Chapter One the identification and examination of those parts of language

which are essential for these purposes. It is formal in the sense

Propositional Logic and Set Theory
that it lacks reference to meaning. Thereby it achieves
In this chapter, we study the basic concepts of propositional
logic and some part of set theory. In the first part, we deal versatility: it may be used to judge the correctness of a chain of
about propositional logic, logical connectives, quantifiers and reasoning (in particular, a "mathematical proof") solely on the
arguments. In the second part, we turn our attention to set basis of the form (and not the content) of the sequence of
theory and discus about description of sets and operations of
statements which make up the chain. There is a variety of
sets.
symbolic logics. We shall be concerned only with that one
Main Objectives of this Chapter
which encompasses most of the deductions of the sort
At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:-
encountered in mathematics. Within the context of logic itself,
 Know the basic concepts of mathematical logic.
this is "classical" symbolic logic.
 Know methods and procedures in combining the
Section objectives:
validity of statements.
After completing this section, students will be able to:-
 Understand the concept of quantifiers.
 Identify the difference between proposition and
 Know basic facts about argument and validity.
sentence.
 Understand the concept of set.
 Describe the five logical connectives.
 Apply rules of operations on sets to find the result.
 Determine the truth values of propositions using the
 Show set operations using Venn diagrams.
rules of logical connectives.
1.1. Propositional Logic  Construct compound propositions using the five logical
Mathematical or symbolic logic is an analytical theory of the connectives.
art of reasoning whose goal is to systematize and codify  Determine the truth values of compound propositions.
principles of valid reasoning. It has emerged from a study of
the use of language in argument and persuasion and is based on

1
  Distinguish a given compound proposition is whether a truth value (either True or False but not both).
tautology or contradiction.
The above definition does not mean that we must always know
1.1.1. Definition and examples of propositions what the truth value is. For example, the sentence “The 1000th
Consider the following sentences. digit in the decimal expansion of is 7” is a proposition, but it
a. 2 is an even number. may be necessary to find this information in a Web site on the
b. A triangle has four sides. Internet to determine whether this statement is true. Indeed, for
c. Emperor Menelik ate chicken soup the night after the a sentence to be a proposition (or a statement), it is not a
battle of Adwa. requirement that we be able to determine its truth value.
d. May God bless you! Remark: Every proposition has a truth value, namely true
e. Give me that book. (denoted by ) or false (denoted by ).
f. What is your name? 1.1.2. Logical connectives
The first three sentences are declarative sentences. The first
In mathematical discourse and elsewhere one constantly
one is true and the second one is false. The truth value of the
encounters declarative sentences which have been formed by
third sentence cannot be ascertained because of lack of
modifying a sentence with the word “not” or by connecting
historical records but it is, by its very form, either true or false
sentences with the words “and”, “or”, “if . . . then (or
but not both. On the other hand, the last three sentences have
not truth value. So they are not declaratives. implies)”, and “if and only if”. These five words or
combinations of words are called propositional connectives.
Now we begin by examining proposition, the building blocks
Note: Letters such as etc. are usually used to denote
of every argument. A proposition is a sentence that may be
actual propositions.
asserted or denied. Proposition in this way are different from
questions, commands, and exclamations. Neither questions,
Conjunction
which can be asked, nor exclamations, which can be uttered,
can possibly be asserted or denied. Only propositions assert When two propositions are joined with the connective “and,” the
proposition formed is a logical conjunction. “and” is denoted by “
that something is (or is not) the case, and therefore only they
”. So, the logical conjunction of two propositions, and , is
can be true or false.
written:
, read as “ and ,” or “ conjunction ”.
Definition 1.1: A proposition (or statement) is a sentence which has

2
p and q are called the components of the conjunction. is true is false if and only if both and are false.
if and only if is true and is true.
The truth table for disjunction is given as follows:

The truth table for conjunction is given as follows:

Example 1.2: Consider the following propositions:

: 3 is an odd number. (True)
Example 1.1: Consider the following propositions:
: 27 is a prime number. (False)
: 3 is an odd number. (True)
: Nairobi is the capital city of Ethiopia. (False)
: 27 is a prime number. (False)
a. : 3 is an odd number or 27 is a prime number.
: Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia. (True)
(True)
a. : 3 is an odd number and 27 is a prime number.
(False) b. : 27 is a prime number or Nairobi is the capital
city of Ethiopia. (False)
b. : 3 is an odd number and Addis Ababa is the
Note: The use of “or” in propositional logic is rather different
capital city of Ethiopia. (True)
from its normal use in the English language. For example, if
Solomon says, “I will go to the football match in the afternoon
Disjunction
or I will go to the cinema in the afternoon,” he means he will
When two propositions are joined with the connective “or,” the do one thing or the other, but not both. Here “or” is used in the
proposition formed is called a logical disjunction. “or” is denoted
exclusive sense. But in propositional logic, “or” is used in the
by “ ”. So, the logical disjunction of two propositions, and , is
inclusive sense; that is, we allow Solomon the possibility of
written:
doing both things without him being inconsistent.
read as “ or ” or “ disjunction
.”

3
 : If 3 is an odd number, then 27 is prime. (False)
Implication : If 3 is an odd number, then Addis Ababa is the
When two propositions are joined with the connective “implies,” the capital city of Ethiopia. (True)
proposition formed is called a logical implication. “implies” is We have already mentioned that the implication can be
denoted by “ .” So, the logical implication of two propositions, expressed as both “If , then ” and “ implies .” There are
and , is written: various ways of expressing the proposition , namely:
read as “ implies .”
If , then .
The function of the connective “implies” between two propositions is
if .
the same as the use of “If … then …” Thus can be read as “if
, then .”
implies .
only if .
is false if and only if is true and is false.
is sufficient for .
This form of a proposition is common in mathematics. The is necessary for
proposition is called the hypothesis or the antecedent of the
conditional proposition while is called its conclusion Bi-implication
or the consequent. When two propositions are joined with the connective “bi-
The following is the truth table for implication. implication,” the proposition formed is called a logical bi-
implication or a logical equivalence. A bi-implication is denoted by
“ ”. So the logical bi-implication of two propositions, and , is
written:
.
is false if and only if and have different truth values.

The truth table for bi-implication is given by:

Examples 1.3: Consider the following propositions:
: 3 is an odd number. (True)
: 27 is a prime number. (False)
: Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia. (True)

4
Examples 1.4: Example 1.5: Let : Addis Ababa is the capital city of
a. Let : 2 is greater than 3. (False) Ethiopia. (True)
: 5 is greater than 4. (True) : Addis Ababa is not the capital city of
Then Ethiopia. (False)
: 2 is greater than 3 if and only if 5 is Exercises
greater than 4. (False) 1. Which of the following sentences are propositions? For
b. Consider the following propositions: those that are, indicate the truth value.
: 3 is an odd number. (True) a. 123 is a prime number.
: 2 is a prime number. (True) b. 0 is an even number.
: 3 is an odd number if and only if 2 is a c. .
prime number. (True) d. Multiply by 3.
There are various ways of stating the proposition . e. What an impossible question!
if and only if (also written as iff ), 2. State the negation of each of the following statements.
implies and implies ,
a. √ is a rational number.
is necessary and sufficient for
b. 0 is not a negative integer.
is necessary and sufficient for c. 111 is a prime number.
is equivalent to 3. Let : 15 is an odd number.
: 21 is a prime number.
Negation State each of the following in words, and determine the
Given any proposition , we can form the proposition called the truth value of each.
negation of . The truth value of is if is and if is . a. . e. .
b. . f. .
We can describe the relation between and as follows.
c. . a. .
d. . g. .

5
 , which are very different propositions. The truth
value of such complicated propositions is determined by
systematic applications of the rules for the connectives.

The possible truth values of a proposition are often listed in a table,

called a truth table. If and are propositions, then there are four
4. Complete the following truth table. possible combinations of truth values for and . That is, , ,
and . If a third proposition is involved, then there are eight
possible combinations of truth values for , and . In general, a
truth table involving “ ” propositions , ,…, contains
possible combinations of truth values for these propositions and a
truth table showing these combinations would have columns and
rows. So, we use truth tables to determine the truth value of a
compound proposition based on the truth value of its constituent
component propositions.
1.1.3. Compound (or complex) propositions
So far, what we have done is simply to define the logical Examples 1.6:
connectives, and express them through algebraic symbols. Now a. Suppose and are true and and are false.
we shall learn how to form propositions involving more than What is the truth value of ?
one connective, and how to determine the truth values of such i. Since is true and is false, is false.
propositions. ii. Since is true and is false, is true.
iii. Thus by applying the rule of implication, we get
Definition 1.2: The proposition formed by joining two or more that is true.
proposition by connective(s) is called a compound statement. b. Suppose that a compound proposition is symbolized by

Note: We must be careful to insert the brackets in proper and that the truth values of and are and ,
places, just as we do in arithmetic. For example, the expression respectively. Then the truth value of is , that of is ,
will be meaningless unless we know which
connective should apply first. It could mean or
6
that of is . So the truth value of Then, is equivalent to , since columns 5 and 6 of the above
is . table are identical.
Remark: When dealing with compound propositions, we shall Example 1.8: Let .
adopt the following convention on the use of parenthesis. .
Then
Whenever “ ” or “ ” occur with “ ” or “ ”, we shall
assume that “ ” or “ ” is applied first, and then “ ” or “ ”
is then applied. For example,
means
means
means
means Looking at columns 5 and 6 of the table we see that they are
However, it is always advisable to use brackets to indicate the not identical. Thus .
order of the desired operations. . It is useful at this point to mention the non-equivalence of
certain conditional propositions. Given the conditional ,
Definition 1.3: Two compound propositions and are said to be we give the related conditional propositions:-
equivalent if they have the same truth value for all possible : Converse of
combinations of truth values for the component propositions : Inverse of
occurring in both and . In this case we write . : Contrapositive of
As we observed from example 1.7, the conditional and
Example 1.7: Let .
its contrapositve are equivalent. On the other hand,
.
and .
Do not confuse the contrapositive and the converse of the
conditional proposition. Here is the difference:
Converse: The hypothesis of a converse statement is the
conclusion of the conditional statement and the conclusion of

7
the converse statement is the hypothesis of the conditional 2. Commutative Laws
statement. a. .
Contrapositive: The hypothesis of a contrapositive statement b. .
is the negation of conclusion of the conditional statement and 3. Associative Laws
the conclusion of the contrapositive statement is the negation a. .
of hypothesis of the conditional statement. b. .
4. Distributive Laws
Example 1.9:
a. .
a. If Kidist lives in Addis Ababa, then she lives in
b. .
Ethiopia.
5. De Morgan’s Laws
Converse: If Kidist lives in Ethiopia, then she lives
a. .
in Addis Ababa.
b.
Contrapositive: If Kidist does not live in Ethiopia,
6. Law of Contrapositive
then she does not live in Addis Ababa.
Inverse: If Kidist does not live in Addis Ababa,
7. Complement Law
then she does not live in Ethiopia.
.
b. If it is morning, then the sun is in the east.
Converse: If the sun is in the east, then it is 1.1.4. Tautology and contradiction
morning.
Contrapositive: If the sun is not in the east, then it Definition: A compound proposition is a tautology if it is always
is not morning. true regardless of the truth values of its component propositions. If,
Inverse: If it is not morning, then the sun is not the on the other hand, a compound proposition is always false regardless
east. of its component propositions, we say that such a proposition is a
Propositions, under the relation of logical equivalence, satisfy contradiction.
various laws or identities, which are listed below.
1. Idempotent Laws Examples 1.10:
a. . a. Suppose is any proposition. Consider the compound
b. . propositions and .

8
 In example 1.10(c), the given compound proposition has a truth
value for every possible combination of assignments of truth
values for the component propositions and . Thus
Observe that is a tautology while is is a contradiction.
a contradiction. Remark:
b. For any propositions and . Consider the compound 1. In a truth table, if a proposition is a tautology, then
proposition . Let us make a truth table every line in its column has as its entry; if a
and study the situation. proposition is a contradiction, every line in its column
has as its entry.
2. Two compound propositions and are equivalent if
T and only if “ ” is a tautology.
T Exercises
T 1. For statements and , use a truth table to show that
T each of the following pairs of statements is logically
equivalent.
We have exhibited all the possibilities and we see that for all a. and .
truth values of the constituent propositions, the proposition b. and .
is always true. Thus, is a c. and .
tautology. d. and .
c. The truth table for the compound proposition e. and .
. 2. For statements , and , show that the following
compound statements are tautology.
a. .
b. .
c. ( ) .
3. For statements and , show that is

9
 a contradiction. b. Suppose the value of is ; what can be said
4. Write the contrapositive and the converse of the about the values of and ?
following conditional statements. 9. Construct the truth table for each of the following
a. If it is cold, then the lake is frozen. statements.
b. If Solomon is healthy, then he is happy. a. d.
c. If it rains, Tigist does not take a walk. . .
5. Let and be statements. Which of the following b. e. ( )
implies that is false? . .
a. is false. d. is true. c. f.
b. is true. e. is false. .
c. is true. .
6. Suppose that the statements and are assigned 10. For each of the following determine whether the
the truth values and , respectively. Find the information given is sufficient to decide the truth value
truth value of each of the following statements. of the statement. If the information is enough, state the
a. . f. . truth value. If it is insufficient, show that both truth
b. . g. values are possible.
c. . . a. , where .
d. . h. b. , where .
e. . . c. , where .
i. d. , where .
. e. , where .
j. f. , where and .
.
7. Suppose the value of is ; what can be said
about the value of ? 1.2. Open propositions and quantifiers
8. a. Suppose the value of is ; what can be said In mathematics, one frequently comes across sentences that
about the values of and ? involve a variable. For example, is one such.

10
The truth value of this statement depends on the value we a. is the day before Sunday.
assign for the variable . For example, if , then this b. is a city in Africa.
sentence is true, whereas if , then the sentence is false. c. is greater than .
Section objectives: d. .
It is clear that each one of these examples involves variables,
After completing this section, students will be able to:- but is not a proposition as we cannot assign a truth value to it.
 Define open proposition. However, if individuals are substituted for the variables, then
each one of them is a proposition or statement. For example,
 Analyze the difference between proposition and open
we may have the following.
proposition.
a. Monday is the day before Sunday.
 Differentiate the two types of quantifiers. b. London is a city in Africa.
 Convert open propositions into propositions using c. 5 is greater than 9.
quantifiers. d. –13 + 4= –9
Remark
 Determine the truth value of a quantified proposition.
The collection of all allowable values for the variable in an
 Convert a quantified proposition into words and vise open sentence is called the universal set (the universe of
versa. discourse) and denoted by .
 Explain the relationship between existential and
universal quantifiers. Definition 1.5: Two open proposition and are said to be
equivalent if and only if
 Analyze quantifiers occurring in combinations.
for all individual . Note that if the universe is
specified, then and are equivalent if and only if
Definition 1.4: An open statement (also called a predicate) is a
for all .
sentence that contains one or more variables and whose truth value
depends on the values assigned for the variables. We represent an Example 1.12: Let .
open statement by a capital letter followed by the variable(s) in | | .
parenthesis, e.g., etc.
Let .
Example 1.11: Here are some open propositions: Then for all ; and have the same truth value.

11
 ( ) | | b. .
( ) c. .
( ) ( ) Then is always true for each ,
is true only for and ,
( ) | | ( ) is always false for all values of .
( ) | | Hence, given an open proposition , with universe , we
( ) observe that there are three possibilities.
( ) | | a. is true for all .
( ) b. is true for some .
Therefore for all . c. is false for all .
Now we proceed to study open propositions which are satisfied
Definition 1.6: Let be the universal set. An open proposition by “all” and “some” members of the given universe.
is a tautology if and only if is always true for all values of
. a. The phrase "for every " is called a universal quantifier.
We regard "for every ," "for all ," and "for each " as
Example 1.13: The open proposition is a having the same meaning and symbolize each by “ .”
tautology. Think of the symbol as an inverted (representing all). If
is an open proposition with universe , then
As we have observed in example 1.11, an open proposition can
is a quantified proposition and is read as “every has
be converted into a proposition by substituting the individuals
the property .”
for the variables. However, there are other ways that an open
b. The phrase "there exists an " is called an existential
proposition can be converted into a proposition, namely by a quantifier. We regard "there exists an ," "for some ," and
method called quantification. Let be an open proposition "for at least one " as having the same meaning, and
over the domain . Adding the phrase “For every ” to symbolize each by “ .” Think of the symbol as the
or “For some ” to produces a statement called backwards capital (representing exists). If is an open
a quantified statement. proposition with universe , then is a quantified
proposition and is read as “there exists with the
Consider the following open propositions with universe .
property .”
a. .

12
Remarks: iii. Let | | . The truth value for
i. To show that is , it is sufficient to find at is since there is no real number
least one such that is . Such an whose absolute value is .
element is called a counter example.
Relationship between the existential and universal
ii. is if we cannot find any having the quantifiers
property .
If is a formula in , consider the following four
Example 1.14: statements.
a. Write the following statements using quantifiers.
a. .
i. For each real number b. .
. c. .
Solution: . d. .
ii. There is a real number such that We might translate these into words as follows.
. a. Everything has property .
Solution: . b. Something has property .
iii. The square of any real number is c. Nothing has property .
nonnegative. d. Something does not have property .
Solution: .
b. Now (d) is the denial of (a), and (c) is the denial of (b), on the
i. Let . The truth value for basis of everyday meaning. Thus, for example, the existential
quantifier may be defined in terms of the universal quantifier.
[i.e ] is .
Now we proceed to discuss the negation of quantifiers. Let
ii. Let . The truth value for
be an open proposition. Then is false only if
is . is a counterexample since
we can find an individual “ ” in the universe such that is
but . On the other hand, is true, false. If we succeed in getting such an individual, then
since such that . is true. Hence will be false if
is true. Therefore the negation of is
. Hence we conclude that

13
 . d. Some rationals are not reals.
Similarly, we can easily verified that .
. Example 1.16:
Remark: To negate a statement that involves the quantifiers Let The set of integers.
and , change each to , change each to , and negate the Let : is a prime number.
open statement. : is an even number.
: is an odd number.
Example 1.15: Then
Let . a. is ; since there is an , say 2,
a. such that is .
. b. is . As a counterexample take 7.
b. Then is and is . Hence .
. c. is .
Given propositions containing quantifiers we can form a d. is .
compound proposition by joining them with connectives in the
Quantifiers Occurring in Combinations
same way we form a compound proposition without
quantifiers. For example, if we have and So far, we have only considered cases in which universal and
we can form . existential quantifiers appear simply. However, if we consider
Consider the following statements involving quantifiers. cases in which universal and existential quantifiers occur in
Illustrations of these along with translations appear below. combination, we are lead to essentially new logical structures.
a. All rationals are reals. The following are the simplest forms of combinations:
. 1.
b. No rationals are reals. “for all and for all the relation holds”;
. 2.
c. Some rationals are reals. “there is an and there is a for which
. holds”;
3.
“for every there is a such that holds”;
14
 4. . Let , then will always
“there is an which stands to every in the relation be an integer, so this is a true statement.
.”
d. means that for every integer and
Example 1.17:
for every integer , . This is false, for if
Let The set of integers.
and , we get .
Let .
Example 1.18:
a. means that there is an integer and
a. Consider the statement
there is an integer such that . This For every two real numbers and , .
statement is true when and , since 4 + 1 If we let
= 5. Therefore, the statement is
where the domain of both and is , the statement can be
always true for this universe. There are other choices
expressed as
of and for which it would be true, but the symbolic or as
statement merely says that there is at least one choice .
for and which will make the statement true, and we Since and for all real numbers and , it
follows that and so is true for all real
have demonstrated one such choice.
numbers and . Thus the quantified statement is true.
b. means that there is an integer b. Consider the open statement
such that for every , . This is false since | | | |
no fixed value of will make this true for all in the where the domain of the variable is the set of even integers
and the domain of the variable is the set of odd integers.
universe; e.g. if , then is false for
Then the quantified statement
some .
c. means that for every integer , there can be expressed in words as
is an integer such that There exist an even integer and an odd integer such that
| | | | .

15
Since is true, the quantified statement is In the statement , the choice of is allowed
true. to depend on - the that works for one need not work for
c. Consider the open statement another . On the other hand, in the statement
, the must work for all , i.e., is
where the domain of both and is the set of positive independent of . For example, the expression
rational numbers. Then the quantified statement , where and are variables referring to the domain of real
numbers, constitutes a true proposition, namely, “For every
can be expressed in words as number , there is a number , such that is less that ,” i.e.,
For every positive rational number , there exists a positive “given any number, there is a greater number.” However, if
rational number such that . the order of the symbol and is changed, in this case,
It turns out that the quantified statement is true. If we replace we obtain: , which is a false proposition,
by , then we have namely, “There is a number which is greater than every
. number.” By transposing and , therefore, we get a
Since and for every real number , different statement.
is false. The logical situation here is:
d. Consider the open statement .
is odd Finally, we conclude this section with the remark that there are
where the domain of both and is the set of natural no mechanical rules for translating sentences from English into
numbers. Then the quantified statement the logical notation which has been introduced. In every case
, one must first decide on the meaning of the English sentence
expressed in words, is and then attempt to convey that same meaning in terms of
There exists a natural number such that for every natural predicates, quantifiers, and, possibly, individual constants.
numbers , is odd. The statement is false.
In general, from the meaning of the universal quantifier it Exercises
follows that in an expression the two 1. In each of the following, two open statements
universal quantifiers may be interchanged without altering the and are given, where the domain of both and
sense of the sentence. This also holds for the existential is . Determine the truth value of
quantifies in an expression such as .
16
 for the given values of and . e. .
a. . and . f. .
. g. .
b. | | | |. and . h.
. 6. Consider the quantified statement
c. . and . For every and , is
. prime.
2. Let denote the set of odd integers and let where the domain of the variables and is
is even, and is even. be open statements .
over the domain . State and a. Express this quantified statement in symbols.
in words. b. Is the quantified statement in (a) true or false?
3. State the negation of the following quantified Explain.
statements. c. Express the negation of the quantified statement in
a. For every rational number , the number is (a) in symbols.
d. Is the negation of the quantified in (a) true or false?
rational.
Explain.
b. There exists a rational number such that .
7. Consider the open statement where the
4. Let is an integer. be an open sentence over
domain of is and the domain of is
the domain . Determine, with explanations, whether
.
the following statements are true or false:
a. State the quantified statement
a. .
in words.
b. .
b. Show quantified statement in (a) is true.
5. Determine the truth value of the following statements.
8. Consider the open statement
a. .
where the domain of is and the domain
b. .
of is .
c. √ .
a. State the quantified statement
d. .
in words.

17
 b. Show quantified statement in (a) is true. You did not pass the exam.
Therefore, you did not study hard.
Let : You study hard.
: You will pass the exam.
1. 3. Argument and Validity
The argument form can be written as:
Section objectives:
pq
After completing this section, students will be able to:- q
 Define argument (or logical deduction). p

 Identify hypothesis and conclusion of a given argument. When is an argument form accepted to be correct? In normal
usage, we use an argument in order to demonstrate that a
 Determine the validity of an argument using a truth
certain conclusion follows from known premises. Therefore,
table.
we shall require that under any assignment of truth values to
 Determine the validity of an argument using rules of the statements appearing, if the premises became all true, then
inferences. the conclusion must also become true. Hence, we state the
following definition.
Definition 1.7: An argument (logical deduction) is an assertion that a
given set of statements , called hypotheses or
Definition 1.8: An argument form is said to
premises, yield another statement , called the conclusion. Such a
be valid if is true whenever all the premises are
logical deduction is denoted by:
true; otherwise it is invalid.
or

Example 1.20: Investigate the validity of the following

argument:

a. p  q, q p
b. p  q, qr p

Example 1.19: Consider the following argument: c. If it rains, crops will be good. It did not rain. Therefore,
If you study hard, then you will pass the exam. crops were not good.

18
Solution: First we construct a truth table for the statements : Crops were not good.
appearing in the argument forms. The argument form is
a. Now we can use truth table to test validity as follows:

The premises and are true simultaneously in row 4

The premises and are true simultaneously in row 4
only. Since in this case is also true, the argument is valid.
only. Since in this case is also true, the argument is valid.
b.
Remark:
1. What is important in validity is the form of the
argument rather than the meaning or content of the
statements involved.
2. The argument form is valid iff the
statement
is a tautology.
Rules of inferences
Below we list certain valid deductions called rules of
inferences.
The 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th rows are those in which all the
premises take value . In the 5th, 6th and 7th rows however the 1. Modes Ponens
conclusion takes value . Hence, the argument form is invalid.
c. Let : It rains.
: Crops are good.
: It did not rain. 2. Modes Tollens

19
 9. Principle of Equivalence

3. Principle of Syllogism

10. Principle of
Conditionalization
4. Principle of Adjunction
a.

Formal proof of validity of an argument

b.
Definition 1.9: A formal proof of a conclusion given hypotheses
5. Principle of Detachment
is a sequence of stapes, each of which applies some
inference rule to hypotheses or previously proven statements
(antecedent) to yield a new true statement (the consequent).
6. Modes Tollendo Ponens
A formal proof of validity is given by writing on the premises
and the statements which follows from them in a single
column, and setting off in another column, to the right of each
7. Modes Ponendo Tollens statement, its justification. It is convenient to list all the
premises first.
Example 1.21: Show that is valid.

8. Constructive Dilemma Solution:

1. is true premise
2. premise

20
 3. contrapositive 8. Modus Ponens using (6) and (7)
of (2)
4. Modes Exercises
Ponens using (1) and (3) 1. Use the truth table method to show that the following
argument forms are valid.
Example 1.22: Show that the hypotheses
i. .
It is not sunny this afternoon and it is colder than
ii. .
yesterday.
iii. .
If we go swimming, then it is sunny.
iv. .
If we do not go swimming, then we will take a
v. .
canoe trip.
2. For the following argument given a, b and c below:
If we take a canoe trip, then we will be home by
i. Identify the premises.
sunset.
ii. Write argument forms.
Lead to the conclusion:
iii. Check the validity.
We will be home by sunset.
a. If he studies medicine, he will get a
Let : It is sunny this afternoon.
good job. If he gets a good job, he will
: It is colder than yesterday.
get a good wage. He did not get a good
: We go swimming.
wage. Therefore, he did not study
: We take a canoe trip. medicine.
: We will be home by sunset. b. If the team is late, then it cannot play
Then the game. If the referee is here, then
1. hypothesis the team is can play the game. The
2. simplification using (1) team is late. Therefore, the referee is
3. hypothesis not here.
4. Modus Tollens using (2) and (3) c. If the professor offers chocolate for
5. hypothesis an answer, you answer the professor’s
6. Modus Ponens using (4) and (5) question. The professor offers
7. hypothesis chocolate for an answer. Therefore,

21
 you answer the professor’s question After completing this section, students will be able to:-
3. Give formal proof to show that the following argument  Explain the concept of set.
forms are valid.  Describe sets in different ways.
a. .  Identify operations of sets.
b. .  Illustrate sets using Venn diagrams.
c. .
d. .
e. .
1.4.1. The concept of a set
f. .
g. . The term set is an undefined term, just as a point and a line are
h. . undefined terms in geometry. However, the concept of a set
i. . permeates every aspect of mathematics. Set theory underlies
the language and concepts of modern mathematics. The term
4. Prove the following are valid arguments by giving formal set refers to a well-defined collection of objects that share a
proof. certain property or certain properties. The term “well-defined”
a. If the rain does not come, the crops are ruined here means that the set is described in such a way that one can
and the people will starve. The crops are not
decide whether or not a given object belongs in the set. If is a
ruined or the people will not starve. Therefore,
set, then the objects of the collection are called the elements
the rain comes.
or members of the set . If is an element of the set , we
b. If the team is late, then it cannot play the game.
write . If is not an element of the set , we write .
If the referee is here then the team can play the
As a convention, we use capital letters to denote the names of
game. The team is late. Therefore, the referee
sets and lowercase letters for elements of a set.
is not here.
Note that for each objects and each set , exactly one of
or but not both must be true.
1.4. Set theory
In this section, we study some part of set theory especially 1.4.2. Description of sets
description of sets, Venn diagrams and operations of sets. Sets are described or characterized by one of the following four
Section objectives: different ways.

22
 1. Verbal Method ii. The set contains just two distinct
In this method, an ordinary English statement with elements; namely and , hence it is the same set as
minimum mathematical symbolization of the property of the We list distinct elements without repetition.
elements is used to describe a set. Actually, the statement
Example 1.25:
could be in any language.
a. Let Elements of are and
Example 1.23:
Notice that and are different objects. Here
a. The set of counting numbers less than ten.
but .
b. The set of letters in the word “Addis Ababa.”
b. Let { }. The only element of is . But
c. The set of all countries in Africa.
2. Roster/Complete Listing Method .
If the elements of a set can all be listed, we list them all c. Let Then C has four
between a pair of braces without repetition separating by elements.
commas, and without concern about the order of their The readers are invited to write down all the elements of C.
appearance. Such a method of describing a set is called the 3. Partial Listing Method
roster/complete listing method. In many occasions, the number of elements of a set may be
too large to list them all; and in other occasions there may
Examples 1.24: not be an end to the list. In such cases we look for a
a. The set of vowels in English alphabet may also be common property of the elements and describe the set by
described as . partially listing the elements. More precisely, if the
b. The set of positive factors of 24 is also described common property is simple that it can easily be identified
as . from a list of the first few elements, then with in a pair of
Remark: braces, we list these few elements followed (or preceded)
i. We agree on the convention that the order of writing the by exactly three dotes and possibly by one last element.
elements in the list is immaterial. As a result the sets The following are such instances of describing sets by
and contain the same partial listing method.
elements, namely and
Example 1.26:
a. The set of all counting numbers is
.

23
 b. The set of non-positive integers is e. | –
. –
c. The set of multiples of 5 is Exercise: Express each of the above by using either the
. complete or the partial listing method.
d. The set of odd integers less than 100 is
Definition 1.10: The set which has no element is called the empty (or
4. Set-builder Method null) set and is denoted by or .
When all the elements satisfy a common property , we
express the situation as an open proposition and Example 1.28: The set of such that is an
describe the set using a method called the Set-builder empty set.
Method as follows: Relationships between two sets
|
We read it as “ is equal to the set of all ’s such that is Definition 1.11: Set is said to be a subset of set (or is contained
true.” Here the bar | and the colon “ ” mean “such that.” in ), denoted by , if every element of is an element of ,
Notice that the letter is only a place holder and can be i.e.,
replaced throughout by other letters. So, for a property , the .
set { | | and | are all the same set. It follows from the definition that set is not a subset of set if at
Example 1.27: The following sets are described using the set- least one element of is not an element of . i.e.,
builder method. . In such cases we write or .
a.
Remarks: For any set and .
|
Example 1.29:
.
a. If , and ,
b. |
then and On the other hand, it is clear
c.
that: , and .
| –
b. If | and
d. | – – | , then since every

24
 multiple of 6 is even. However, while .
Thus . Definition 1.14: Let be a set. The power set of , dented by ,
is the set whose elements are all subsets of . That is,
c. If then and { } . On
.
the other hand, since , , and
. Example 1.31: Let . As noted before, and are
subset of . Moreover, and are
Definition 1.12: Sets and are said to be equal if they contain also subsets of . Therefore,
exactly the same elements. In this case, we write . That is, .
.
Frequently it is necessary to limit the topic of discussion to
Example 1.30: elements of a certain fixed set and regard all sets under
a. The sets are all equal. consideration as a subset of this fixed set. We call this set the
b. | universal set or the universe and denoted by .
| Exercises
1. Which of the following are sets?
Definition 1.13: Set is said to be a proper subset of set if every a. 1,2,3
element of is also an element of , but has at least one element b. {1,2},3
that is not in . In this case, we write . We also say is a c. {{1},2},3
proper super set of A, and write . It is clear that d. {1,{2},3}
e. {1,2,a,b}.
.
2. Which of the following sets can be described in
Remark: Some authors do not use the symbol . Instead they complete listing, partial listing and/or set-builder
methods? Describe each set by at least one of the three
use the symbol for both subset and proper subset. In this
methods.
material, we prefer to use the notations commonly used in high
a. The set of the first 10 letters in the English
school mathematics, and we continue using and
alphabet.
differently, namely for subset and proper subset, respectively.
b. The set of all countries in the world.
c. The set of students of Addis Ababa University

25
 in the 2018/2019 academic year. c. for any set A
d. The set of positive multiples of 5. d. , for any set A
e. The set of all horses with six legs. e.
3. Write each of the following sets by listing its elements f.
within braces. g. For any set
a. h.
b. 6. For each of the following set, find its power set.
a.
c.
b.
d. c.
e. . d.
4. Let be the set of positive even integers less than 15. 7. How many subsets and proper subsets do the sets that
Find the truth value of each of the following. contain exactly and elements have?
a. 8. If is a whole number, use your observation in
b. Problems 6and 7 to discover a formula for the number
c. of subsets of a set with elements. How many of these
d. are proper subsets
e. of the set?
f. 9. Is there a set A with exactly the following indicated
g. property?
h. a. Only one subset
i. b. Only one proper subset
c. Exactly 3 proper subsets
5. Find the truth value of each of the following and justify d. Exactly 4 subsets
your conclusion. e. Exactly 6 proper subsets
f. Exactly 30 subsets
a. 
g. Exactly 14 proper subsets
b.
h. Exactly 15 proper subsets

26
 10. How many elements does A contain if it has: .
a. 64 subsets?
b. 31 proper subsets? As easily seen the union operator “ ” in the theory of set is the
c. No proper subset? counterpart of the logical operator “ ”.
d. 255 proper subsets?
11. Find the truth value of each of the following. Definition 1.16: The intersection of two sets and , denoted by
a. , is the set of all elements that are in and . That is,
b. .
c.
As suggested by definition 1.15, the intersection operator “ ”
d.
in the theory of sets is the counterpart of the logical operator “
12. For any three sets , and , prove that:
”.
a. If and , then .
Note: - Two sets and are said to be disjoint sets if
b. If and , then .
.
Example 1.32:
1.4.3. Set Operations and Venn diagrams a. Let and .
Then,
Given two subsets and of a universal set , new sets can
and
be formed using and in many ways, such as taking
.
common elements or non-common elements, and putting
b. Let = The set of positive even integers, and
everything together. Such processes of forming new sets are
= The set of positive multiples of 3. Then,
called set operations. In this section, three most important
operations, namely union, intersection and complement are
discussed.

Definition 1.15: The union of two sets and , denoted by ,

|
is the set of all elements that are either in or in (or in both sets).
That is,
|

27
 Then, , ,
Definition 1.17: The difference between two sets and , denoted , ,
by , is the of all elements in and not in ; this set is also
, and
called the relative complement of with respect to .
Symbolically,
.
c. Let and
. Then
Example 1.33: If , , then , , – ,
and . – , and .
Note: The above example shows that, in general, are Find , , . Which of these are equal?
disjoint.
Theorem 1.1: For any two sets and , each of the following
Definition 1.18: Let be a subset of a universal set . The absolute holds.
complement (or simply complement) of , denoted by (or or 1. .
̅ , is defined to be the set of all elements of that are not in . 2. – .
That is, 3. – .
or 4. .
. 5. .

Notice that taking the absolute complement of is the same as 6. .

finding the relative complement of with respect to the
universal set . That is, Now we define the symmetric difference of two sets.
.
Example 1.34: Definition 1.17: The symmetric difference of two sets and ,
denoted by , is the set
a. If , and if , then .
.
b. Let
|
and | .

28
Example 1.35: Let be the universal set, (definition of )
and . Then 
and . Thus . (definition of )
Theorem 1.2: For any three sets , and , each of the Therefore, we have .
following holds. The readers are invited to prove the rest part of theorem (1.2).
a. . ( is Venn diagrams
commutative) While working with sets, it is helpful to use diagrams, called
b. . ( is Venn diagrams, to illustrate the relationships involved. A
commutative) Venn diagram is a schematic or pictorial representative of the
c. . ( is sets involved in the discussion. Usually sets are represented as
associative) interlocking circles, each of which is enclosed in a rectangle,
d. . ( is which represents the universal set .
associative)
e. . ( is
distributive over )
f.
. ( is distributive over )

Let us prove property “e” formally.

(definition of )

(definition of )

( is distributive over )
 )

29
In some occasions, we list the elements of set inside the
closed curve representing . Example 1.37: Let U = The set of one digits numbers
Example 1.36: A = The set of one digits even numbers
a. If and , B = The set of positive prime numbers less than
then a Venn diagram representation of these two 10
sets looks like the following. We illustrate the sets using a Venn diagram as follows.

A B U

0 4 3 1
2
6 5 9
8
7

b. Let
|
|
| . a. Illustrate by a Venn diagram
A Venn diagram representation of these sets is
given below. A B U

A B : The shaded portion

b. Illustrate A’ by a Venn diagram

30
 U Now we illustrate intersections and unions of sets by Venn
diagram.
A Cases Shaded is Shaded

Only
A B
some A B
common
A’ : The shaded portion
elements
c. Illustrate A\B by using a Venn diagram

A B U B B

A A

A \ B: The shaded portion

No A B A B
common
element

A B =

Exercises
1. If , and ,
find .
2. Let ,
and

31
 { or }. Find a. .
a. . b. .
b. Is ? c. If , then .
3. Suppose The set of one digit numbers and d. .
{ is an even natural number less than or equal 6. Let and . Then show that
to 9} .
Describe each of the sets by complete listing method: 7. Perform each of the following operations.
a. . a.
b. . b. –
c. . c. –
d. d. –
e. . 8. Let
f. { | is a positive prime factor of 66}
g. { | is composite number } and
4. Suppose The set of one digit numbers and
| – . Then find each of the following.
{ is an even natural number less than or equal
–
to 9}
– – – – – – –
Describe each of the sets by complete listing method:
h. .
9. Let and
i. .
.
j. .
a. – , then
k.
l. .
m. b. – , then
n.
5. Use Venn diagram to illustrate the following c. , then –
statements:

32
10. Let B = The set of high school anti-AIDS club
member students in Addis Ababa.
and . C = The set of high school Nature Club member
Verify each of the following. students in Addis Ababa.
a. . b. U = The set of integers.
b. A = The set of even integers.
. B = The set of odd integers.
c. C = The set of multiples of 3.
d. – D = The set of prime numbers.
e. – –
11. Depending on question No. 10 find.
a. .
b. .
c. .
d.
12. For any two subsets and of a universal set , prove
that:
a. .
b. – .
c. .
d. .
13. Draw an appropriate Venn diagram to depict each of
the following sets.
a. U = The set of high school students in Addis
Ababa.
A = The set of female high school students in
Addis Ababa.

33