Symbolic Representation, Propositional Logic

CSE-2315: Discrete Structures

Ashis Kumer Biswas

Department of Computer Science and Engineering,

University of Texas at Arlington.

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Statements (or, Propositions)

A sentence that is either TRUE or FALSE.

23 is a prime number.
x+5=3
How are you?
She is laughing.
Sun sets in the east.

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Propositional Logic

A sentence that is either TRUE or FALSE.

23 is a prime number.
Yes, it is a proposition. The value is True
x+5=3
Not a proposition, cause x is not specified. Neither true nor false
How are you?
A question, not a proposition
She is laughing.
She is not specified. So, not a proposition. Neither true nor false.
Sun sets in the east.
Yes, it is a proposition. The value is FALSE.

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Composite Statements

More complex propositional statements can be built from elementary (i.e.,

simple) statements using logical connectives.
1 Negation (logical complement, Not)
2 Conjunction (And, But)
3 Disjunction (Or)
4 Implication (implies, if...then)

Truth table is an essential tool to determine truth values of any

statement.

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Truth table for conjunction

A B AB
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

List of English words for conjunction:

and
but
also
in addition
moreover

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Truth table for disjunction

A B AB
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

List of English words for disjunction:

or

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Truth table for implication

A B AB
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

List of English words for implication:

if A, then B
A implies B
A, therefore B
A only if B
B follows from A
A is a sufficient condition for B
B is a necessary condition for A
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Truth table for equivalence

A B AB
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

List of English words for equivalence:

A if and only if B
A is necessary and sufficient condition for B.

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Truth table for negation

A A0
T F
F T

List of English words for negation:

not A
It is false that A
It is not true that A

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Well-formed formula (Wff)

Statement letters, connectives and parenthesis can be used to form

new expressions.
A legitimate expression is called well-formed formula (wff)
An invalid expression: A)) BC
A wff: (A B) (B C )
order of precedence of connectives and parenthesis:
1 () innermmost parenthesis first
2 0

3 , their precedence are same, but work from left-to-right fashion

4
5
Example 1: A (B C )0
Example 2: A B C B C 0
Example 3: ((A B) C ) (B C 0 )

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Truth table for wff

Given a wff: A B 0 (A B)0

A B B0 A B0 AB (A B)0 A B 0 (A B)0
T T F T T F F
T F T T T F F
F T F F T F T
F F T T F T T

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Tautology

Tautology: The Wff whose truth values are always TRUE.

Example: (A B) (B 0 A0 )

A B AB B0 A0 B 0 A0 (A B) (B 0 A0 )
T T T F F T T
T F F T F F T
F T T F T T T
F F T T T T T

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Contradiction

Contradiction: The Wff whose truth values are always FALSE.

Example: (A A0 ) (B B 0 )

A B A0 A A0 B0 B B0 (A A0 ) (B B 0 )
T T F T F F F
T F F T T F F
F T T T F F F
F F T T T F F

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Tautological equivalence

Given two wffs: A and B

Tautological equivalence of A and B, i.e., A B: if A B is a
tautology.
Example: (A B) (B 0 A0 )
A B AB B0 A0 B 0 A0 (A B) (B 0 A0 )
T T T F F T T
T F F T F F T
F T T F T T T
F F T T T T T
Therefore, (A B) (B 0 A0 )

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List of tautological equivalences

A B B A, (commutative property)
A B B A, (commutative property)
(A B) C A (B C ), (associative property)
(A B) C A (B C ), (associative property)
A (B C ) (A B) (A C ), (distributive property)
A (B C ) (A B) (A C ), (distributive property)
A 0 A, (identity property)
A 1 A, (identity property)
A A0 1, (complement property)
A A0 0, (complement property)
(A B)0 A0 B 0 , (De Morgans Law)
(A B)0 A0 B 0 , (De Morgans Law)

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Propositional Logic

Goal how to reach a logical conclusion based on given statements.

Valid Argument: The propositional wff
P1 P2 P3 Pn Q
is a valid argument when it is a tautology.
Given statements P1 , P2 , P3 , , Pn are n statements given. Each of
them is called hypothesis statement.
Q is a conclusion statement.
So, goal is: When can Q be logically deduced from P1 , P2 , Pn ?
How to accomplish this? Truth table vs. Proof sequence
1. P1 (hypothesis, hyp)
2. P2 (hypothesis, hyp)
3. P3 (hypothesis, hyp)
n Pn (hypothesis, hyp)
. wff1 (intermediate wffs obtained using derivation rules)
. wff2 (intermediate wffs obtained using derivation rules)
. Q (obtained using derivation rules)
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Proof sequence example 1

P Q is equivalent to P 0 Q, (implication rule, imp)

That is, P Q P 0 Q
Now lets do an example of proof sequence:
Prove whether the argument is valid: (A B) A B
Here is the proof sequence for it:
1. A B hyp
2. A hyp
3. 0
A B 1, imp
4. B 3, disjunctive syllogism (ds)

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Thanks
Questions?

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