbolized by assigning it a capital letter of the

English alphabet. If a statement is composed of more than one simple proposition
(compound statement), then each of these simple propositions is symbolized by a unique
letter and joined together by logical operators.

Example 2.5.2

Let T, C, and W be the following sentences respectively.

Today is Tuesday.
My class ends at 12.
Today is Wednesday.

Symbolic
Compound Sentence
Representation
Today is Tuesday and my class ends at 12. T C
Today is Tuesday or Wednesday. T W
If today is Tuesday, then my class ends at 12. T →C
My class ends today if and only if today is Tuesday. C T
It is not the case that if today is Wednesday, my class ends at 12.  (W → C )
If today is Wednesday, then my class does not end at 12. W → C
 It is not the case that today is not Tuesday.  ( T )

Truth Values and Truth Tables

A truth table facilitates the determination of the truth values of a compound

proposition under all circumstances. Also, it can be used to determine whether two or
more compound statements are equivalent. The truth table below shows the truth values
of a compound proposition with respect to the logical operator used.

Let P and Q be any proposition.

P Q PQ PQ P→Q PQ P
1 1 1 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1 0 1
0 0 0 0 1 1 1

Nature of Compound Propositions

Tautology. A compound proposition that is always true.

Contradiction . A compound proposition that is always false.
Contingency. A compound proposition that has a mixture of truth values of true in
some circumstances and false in other circumstances.
Example 2.5.3

Generate the truth table of each compound proposition and determine its nature.

A.  N → ( S  S )  → N
N S N S S  S N → ( S  S )  N → ( S  S )  → N
1 1 0 0 0 0 1
1 0 0 1 0 0 1
0 1 1 0 0 1 1
0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Hence  N → ( S  S )  → N is a tautology.

B. ( K  J ) → J
K J (K  J ) (K  J ) → J
1 1 1 1
1 0 1 1
0 1 1 0
0 0 0 1
Hence (𝐾 ∨ 𝐽) → 𝐽 is a contingency.

C. R   (  → R )
 R →R (  → R) R  (  → R)
1 1 1 0 0
1 0 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 0
0 0 1 0 0
 Therefore, R   (  → R ) is a contradiction.

Practice Exercise

Identify the nature of the following propositions.

1.  ( A  A )
2.  ( A  A )
3. ( A  B ) → ( A  B )
4. (A  A) → (B  B )
5. (A  B )  (B  A)
6. ((A  B )  (B  A))
7. ((A  B )  (C  D))
8. (A  B ) → (C  D)
Equivalence

Two propositions are logically equivalent if their truth tables have the same truth
values.

Example 2.5.4

Determine whether or not the two propositions are equivalent.

P → ( Q → R )
Q → ( P  R)
P Q R P Q→R P → ( Q → R ) P R Q → ( P  R)

1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1
0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1

Hence, the two propositions are logically equivalent

Practice Exercises

1. Determine whether this proposition is a tautology, a contradiction, or a

contingency.
(( P → Q )  (Q → R )) → ( P → R )
2. Determine whether these two propositions are equivalent.
( P  Q  R)
(  P  Q )   R