Propositional Logic

Niloufar Shafiei
Propositions
 Proposition:
n It is a sentence that declares a fact.
n It is either true or false, but not both.
Examples:
 2 + 1 = 3.
True Proposition
 Toronto is the capital of Canada.
False Proposition
 Read this carefully.
Not declarative
 x + 1 = 2.
Neither true nor false
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Propositions
 Variables (letters) are used to represent propositions, denoted
propositional variables.
p: Today is sunny.

 The Truth value of a proposition is true, denoted by T, if it is a

true proposition.
p: 1+3=4 True

 The Truth value of a proposition is false, denoted by F, if it is a

false proposition.
p: It snows today. False

 New propositions, called compound propositions, can be

formed from existing propositions using logical operations.
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Negation
 Let p be a proposition.
The negation of p, denoted by ¬p, is the
proposition “It is not the case that p.”

Example:
 p: Today is Friday.
 ¬p: It is not the case that today is Friday.
Today is not Friday.

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Examples (negation)
 p: It is snowing.
 ¬p: It is not the case that it is snowing.
It is not snowing.

 q: Henry eats chicken.

 ¬q: It is not the case that Henry eats chicken.
Henry does not eat chicken.

 r: 2+3 = 5.
 ¬r: It is not the case that 2+3 = 5.
2+3 ≠ 5.
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Negation
 The truth value of the negation of p, ¬p, is the
opposite of the truth value of p.

Example:
 p: Today is Friday. F
 ¬p: Today is not Friday.
T
p ¬p
T F
F T
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Conjunction
 Let p and q be propositions.
The conjunction of p and q, denoted by
p∧q, is the proposition “p and q.”

Example:
 p: Today is Friday.
 q: It is raining today.
 p∧q: Today is Friday and it is raining today.
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Conjunction(example)
 p: Maria takes a discrete mathematics course.
 q: Maria takes a statistics course.
 p∧q: Maria takes a discrete mathematics course and
Maria takes a statistics course.

 r: Henry is happy.
 s: Fred is not happy.
 r∧s: Henry is happy and Fred is not happy.
Henry is happy, but Fred is not happy.

 t: It is below freezing.
 u: It is not snowing.
 t∧u: It is below freezing and it is not snowing.
It is below freezing, but it is not snowing.

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Conjunction
 The conjunction p∧q is true when both p and q are
true and is false otherwise.
Example:
 p: Today is Friday. F
 q: It is raining today. T
 p∧q: Today is Friday and it is raining today.
F
p q p∧q
T T T
F T F
T F F
F F F

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Disjunction
 Let p and q be propositions.
The disjunction of p and q, denoted by
p∨q, is the proposition “p or q.”

Example:
 p: Today is Friday.
 q: Today is Monday.
 p∨q: Today is Friday or today is Monday.
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Disjunction(example)
 p: I go out tonight.
 q: I stay at home.
 p∨q: I go out tonight or I stay at home.

 r: You miss the final examination.

 s: You pass the course.
 r∨s: You miss the final examination or you pass the course.

 t: Maria is computer science major.

 u: Maria is mathematics major.
 t∨u: Maria is computer science major or
Maria is mathematics major.

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Disjunction
 The disjunction p∨q is false when both p and q are
false and is true otherwise.
Example:
 p: Today is Friday. F
 q: Today is Monday. T
 p∨q: Today is Friday or today is Monday.
T
p q p∨q
T T T
F T T
T F T
F F F

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Exclusive or
 Let p and q be propositions.
The exclusive or of p and q, denoted by p⊕q, is
the proposition “p or q, but not both.”

Example:
 p: She wants coffee.
 q: She wants tea.
 p⊕q: She wants coffee or tea, but not both.

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Exclusive or
 The exclusive or p⊕q is true when exactly one of p and q is
true and is false otherwise.
Example:
 p: She wants coffee. F
 q: She wants tea . T
 p⊕q: She wants coffee or tea, but not both.
T
p q p⊕ q
T T F
F T T
T F T
F F F

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Exclusive or (example)
exclusive or versus inclusive or (disjunction)
 Coffee or tea comes with dinner.
Exclusive or
 A password must have at least three digits or be
at least five characters long.
Inclusive or
 Lunch includes soup or salad.
Exclusive or
 Experience with C++ or Java is required.
Inclusive or
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Conditional statement
 Let p and q be propositions.
The conditional statement p→q is the
proposition “if p, then q”.
p→q
hypothesis conclusion

Example:
 p: It snows.
 q: I stay at home.
 p→q: If it snows, then I stay at home.
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Conditional statement
p→q
It snows. → I stay at home.
 If p, then q.
 If it snows, then I stay at home.
 p is sufficient for q.
 It snows is sufficient for me to stay at home.
 q if p.
 I stay at home if it snows.
 q when p.
 I stay at home when it snows.
 A necessary condition for p is q.
 A necessary condition for me to stay at home is that it snows.

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Conditional statement
p→q
It snows. → I stay at home.
 q unless ¬p.
 I stay at home unless it does not snow.
 p implies q.
 It snows implies I stay at home.
 p only if q.
 It snows only if I stay at home.
 q whenever p.
 I stay at home whenever it snows.
 q follows from p.
 I stay at home follows from it snows.

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Conditional statement (example)
 p: You do every exercise in the book.
 q: You get an A in this class.
 p→q: If you do every exercise in the book,
then you get an A in this class.

 r: It is dark.
 s: Hiking is not safe.
 r→s: If it is dark, then hiking is not safe.

 t: You have the flu.

 u: You go to the doctor.
 t→u: If you have the flu, then you go to the doctor.

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Conditional statement
 The conditional statement p→q is false when p is
true and q is false, and true otherwise.
Example:
 p: It snows. F
 q: I stay at home. F
 p→q: If it snows, then I stay at home.
p q p→q T
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

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Propositions
 Conditional Statement
p→q
If it snows, then I stay at home.
 Contrapositive of p→q
¬q→¬p
If I do not stay at home, then it does not snow.
 Converse of p→q
q→p
If I stay at home, then it snows.
 Inverse of p→q
¬p→¬q
If it does not snow, then I do not stay at home.

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Equivalent propositions
 When two compound propositions always have the
same truth value, they are called equivalent.

 Conditional Statement
p→q
 Contrapositive of p→q
¬q→¬p
p q p→q ¬q→¬p q→p ¬p→¬q
 Converse of p→q T T
T T T T
q→p T F F F T T
 Inverse of p→q F T T T F F
¬p→¬q F F T T T T

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Biconditional statement
 Let p and q be propositions.
The biconditional statement p↔q is the
proposition “p if and only if q”.

Example:
 p: You can take the flight.
 q: You buy a ticket.
 p↔q: You can take a flight, if and only if
you buy a ticket.
You can take a flight, iff you buy a ticket.

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Biconditional statement (example)
 p: 1+1=3.
 q: monkeys can fly.
 p↔q: 1+1=3, if and only if monkeys can fly.

 r: You do not miss the final exam.

 s: You pass the course.
 r↔s: You do not miss the final exam,
if and only if you pass the course.

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Biconditional statement
 The biconditional statement p↔q is true when p and
q have the same truth values, and is false
otherwise.
Example:
 p: You can take a flight. F
 q: You buy a ticket. T
 p↔q: You can take
p a flight,
q ifp↔
and
q only if you buy a ticket.
T T T F
T F F
F T F
F F T

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Logical operators (review)
 Negation
¬p “not p.”
 Conjunction
p∧q “p and q.”
 Disjunction
p∨q “p or q.”
 Exclusive or
p⊕q “p or q, but not both.”
 Conditional statement
p→q “If p, then q.”
 Biconditional statement
p↔q “p if and only if q.”
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Compound proposition (example)
Truth value table of
(¬p∧q)↔(p∨q)

p q ¬p ¬p∧q p∨q (¬p∧q)↔(p∨q)

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

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Precedence of logical operators
 Parentheses can be used to specify the order
(p∨q)→r
p∨(q→r)

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Precedence of logical operators
 Parentheses can be used to specify the order
 Logical operators have precedence over each
others.
 Precedence of logical operators:
o Negation
¬p∧q (¬p)∧q
o Conjunction and disjunction
p∧q→r (p∧q)→r
o Conditional and biconditional
p↔q∨s p↔(q∨s)

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Precedence of logical operators

Operators Precedence

¬ 1

∧ 2

∨ 3

→ 4

↔ 5

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Translating English sentences
Translate this English sentence into a logical expression.
 You can access the Internet from campus only if
you are a computer science major or you are not a freshman.

Solution:
 Determine individual propositions
 p: You can access the Internet from campus.
 q: You are a computer science major.
 r: You are a freshman.
 Translate the sentence to compound proposition
o p only if q or not r
o p → (q ∨¬r)

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Example of system specifications
Are these system specifications consistent?
o The message is stored in the buffer or it is retransmitted.
o The message is not stored in the buffer.
o If the message is stored in the buffer, then it is retransmitted.
Solution:
 Determine individual propositions
 p: The message is stored in the buffer.
 q: It is retransmitted.
 Translate each specification to compound proposition
o p∨q
o ¬p
o p→q
 Find an assignment of truth values that makes all specifications true. (start for
the simplest compound proposition)
 ¬p p: false
 p∨q q: true
 p→q p→q : true

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Example (creating new propositions)
p: It is snowing.
q: It is cold.
r: It is sunny.
¬p:
It is not snowing.
p→q:
If it is snowing, then it is cold.
p∨r:
It is snowing or it is sunny.
p→¬r
If it is snowing, then it is not sunny.
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Boolean search
 In searches of large bodies of information, logical
connective are used. These searches are called
Boolean searches.
Example:
o Web page searching
o Search universities in New Mexico.
o Universitites AND New AND Mexico
o Search universities in Mexico.
o Universitites AND Mexico AND NOT New

­ (minus)
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Bit operations
 Computers represent information using bits.
 A bit has two possible values, 0 and 1.
 A bit can be used to represent truth value.
 1 bit represents true.
 0 bit represents false.
 A variable is called a boolean variable if its value
is either true or false.
 Bit operations correspond to logical connectives.
 Logical connective ∧ ­­> AND
 Logical connective ∨ ­­> OR
 Logical connective ⊕ ­­> XOR
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Table for bit operations

x y x∧y x∨y x⊕ y
0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1
1 0 0 1 1
1 1 1 1 0

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Recommended exercises
6,11,14,21,23,29,38,51,55­59

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