Chapter 1

Propositional Logic: Logical Equivalence

1.1 Propositions
Definition
A proposition is a declarative sentence that is either true or false, but not both. If a
proposition is true, then its truth value is true which is denoted by T ; otherwise, its truth
value is false and is denoted by F .

Propositions are usually denoted by small letters as shown in the next example. For example,

p: Everyone should study logic.

may be read as

p is the proposition “Everyone should study logic.”

If a sequence of propositions is considered, we denote the propositions by p1 , p2 , ....

EXAMPLE 1. Determine whether each of the following statements is a proposition or not. If

a proposition, give its truth value.

p: Mindanao is an island in the Philippines.

q: Find a number which divides your age.

r: My seatmate will get a perfect score in the Logic exam.

s: Welcome to the Philippines!

t: 3 + 2 6= 5

Solution. Recall that for a statement to be a proposition it has to be a declarative sentence, and
it should have a truth value of either true or false, but not both true and false at the same time.

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p. This is a declarative sentence, and Mindanao is an island in the Philippines. Hence, p is a
true proposition.

q. This is an imperative sentence, and so it is not a proposition.

r. The statement is a declarative sentence. Although the truth value will only be known after
the Logic exam, we know that it can only be either true (my seatmate gets a perfect score)
or false (she has some mistakes), but not both. Hence, r is a proposition.
Remark: for a declarative sentence to be a proposition, it is not necessary that its true value
is immediately known.

s. Statement s is an exclamatory sentence, and so it is not a proposition.

t. Obviously, 3 + 2 6= 5 is a a declarative (mathematical) sentence. It is a false proposition.

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NAME:
Determine whether each of the following statements is a proposition or not. If a proposition,
give its truth value.

1. Mabuhay!

2. Jose Rizal is our National Hero.

3. Who is the first president of the republic?

4. Ferdinand Magellan did not arrive the Philippines in 1521.

5. 2.5 is an integer.

6. Our Logic teacher is either pretty or handsome.

7. Smile at your seatmate.

8. The last kilometer marker up north is in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, and the Palaui
Island is also found there.

9. 2 is even and prime.

10. Is 2 a square of some number?

11. If an integer is even, then its square is also even.

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1.2 Logical Operators

Given a proposition, its truth table shows all its possible truth values.

EXAMPLE 2. Since a proposition has two possible truth values, a proposition p would have
the following truth table.
p
T
F

The truth table must display all the possible truth value combinations of two or more proposi-
tions. Thus, for propositions p and q, we have the following table.
p q
T T
T F
F T
F F

Similarly, suppose p, q, and r are propositions. Then a truth table involving the given proposi-
tions has 23 = 8 rows as shown below.
p q r
T T T
T T F
T F T
T F F
F T T
F T F
F F T
F F F

Number of Rows in A Truth Table

In general, a truth table involving n propositions has 2n rows.

We will use truth tables to define the logical operators. The simplest logical operator is the
negation operator, which is denoted by ∼.

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 Definition.
The negation of a proposition p is denoted by

∼ p : (read as ‘not’ p, )

and is defined through its truth table:

p ∼p
T F
F T

EXAMPLE 3. State the negation of the propositions p: The tinikling is the most difficult
dance, and q: Everyone in the Visayas speaks Cebuano.
Solution. ∼ p: ‘The tinikling is not the most difficult dance.’
∼ q: Not everyone in the Visayas speaks Cebuano.

Definition.
The conjunction of propositions p and q is denoted by

p ∧ q : (p and q, )

and is defined through its truth table:

p q p∧q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

The propositions p and q are called conjuncts.

The conjunction p ∧ q is true only when both conjuncts p and q are true as shown in its truth
table.

EXAMPLE 4. Let p and q be the following propositions.

p: Angels exist.
q: π > 3
Express the following conjunctions as English sentences or in symbols, as the case may be.

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(a) p ∧ (∼ q)

(b) ‘Angels do not exist and π ≤ 3.’

Solution. The corresponding English sentences are given below.
(a) p ∧ (∼ q): ‘Angels exist and π ≤ 3’.

(b) (∼ p) ∧ (∼ q)

Consider the following sentences.

Carlo is competitive and hardworking.
Carlo is competitive but hardworking.
Carlo is competitive yet hardworking.
In ordinary language, these sentences have subtle differences. However, in logic, all these state-
ments can be represented by the conjunction p ∧ q, where p : ‘Carlo is competitive’ and q : ‘Carlo
is hardworking.’

Definition.
The disjunction of propositions p and q is denoted by

p ∨ q : (p or q, )

and is defined through its truth table:

p q p∨q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

The propositions p and q are called disjuncts.

The truth table above tells us that the disjunction p ∨ q is false only when both disjuncts p and
q are false.

The meaning of ‘or’

Note that ‘or’ has several meanings in ordinary language. In our case, we use what mathe-
maticians call the inclusive or. That is, ‘p ∨ q’ means that p is true or q is true or BOTH
are true.

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 EXAMPLE 5. Let p, q and r be the following propositions.
p: Jeric has a date with Liza.
q: Francis is sleeping.
r: Nic is eating.

Consider the following scenario. One Friday night, Jeric and Francis are busy studying for their
Logic exam. Meanwhile, Nic just tweeted a picture of himself eating crispy pata and sisig!
What is the truth value of the proposition (∼ p) ∨ (q ∧ r)?

Solution. From Nic’s tweet, we can conclude that he is eating and so proposition r is true. Since
Francis is studying, proposition q is false. This implies that conjunction q ∧ r is false, since one of
the conjuncts is false. The proposition p is also false because Jeric is studying, which means that
(∼ p) is true. Hence, the disjunction (∼ p) ∨ (q ∧ r) is true as one of the disjuncts is true.

Definition.
The conditional of propositions p and q is denoted by

p → q : (If p, then q, )

and is defined through its truth table:

p q p→q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

The conditional p → q may also be read as ‘p implies q’. The proposition p is called the
hypothesis, while the proposition q is called the conclusion.

EXAMPLE 6. Suppose that Harold is a Grade 11 student. Consider the following conditionals:
p1 : If Harold is in Grade 11, then she is a senior high school student.
p2 : If Harold is in Grade 11, then she is working as a lawyer.
p3 : If Harold has a degree in Computer Science, then she believes in true love.
Analyze the truth values of these conditionals.
Solution. .

p1 : ‘Harold is in Grade 11’ and ‘Harold is a senior high school student’ are both true. Since the
hypothesis and conclusion are both true, then p1 is true, as the first row of the truth table
asserts.

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 p2 : ‘Harold is in Grade 11’ is true and ‘Harold is working as a lawyer’ is false because a Grade
11 student is not yet qualified to be a lawyer. Since the hypothesis is true but the conclusion
is false, then p2 is false, as the second row of the truth table indicates.

p3 : ‘Harold has a degree in Computer Science’ is false because Harold is still in Grade 11, and
so cannot not possibly have a university degree yet. On the other hand, we do not know the
truth value of ‘Harold believes in true love’. However, according to the last two rows of the
truth table, p3 is true regardless of the truth value of its conclusion.

Another way to understand the truth value of conditional proposition p → q is to think of it as

a promise or a contract. The conditional p → q is false or, equivaWilsontly, the promise is broken
when the hypothesis p is true, while the conclusion q is false.
EXAMPLE 7. Determine the truth values of the following propositions.

(a) If 2 > 0, then there are more than 100 million Filipinos.

(b) If 2 > 0, then there are only 5 languages spoken in the Philippines.

(c) If 2 < 0, then it is more fun in the Philippines.

Solution. The number 2 is a positive number, and so the proposition ‘2 > 0’ is true, while ‘2 < 0’
is false.

(a) The hypothesis and the conclusion are both true. Hence the conditional is true.

(b) The hypothesis is true, but the conclusion is wrong because there are more than 5 languages in
the Philippines! In fact there are more than 100 languages in the country. Thus, the conditional
is false.

(c) Because the hypothesis is false, the conditional is true whether it is indeed more fun in the
Philippines or not.

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 Definition.
The biconditional of propositions p and q is denoted by

p ↔ q : (p if and only if q, )

and is defined through its truth table:

p q p↔q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

The proposition may also be written as ‘p iff q’. The propositions p and q are the compo-
nents of the biconditional.

The truth table of a biconditional tells us that its truth value is true when the truth values of
p and q are the same.
Let use revisit the scenario in our previous example.
EXAMPLE 8. Suppose that Geebee is a Grade 11 student. Consider the following bicondi-
tionals:
p1 : Geebee is in Grade 11 if and only if she is a senior high school student.
p2 : Geebee is in Grade 11 if and only if she is working as a lawyer.
p3 : Geebee has a degree in Computer Science if and only if she believes in true love.
Analyze the truth values of the given biconditionals.
Solution. .

p1 : Again, both simple components of p1 are true. Hence, the biconditional is true.

p2 : It is true that Geebee is in Grade 11 but it is false that Geebee is working as a lawyer. Thus,
the biconditional is false.

p3 : The truth value of the biconditional p3 depends on whether Geebee believes in true love or
not. If Geebee does not believe in true love, then both components of the biconditional are
false which makes the biconditional true. However, supposing Geebee believes in true love,
the truth value of biconditional is false.

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NAME:
Let p, q, r, and s be defined as follows. p: Neil is a big eater; q: Wilson has
a big voice; r: Norodin likes to travel; s: Alex likes violet. Transform the words
into symbols (Items 1-7) and the symbols into words (Items 8-10).
1. ‘While Wilson has a big voice, Neil is not a big eater.’

2. ‘Norodin likes to travel or he does not.’

3. ‘It is not true that Neil is a big eater and Alex does not like violet.’

4. ‘It may or may not be the case that Alex likes violet.’

5. ‘Either Neil is a big eater or Wilson has a big voice, yet Alex likes violet.’

6. ‘If Neil is a big eater or Wilson has a big voice, then Alex likes violet.’

7. ‘Neil is a big eater or Wilson has a big voice if and only if Alex likes violet
and Norodin likes to travel.’

8. p ∧ (∼ q)

9. p ↔ (∼ p)

10. ∼ (q → r)

11. Give the truth values of the propositions in Items 8-10 for the given scenario.
p q r s
T F T T

8. 9. 10.

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NAME:
In this activity we look at the Instagram world of four girls: Janella, Julia, Kathryn and Liza.
We summarize their instagram dynamics–who follows who–in a table such as the following.
Janella Julia Kathryn Liza
Janella
Julia
Kathryn
Liza

A check in a cell of table means that the girl named at the beginning of the row follows on instagram
the girl at the head of the column.
Instruction: Make the following propositions true by checking the appropriate cell.
Liza follows Kathryn, but does not follow Janella.
Either Julia follows Kathryn, or Julia follows Liza.
While Janella follows everyone that Julia follows, Janella does not follow Liza.
Kathryn follows everyone who follows her.
Nobody follows herself.
There are several ways that this can be done.

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1.3 Constructing Truth Tables
EXAMPLE 9. Let p and q be propositions. Construct the truth table of the compound proposition
(p → q) ∧ (q → p).
Solution. As previously discussed, since there are two primitive propositions p and q involved, the
truth table should have four rows which consist of all possible truth values combination of p and q.
p q
T T
T F
F T
F F
The given proposition is a conjunction of the conditionals (p → q) and (q → p) as the conjuncts.
In the next two columns, we encode the truth values of these conditionals using the definition
discussed in the previous meeting.
p q p→q q→p
T T T T
T F F T
F T T F
F F T T
In the final column, we encode the truth values of the conjunction (p → q) ∧ (q → p) using the
third and fourth columns.
p q p→q q→p (p → q) ∧ (q → p)
T T T T T
T F F T F
F T T F F
F F T T T

EXAMPLE 10. Consider the compound proposition [(p → r) ∧ (q → r)] → [(p ∨ q) → r].
Construct its truth table.
Solution. x

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 p q r p→r q→r (p → r) ∧ (q → r) p∨q (p ∨ q) → r s
T T T T T T T T T
T T F F F F T F T
T F T T T T T T T
T F F F T F T F T
F T T T T T T T T
F T F T F F T F T
F F T T T T F T T
F F F T T T F T T

Notice that the last column of the truth table consists entirely of T . This means that the
proposition [(p → r) ∧ (q → r)] → [(p ∨ q) → r] is always true for all possible combinations of the
truth values of p, q, and r. Such propositions are called tautologies.

Definition.
A proposition that is always true is called a tautology, while a proposition that is always
false is called a contradiction. A tautology is denoted by τ and a contradiction by φ.

Seatwork 1. Let p and q be propositions. Using truth tables, show the following:

1. p ∨ τ is a tautology,

2. p ∧ φ is a contradiction,

3. p → (p ∨ q) is a tautology, and

4. (p ∧ (∼ q)) ∧ (p ∧ q) is a contradiction.

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NAME:
Construct the truth table of the following propositions.

1. ((p → q) ∧ q) → p

2. ((p → q) ∧ (∼ p)) →∼ q

3. ((p ∨ q) ∧ p) → (∼ q)

4. (p → q) → (q → p)

5. (∼ (p ∧ q) ∧ (∼ p)) → q

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1.4 Logical Equivalence and Forms of Conditional Propo-
sitions
Definition.
Two propositions p and q are logically equivalent, denoted by p ⇔ q, if they have the
same truth values for all possible truth values of their simple components.

EXAMPLE 11. Show that (p → q) ⇔ [(∼ p) ∨ q]. We shall call this logical equivalence the
Switcheroo law.1
Solution. We show that (p → q) and (∼ p) ∨ q have the same truth tables.
p q p→q ∼p (∼ p) ∨ q
T T T F T
T F F F F
F T T T T
F F T T T
The third and fifth columns show that (p → q) and (∼ p) ∨ q have the same truth tables. Hence,
(p → q) ⇔ [(∼ p) ∨ q].
Alternate solution. We can also show that (p → q) ↔ [(∼ p) ∨ q] is a tautology.
p q p→q ∼p (∼ p) ∨ q (p → q) ↔ [(∼ p) ∨ q]
T T T F T T
T F F F F T
F T T T T T
F F T T T T
The final column shows that that (p → q) ↔ [(∼ p) ∨ q] is a tautology.

The following table presents logical equivalences which are commonly used in logical manipu-
lations.

1
Waner, C. & Costenoble, S.R. (2001). Supplementary chapters to accompany Finite Mathematics, 2nd ed.
Brooks/Cole. (http://www.zweigmedia.com/RealWorld/logic/logicintro.html)

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 Rules of Logical Equivalences
Let p, q, and r be propositions. As an exercise, verify using truth tables that the following
are indeed logical equivalences.

Identity Laws (p ∧ τ ) ⇔ p (p ∨ φ) ⇔ p
Domination Laws (p ∨ τ ) ⇔ τ (p ∧ φ) ⇔ φ
Idempotent Laws (p ∨ p) ⇔ p (p ∧ p) ⇔ p
Inverse Laws (p ∨ [∼ p]) ⇔ τ (p ∧ [∼ p]) ⇔ φ
Double Negation ∼ (∼ p) ⇔ p
Associative Laws p ∨ (q ∨ r) ⇔ (p ∨ q) ∨ r p ∧ (q ∧ r) ⇔ (p ∧ q) ∧ r
Commutative Laws p∨q ⇔q∨p p∧q ⇔q∧p
Distributive Laws p ∨ (q ∧ r) ⇔ (p ∨ q) ∧ (p ∨ r) p ∧ (q ∨ r) ⇔ (p ∧ q) ∨ (p ∧ r)
De Morgan’s Laws ∼ (p ∨ q) ⇔ (∼ p) ∧ (∼ q) ∼ (p ∧ q) ⇔ (∼ p) ∨ (∼ q)
Absorption Laws p ∨ (p ∧ q) ⇔ p p ∧ (p ∨ q) ⇔ p

EXAMPLE 12. Show that ∼ (p → q) ⇔ [p ∧ (∼ q)].

Solution. On way to do this is to show that ∼ (p → q) and p ∧ (∼ q) have the same truth tables.
However, in this example, we use local equivalences to transform ∼ (p → q) into p ∧ (∼ q):
Reason
∼ (p → q)
⇔ ∼ ((∼ p) ∨ q) Switcheroo
⇔ ∼ (∼ p) ∧ (∼ q) De Morgan’s Laws
⇔ p ∧ (∼ q) Double Negation

EXAMPLE 13. Let p and q be propositions. Construct the truth tables of the following
conditionals: p → q, q → p, ∼ p →∼ q, and ∼ q →∼ p.
Solution. The combined truth table is given below.
p q p→q q→p ∼p ∼q ∼ p →∼ q ∼ q →∼ p
T T T T F F T T
T F F T F T T F
F T T F T F F T
F F T T T T T T

Since the third and the last columns are exactly the same, we have shown that (p → q) ⇔∼
q →∼ p.
Similarly, since the fourth and the seventh columns are identical, we have that (q → p) ⇔ (∼
p →∼ q).

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 The conditionals we considered in the previous example are the different forms of conditional
propositions.

Definition.
Given propositions p and q. There are three propositions that we can derive from the
conditional p → q, namely, its

1. converse: q → p 3. inverse: ∼ p →∼ q
2. contrapositive: ∼ q →∼ p

Logical equivalences of conditionals

In the previous example, we have shown a proposition and its contrapositive are logically
equivalent. Also a proposition’s converse and inverse are logically equivalent.

Another way to show these logical equivalences is via the Switcheroo law and the table of logical
equivalences.
To show that (p → q) ⇔∼ q →∼ p:

Reason
∼ q →∼ p
⇔ ∼ (∼ q)∨ ∼ p Double Switcheroo
⇔ q∨ ∼ p Double Negation
⇔ ∼p∨q Commutative Law
⇔ p→q Switcheroo

Similarly, to show that (q → p) ⇔ (∼ p →∼ q):

Reason
∼ p →∼ q
⇔ ∼ (∼ p) ∨ (∼ q)) Switcheroo
⇔ p ∧ (∼ q) Double Negation
⇔ (∼ q) ∧ p Commutative Law
⇔ q→p Switcheroo

Usually, when you show logical equivalence without using the truth table, start with the more
complicated proposition and then use some known logical equivalences to arrive at the other propo-
sition.

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NAME:
State the converse, contrapositive, and inverse of the given conditionals.

1. “If today is Tuesday, then it is a weekday.”

Converse:

Contrapositive:

Inverse:

2. “If it rains, then I will not go the beach.”

Converse:

Contrapositive:

Inverse:

3. “If a positive integer is prime, then it has no divisors other than 1 and itself.”

Converse:

Contrapositive:

Inverse:

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NAME:

Show that ∼ (p → (∼ q)) ⇔ (p ∧ q) by completing the table below.

Reason

∼ (p → (∼ q))

⇔ ∼ (∼ p∨ ∼ q)

⇔ ∼ (∼ p)∧ ∼ (∼ q)

⇔ p∧q

Show that (p → (q ∧ r)) ⇔ ((p → q) ∧ (p → r)) by completing the

table below.

Reason

(p → (q ∧ r))

⇔ ∼ p ∨ (q ∧ r)

⇔ (∼ p ∨ q) ∧ (∼ p ∨ r)

⇔ ((p → q) ∧ (p → r))

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NAME:
Verify each proposition in the Table of Logical Equivalences.
Show the following logical equivalences (a) using truth table and (b) using the known logical
equivalences:
1. ∼ (p ∨ ((∼ p) ∧ q)) ⇔ ((∼ p) ∧ (∼ q))
Truth Table: Logical Equivalences:

. .
2. ((p ∧ q) → (p ∨ q)) ⇔ τ
Truth Table: Logical Equivalences:

. .

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NAME:
Prove the following logical equivalences using the rules for logical equivalence.
(p ∨ q) ⇔ ((∼ p) → q) (p ∨ q) ⇔ ((∼ p) → q)

((p → r) ∧ (q → r)) ⇔ ((p ∨ q) → r) ((p → q) ∨ (p → r)) ⇔ (p → (q ∨ r))

s s

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