INSTRUCTIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS

Course: S MATH 1 (Reasoning in Mathematics)

Unit 1: Logic
Lesson No.: 2 (Basic Logical Operators)
Coverage: Weeks 2-3 (6 Hours)
Professor: MICHAEL M. BACOLOD

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students must have:
1. Discussed the definition and usage of logical operators or connectives.
2. Distinguished different logical operators or connectives as it apply to the different
logical statements.
3. Appreciated the language of mathematics through logic and reasoning.

Introduction:
In this lesson, we will discuss the concepts and definitions of logical operators. Further,
this lesson will discuss on how to apply the different logical operators in constructing
compound propositions. These concepts are taken from the book Discrete Mathematics
and its Application, 6th Edition by Rosen and Krithivasan.
Supplementary Topic

The Table 2.0 displays truth table for the negation of a proposition p. This table has a
row for each of the two possible truth values of a proposition p. Each row shows the
truth value of ¬p corresponding to the truth value of o for this row.
Table 2.0: The Truth Table for the Negation of a Proposition.
p ¬p
T F
F T

The negation of a proposition can also be considered the result of the operation of the
negation operator on a proposition. The negation operator constructs a new proposition
from a single existing proposition. We will now introduce the logical operators.

Definition 1.2.1 Logical operators are used to form new proposition from the two or
more existing propositions. These logical operators are also called logical connectives.

Definition 1.2.2 Let p and q be propositions. The conjunction of p and q, denoted by

p ∧ q, is the proposition "p and q." The conjunction p ∧ q is true when both p and q are
true and is false otherwise.
 The Table 2.1 displays the truth table of p ∧ q. This table has a row for each of
the four possible combinations of truth values of p and q. The four rows correspond to
the pairs of truth values TT, TF, FT and FF, where the first truth value in the pair is the
truth value of p and the second truth value is the truth value of q.

Table 2.1: The Truth Table for the Conjunction of Two Propositions.
p q p∧q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

Example 1.2.3 Find the conjunction of the propositions p and q where p is the
proposition “Today is Friday” and q is the proposition “It is raining today”.
Solution: The conjunction of these propositions, p ∧ q, is the proposition “Today
is Friday and it is raining today”. This proposition is true on rainy Fridays, and is false on
any day that is not a Friday and on Fridays when it does not rain.

Definition 1.2.4 Let p and q be propositions. The disjunction of p and q, denoted by

p ∨ q, is the proposition "p or q." The disjunction p ∨ q is false when both p and q are
false and is true otherwise.
The use of the connective or in a disjunction corresponds to one of the two ways
the word or is used in English, namely, in an inclusive or is being used in the statement.
The Table 2.2 displays the truth table of p ∨ q.

Table 2.2: The Truth Table for the Disjunction of Two Propositions.
p q p ∨q
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F
Example 1.2.5 What is the disjunction of the proposition p and q where p and q are the
same propositions in Example 1.1.9?
Solution: The disjunction of p and q, p ∨ q, is the proposition
“Today is Friday or it is raining today”.

Definition 1.2.6 The conditional statement p → q is the proposition "if p, then q."
The conditional statement p → q is false when p is true and q is false, and true
otherwise. In the conditional statement p → q, p is called the hypothesis (or antecedent
or premise) and q is called the conclusion (or consequence).
The statement p → q is called a conditional statement because p → q asserts
that q is true on the condition that q holds. A conditional statement is also called an
implication.
The truth table for the conditional statement p → q is shown in Table 2.3. Note
that the statement p → q is true when both p and q are true and when q is false (no
matter what truth value q has). Moreover, you will encounter most if not all of the
following other ways to express this conditional statement:
“p only if q” “p implies q” “if p, q”
“q unless ¬p” “p is sufficient for q” “a sufficient condition for q is p”
“q if p” “q whenever p” “q when p”
“q is necessary for p” “q follows from p” “a necessary condition for p is q”

Table 2.3: The Truth Table for the conditional statement p → q.

p q p →q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

Example 1.2.7 Let p be the statement “Maria learns discrete mathematics” and q the
statement “Maria will find a good job.” Express the statement p → q as a statement in
English.
 Solution. From the definition of conditional statements, we see that when p is the
statement “Maria learns discrete mathematics” and q is the statement “Maria will find a
good job.” The p → q represents some of the statements
“If Maria learns discrete mathematics, then she will find a good job”,
“Maria will find a good job when she learns discrete mathematics”,
“For Maria to have a good job, it is sufficient for her to learn discrete
mathematics”,
and
“Maria will find a good job unless she does not learn discrete mathematics”.

Definition 1.2.8 There are three related conditional statements. The proposition q → p
is called the converse of p → q. The contrapositive of p → q is the proposition ¬ q →¬
p. The proposition ¬ p →¬ q is called the inverse of p → q. The contrapositive is the
only statement that has the same truth value as p → q.

Example 1.2.9 What are the contrapositive, the converse, and the inverse of the
conditional statement
“If it is raining, then the home team wins.”
Solution. Consequently, the contrapositive of this conditional statement is
“If the home team does not win, then it is not raining.”
The converse is
“If the home team wins, then it is raining.”
The inverse is
“If it is not raining, then the home team does not win.”

Definition 1.2.10 The biconditional statement p ↔ q is the proposition "p if and only if
q." The biconditional statement p ↔ q is true when p and q have the same truth values,
and is false otherwise. Biconditional statements are also called bi-implications
The truth table for p ↔ q is shown in Table 2.4. Note that the statement p ↔ q is
true when both the conditional statements p → q and q → p are true and is false
otherwise. That is why we use the words “if and only if” to express this logical
connective and why it is symbolically written by combining the symbols → and ←. There
are some other common ways to express p ↔ q:
“p is necessary and sufficient for q” “if p then q, and conversely” “p iff q”
Table 2.4: The Truth Table for the biconditional statement p ↔ q.
p q p ↔q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

Example 1.2.11 Let p be the statement “You can take the flight” and let q be the
statement, “You can buy a ticket.” Then p ↔ q is the statement
“You can take the flight if and only if you buy a ticket”.

Definition 1.2.12 Let p and q be propositions. The exclusive or of p and q, denoted by

𝑝 ⊕ 𝑞, is the proposition that is true when exactly one of p and q is true and is false
otherwise.
The truth table for 𝑝 ⊕ 𝑞 is shown in Table 2.5.

Table 2.5: The Truth Table for the Exclusive Or of Two propositions.
p q 𝑝⊕𝑞
T T F
T F T
F T T
F F F

Supplementary 1.2.13 Precedence of Logical Operators We can construct compound

using negation operator and the logical operators defined so far. We will generally use
parenthesis to specify the order in which logical operators in a compound proposition
are to be applied. For instance, (p ∨ q) ∧ (¬r) is the conjunction of p ∨ q and ¬r.
However, to reduce the number of parentheses, we specify that the negation operator is
applied before all other logical operators. This means that ¬p ∧ q is the conjunction of
¬p and q, namely, (¬p) ∧ q, not the negation of the conjunction of p and q, namely
¬(p ∧ q).
Table 2.6: Precedence of Logical Operators.
 Operator Precedence
¬ 1
∧ 2
∨ 3
→ 4
↔ 5

Example 1.2.14 Construct the Truth Table of (p ∨ ¬q) → (p ∧ q).

Solution:
Table 2.7: The Truth Table for the (p ∨ ¬q) → (p ∧ q).
p q ¬q p ∨ ¬q p∧q (p ∨ ¬q) → (p ∧ q)
T T F T T T
T F T T F F
F T F F F T
F F T T F F

Example 1.2.15 Construct the Truth Table of (p ↔ q) ⊕ (¬p ↔ ¬r).

Solution:
Table 2.8: The Truth Table for the (p ↔ q) ⊕ (¬p ↔ ¬r).
p q r p↔q ¬p ¬r ¬p ↔ ¬r (p ↔ q) ⊕ (¬p ↔ ¬r)
T T T T F F T F
T T F T F T F T
T F T F F F T T
T F F F F T F F
F T T F T F F F
F T F F T T T T
F F T T T F F T
F F F T T T T F

Supplementary 1.2.16. Translating English Sentences

There are many reasons to translate English sentences into expressions involving
propositional variables and logical connectives. In particular, English (and every other
human language) is often ambiguous. Once we have translated sentences from
English into logical expressions we can analyze these logical expressions to determine
their truth values, manipulate them and use rules of inference to reason about them.
Example 1.2.13 Let p and q be the propositions “Swimming at the New Jersey shore is
allowed” and “Sharks have been spotted near the shore,” respectively. Express each of
these compound propositions as an English sentence.
a. ¬ q.
Solution. Sharks have not been spotted near the shore.

b. p → ¬q.
Solution. If swimming at the New Jersey shore is allowed, then Sharks have not
been spotted near the shore.

c. p ∧ q
Solution. Swimming at the New Jersey shore is allowed and sharks have been
spotted near the shore.

d. p ∨ q.
Solution. Swimming at the New Jersey shore is allowed or sharks have been
spotted near the shore.

e. p ↔ q
Solution. Swimming at the New Jersey shore is allowed if and only if sharks
have been spotted near the shore

Example 1.2.14 Let p and q be the propositions:

p: It is below freezing
q: It is snowing.
Write these proposition using p and q and logical connectives.
a. It is below freezing and snowing.
Solution: p ∧ q

b. It is below freezing but not snowing

Solution: p ∧ ¬q

c. It is not below freezing or it is not snowing

Solution: ¬p ∨ ¬q

d. If it is below freezing, then it is snowing.

Solution: p → q

e. It is below freezing if and only if it is snowing.

Solution: p ↔ q
Name: _________________________________ Date: __________
Course/Year: ____________________________ Score: _________
Activity 2
Basic Logical Operators
Instruction:
Satisfy the following problems. Provide your answer on the space provided for each
item.

1. Let p and q be propositions

p: I bought a lottery ticket this week.
q: I won the jackpot on Friday.
Express each of these propositions as an English sentence.
a. ¬p
______________________________________________________________________
b. p ∨ q
______________________________________________________________________
. c. p ∧ q
______________________________________________________________________
. d. p → q
______________________________________________________________________
. e. p ↔ q
______________________________________________________________________
f. ¬p → ¬q
______________________________________________________________________
g. . q → p
______________________________________________________________________
h. ¬q → ¬p
______________________________________________________________________
i. ¬p ∨ (p ∧ q)
______________________________________________________________________
 j. p ∧ (p ∨ ¬q)
______________________________________________________________________
2. Let p, q and r be the propositions.
p: You get 95/100 points on the final exam.
q: You do every exercise on the handouts.
r: You get 1.0 in this class.

Write these propositions using p, q and r and logical connectives.

a. You get 95/100 points on the final exam, but you do not do every exercise on
the handouts.
_____________________________________________________________

b. You get 95/100 points on the final exam, you do every exercise on the
handouts, and you get 1.0 in this class.
_____________________________________________________________

c. To get 1.0 in this class, it is necessary for you to get 95/100 points on the final
exam.
_____________________________________________________________

d. You get 95/100 points on the final exam but you don’t do every exercise on
the handouts; nevertheless, you can get 1.0 in this class.
_____________________________________________________________

e. Getting 95/100 points on the final exam and doing every exercise on the
handouts is sufficient for getting 1.0 in this class.
_____________________________________________________________

f. You will get 1.0 in this class if and only if you either do every exercise on the
handouts or get 95/100 points on the final exam.
_____________________________________________________________

3. For each of these sentences, determine whether an inclusive or exclusive or is

intended. Explain briefly your answer.

a. Coffee or tea comes with dinner.

_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

b. A password must have at least three digits or be at least eight characters long.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

c. You can pay using US dollars or Philippine Peso.

 _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

d. You can log-in in your Facebook account using your email address or
cellphone number.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

4. Write each of these propositions in the form “if p, then q” in English.

a. It is necessary to wash the boss’ car to get promoted.

_____________________________________________________________

b. Winds in the south imply a spring thaw.

_____________________________________________________________

c. Willy gets caught whenever he cheats.

_____________________________________________________________

d. You can only access the CPSU LMS only if you have your valid ID Number.
_____________________________________________________________

e. Getting elected follows from knowing the right people.

_____________________________________________________________

5. Construct a truth table for each of these compound propositions.

a. ¬p ∧ p

b. ¬p ∨ p

c. (p ∨ q) → ¬q
d. (p ∨ q) → (p ∧ q)

e. (p ⊕q) → (¬p ⊕ ¬q)

f. (¬p ↔ ¬q) ⊕ (p ↔ r).

g. (p ⊕ q) ↔ (p ⊕ ¬r).