The Foundations:

Logic and Proofs

Chapter 1, Part I: Propositional Logic

With Question/Answer Animations

Propositional Logic
Section 1.1

Section Summary
Propositions
Connectives
Negation
Conjunction
Disjunction
Implication; contrapositive, inverse, converse
Biconditional

Truth Tables

Propositions
A proposition is a declarative sentence that is either true

or false.
Examples of propositions:
a) The Moon is made of green cheese.
b) Trenton is the capital of New Jersey.

Toronto is the capital of Canada.

d) 1 + 0 = 1
e) 0 + 0 = 2
c)

Examples that are not propositions.

a) Sit down!
b) What time is it?
c) x + 1 = 2
d) x + y = z
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Propositional Logic
Constructing Propositions
Propositional Variables: p, q, r, s,
The proposition that is always true is denoted by T
and the proposition that is always false is denoted by
F.
Compound Propositions; constructed from logical
connectives and other propositions
Negation
Conjunction
Disjunction

Implication

Biconditional
7

Compound Propositions: Negation

The negation of a proposition p is denoted by

p and has this truth table:

p

Example: If p

denotes The earth is round.,

then p
denotes It is not the case that the
earth is round, or more simply The earth is
not round.
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Conjunction
The conjunction of propositions p and q is

denoted by p q and has this truth table:

p

pq

Example: If p denotes I am at home. and q

denotes It is raining. then p q denotes I

am at home and it is raining.
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Disjunction
The disjunction of propositions p and q

is

denoted by p q and has this truth table:

p

p q

Example: If p denotes I am at home. and

q denotes It is raining. then p q denotes I

am at home or it is raining.
10

The Connective Or in English

In English or has two distinct meanings.
Inclusive Or - In the sentence Students who have taken

CS202 or Math120 may take this class, we assume that

students need to have taken one of the prerequisites, but may
have taken both. This is the meaning of disjunction. For p q to
be true, either one or both of p and q must be true.
Exclusive Or - When reading the sentence Soup or salad
comes with this entre, we do not expect to be able to get
both soup and salad. This is the meaning of Exclusive Or (Xor).
In p q , one of p and q must be true, but not both. The truth
q
p q
table forp is:
T
T
F
T

F
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Implication
If p and q are propositions, then p q is a conditional statement or

implication which is read as if p, then q and has this truth table:

p q

Example: If p denotes I am at home. and q denotes It is

raining. then p q denotes If I am at home then it is

raining.
In p q , p is the hypothesis (antecedent or premise) and
q is the conclusion (or consequence).
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Understanding
Implication
In p q there does not need to be any connection

between the antecedent or the consequent. The

meaning of p q depends only on the truth values
of p and q.
These implications are perfectly fine, but would not
be used in ordinary English.
If the moon is made of green cheese, then I have

more money than Bill Gates.

If the moon is made of green cheese then Im on
welfare.
If 1 + 1 = 3, then your grandma wears combat
boots.
13

Understanding Implication (cont)

One way to view the logical conditional is to think

of an obligation or contract.
If I am elected, then I will lower taxes.
If you get 100% on the final, then you will get an A.

If the politician is elected and does not lower taxes,

then the voters can say that he or she has broken

the campaign pledge. Something similar holds for
the professor. This corresponds to the case where p
is true and q is false.

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Different Ways of Expressing p q

if p, then q
if p, q
q unless p
q if p
q whenever p
q follows from p

p implies q
p only if q
q when p
p is sufficient for q
q is necessary for p

a sufficient condition for q is p

a necessary condition for p is q
15

Converse, Contrapositive, and

Inverse
From p q we can form new conditional statements .
q p
is the converse of p q
q p
is the contrapositive of p q
p q
is the inverse of p q

Example: Find the converse, inverse, and

contrapositive of It raining is a sufficient condition
for my not going to town.
Solution:
converse: If I do not go to town, then it is raining.
contrapositive: If I go to town, then it is not raining.
inverse: If it is not raining, then I will go to town.
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Biconditional
If p and q are propositions, then we can form the

biconditional proposition p q , read as p if and only if q .

The biconditional
p q denotes the proposition with
this truth table:
p

p q

If p denotes I am at home. and q denotes It is

raining. then
p q denotes I am at home if and
only if it is raining.
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Expressing the
Biconditional
Some alternative ways p if and only if q is

expressed in English:
p is necessary and sufficient for q
if p then q , and conversely
p if q

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Truth Tables For Compound

Propositions
Construction of a truth table:
Rows
Need a row for every possible combination of

values for the atomic propositions.

Columns
Need a column for the compound proposition

(usually at far right)

Need a column for the truth value of each
expression that occurs in the compound
proposition as it is built up.

This includes the atomic propositions

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Example Truth Table

Construct a truth table for
p

pq

pq
r

T
20

Equivalent Propositions
Two propositions are equivalent if they always

have the same truth value.

Example: Show using a truth table that the
implication is equivalent to the
contrapositive.
Solution:
p

p q

q
p

T
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Using a Truth Table to Show NonEquivalence

Example: Show using truth tables that neither
the converse nor inverse of an implication are
not equivalent to the implication.
Solution:
p

p q

p
q

qp

22

Problem
How many rows are there in a truth table with

n propositional variables?
Solution: 2n We will see how to do this in
Chapter 6.
Note that this means that with n propositional

variables, we can construct 2^2^n distinct (i.e.

not equivalent) propositions.
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Precedence of Logical Operators

Operator

Precedence

2
3

4
5

p q r is equivalent to (p q)
r
If the intended meaning is p (q
r )
then parentheses must be used.
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Applications of
Propositional Logic
Section 1.2

25

Applications of Propositional Logic:

Summary
Translating English to Propositional Logic
System Specifications
Boolean Searching
Logic Puzzles
Logic Circuits
AI Diagnosis Method (Optional)

26

Translating English
Sentences
Steps to convert an English sentence to a

statement in propositional logic

Identify atomic propositions and represent

using propositional variables.

Determine appropriate logical connectives

If I go to Harrys or to the country, I will not

go shopping.
p: I go to Harrys
q: I go to the country.
r: I will go shopping.

If p or q then not
r.
27

Example
Problem: Translate the following sentence
into propositional logic:
You can access the Internet from campus only
if you are a computer science major or you
are not a freshman.
One Solution: Let a, c, and f represent
respectively You can access the internet from
campus, You are a computer science major,
and You are a freshman.
a (c f )
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System Specifications
System and Software engineers take

requirements in English and express them in a

precise specification language based on logic.
Example: Express in propositional logic:
The automated reply cannot be sent when
the file system is full
Solution: One possible solution: Let q denote
The automated reply can be sent and p
denote The file system is full.
p q
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Consistent System Specifications

Definition: A list of propositions is consistent if it is
possible to assign truth values to the proposition
variables so that each proposition is true.
Exercise: Are these specifications consistent?
The diagnostic message is stored in the buffer or it is retransmitted.
The diagnostic message is not stored in the buffer.
If the diagnostic message is stored in the buffer, then it is retransmitted.

Solution: Let p denote The diagnostic message is not stored in the

buffer. Let q denote The diagnostic message is retransmitted The
specification can be written as: p q, p q, p. When p is false and
q is true all three statements are true. So the specification is consistent.
What if The diagnostic message is not retransmitted is added.

Solution: Now we are adding q and there is no satisfying assignment. So

the specification is not consistent.

30

Logic Puzzles

Raymond
Smullyan
(Born
An island has two kinds of inhabitants, knights, who1919)
always tell

the truth, and knaves, who always lie.

You go to the island and meet A and B.
A says B is a knight.
B says The two of us are of opposite types.
Example: What are the types of A and B?
Solution: Let p and q be the statements that A is a knight and
B is a knight, respectively. So, then p represents the
proposition that A is a knave and q that B is a knave.
If A is a knight, then p is true. Since knights tell the truth, q must

also be true. Then (p q) ( p q) would have to be true, but it

is not. So, A is not a knight and therefore p must be true.
If A is a knave, then B must not be a knight since knaves always lie.
So, then both p and q hold since both are knaves.
31

Logic Puzzles
Team Book Exercise
1.2.34. Five friends have access to a chat room. Is it possible
to determine who is chatting if the following information is
known?
Either Kevin or Heather, or both, are chatting.
Either Randy or Vijay, but not both, are chatting.
If Abby is chatting, so is Randy.
Vijay and Kevin are either both chatting or neither is.
If Heather is chatting, then so are Abby and Kevin.

Explain your reasoning.

32

Logic Circuits
(Studied in depth in Chapter 12)
Electronic circuits; each input/output signal can be viewed as a 0 or 1.
0
1

represents False
represents True
Complicated circuits are constructed from three basic circuits called gates.

The inverter (NOT gate)takes an input bit and produces the negation of that bit.
The OR gate takes two input bits and produces the value equivalent to the

disjunction of the two bits.

The AND gate takes two input bits and produces the value equivalent to the
conjunction of the two bits.

More complicated digital circuits can be constructed by combining these

basic circuits to produce the desired output given the input signals by
building a circuit for each piece of the output expression and then
combining them. For example:

33

Diagnosis of Faults in an Electrical

Self Study to
Slides 33-39
System (Optional)
AI Example (from Artificial Intelligence:

Foundations of Computational Agents by

David Poole and Alan Mackworth, 2010)
Need to represent in propositional logic the
features of a piece of machinery or circuitry
that are required for the operation to produce
observable features. This is called the
Knowledge Base (KB).
We also have observations representing the
features that the system is exhibiting now.
34

Self Study to
Slides 33-39
Outside
Power

Electrical System Diagram (optional)

s1

w1

w3
w2

s2
w0

cb1

s3
w4

Have lights (l1, l2),

wires (w0, w1, w2,
w3, w4), switches
(s1, s2, s3), and
circuit breakers
The next page gives
(cb1)
the knowledge base
describing the circuit
and the current
observations.

l1
l2
35

Representing the Electrical System

Self Study to
Slides 33-39
in Propositional Logic
We need to represent our common-sense

understanding of how the electrical system works in

propositional logic.
For example: If l1 is a light and if l1 is receiving
current, then l1 is lit.
lit_l1 light_l1 live_l1 ok_l1

Also: If w1 has current, and switch s2 is in the up

position, and s2 is not broken, then w0 has current.

live_w0 live_w1 up_s2 ok_s2

This task of representing a piece of our common-sense

world in logic is a common one in logic-based AI.

36

Knowledge Base (opt)

Self Study to
Slides 33-39

live_outside
We have outside power.
light_l1
Both l1 and l2 are lights.
light_l2
live_l1 live_w0
live_w0 live_w1 up_s2 ok_s2
If s2 is ok and s2 is in a
down position and w2
live_w0 live_w2 down_s2 ok_s2
has current, then w0 has
live_w1 live_w3 up_s1 ok_s1
current.
live_w2 live_w3 down_s1 ok_s1
live_l2 live_w4
live_w4 live_w3 up_s3 ok_s3
live_w3 live_outside ok_cb1
lit_l1 light_l1 live_l1 ok_l1
lit_l2 light_l2 live_l2 ok_l2
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Observations (opt)

Self Study to
Slides 33-39

Observations need to be added to the KB

Both Switches up
up_s1
up_s2

Both lights are dark

lit_l1
lit_l2

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Diagnosis (opt)

Self Study to
Slides 33-39

We assume that the components are working ok, unless we are

forced to assume otherwise. These atoms are called assumables.

The assumables (ok_cb1, ok_s1, ok_s2, ok_s3, ok_l1, ok_l2)
represent the assumption that we assume that the switches,
lights, and circuit breakers are ok.
If the system is working correctly (all assumables are true), the
observations and the knowledge base are consistent (i.e.,
satisfiable).
The augmented knowledge base is clearly not consistent if the
assumables are all true. The switches are both up, but the lights
are not lit. Some of the assumables must then be false. This is the
basis for the method to diagnose possible faults in the system.
A diagnosis is a minimal set of assumables which must be false to
explain the observations of the system.
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Diagnostic Results (opt)

Self Study to
Slides 33-39

See Artificial Intelligence: Foundations of Computational Agents

(by David Poole and Alan Mackworth, 2010) for details on this
problem and how the method of consistency based diagnosis
can determine possible diagnoses for the electrical system.
The approach yields 7 possible faults in the system. At least one
of these must hold:
Circuit Breaker 1 is not ok.
Both Switch 1 and Switch 2 are not ok.
Both Switch 1 and Light 2 are not ok.
Both Switch 2 and Switch 3 are not ok.
Both Switch 2 and Light 2 are not ok.
Both Light 1 and Switch 3 are not ok.
Both Light 1 and Light 2 are not ok.
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Propositional
Equivalences
Section 1.3

41

Section Summary
Tautologies, Contradictions, and Contingencies.
Logical Equivalence
Important Logical Equivalences
Showing Logical Equivalence

Normal Forms (optional, covered in exercises in

text)
Disjunctive Normal Form
Conjunctive Normal Form

Propositional Satisfiability
Sudoku Example
42

Tautologies, Contradictions, and

Contingencies
A tautology is a proposition which is always

true.
Example: p p

A contradiction is a proposition which is

always false.
Example: p p

A contingency is a proposition which is

neither
nor ap contradiction,
P a tautology
p
p
p p such
as p T
F
T
F
F

F
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Logically Equivalent

Two compound propositions p and q are logically

equivalent iff pq is a tautology.
We write this as pq or as pq where p and q are
compound propositions.
Two compound propositions p and q are equivalent if and
only if the columns in a truth table giving their truth
values agree.
This truth table show p q is equivalent to p q.
p

p q

p q

p q p q

T
44

De Morgans Laws
Augustus De
Morgan
18061871
This truth table shows that De Morgans Second Law holds.
p

(pq)

(pq)

pq

T
45

Key Logical Equivalences

Identity Laws:

Domination Laws:

Idempotent laws:

Double Negation Law:

Negation Laws:

,
46

Key Logical Equivalences (cont)

Commutative Laws:

Associative Laws:
Distributive Laws:

Absorption Laws:

47

More Logical
Equivalences

48

Constructing New Logical

Equivalences
We can show that two expressions are logically

equivalent by developing a series of logically

equivalent statements.
To prove that
, we produce a series of
equivalences beginning with A and ending with B.

Keep in mind that whenever a proposition (represented

by a propositional variable) occurs in the equivalences

listed earlier, it may be replaced by an arbitrarily
complex compound proposition.
49

Equivalence Proofs
Example: Show that
is logically equivalent to
Solution:

50

Equivalence Proofs
Example: Show that
is a tautology.
Solution:
q

51

Disjunctive Normal Form

A.K.A. Sum of Products
A propositional formula is in disjunctive

normal form if it consists of a disjunction of

(1, ,n) disjuncts where each disjunct
consists of a conjunction of (1, , m) atomic
formulas or the negation of an atomic formula.
Yes
No

Disjunctive Normal Form is important for the

circuit design methods discussed in Chapter

12.

52

Disjunctive Normal Form

Example: Show that every compound proposition
can be put in disjunctive normal form.
Solution: Construct the truth table for the
proposition. Then an equivalent proposition is the
disjunction with n disjuncts (where n is the number of
rows for which the formula evaluates to T). Each
disjunct has m conjuncts where m is the number of
distinct propositional variables. Each conjunct
includes the positive form of the propositional
variable if the variable is assigned T in that row and
the negated form if the variable is assigned F in that
row. This proposition is in disjunctive normal from.
53

Disjunctive Normal Form

Example: Find the Disjunctive Normal Form
(DNF) of
(pq)r
Solution: This proposition is true when r is
false or when both p and q are false.
( p q) r

54

Conjunctive Normal Form

A.K.A. Product of Sums
A compound proposition is in Conjunctive Normal

Form (CNF) if it is a conjunction of disjunctions.

Every proposition can be put in an equivalent CNF.
Conjunctive Normal Form (CNF) can be obtained by
eliminating implications, moving negation inwards
and using the distributive and associative laws.
Important in resolution theorem proving used in
artificial Intelligence (AI).
A compound proposition can be put in conjunctive
normal form through repeated application of the
logical equivalences covered earlier.
55

Conjunctive Normal Form

Example:

Put the following into CNF:

Solution:
1.

Eliminate implication signs:

2.

Move negation inwards; eliminate double

negation:

3.

Convert to CNF using associative/distributive

laws
56

Propositional Satisfiability
A compound proposition is satisfiable if

there is an assignment of truth values to its

variables that make it true. When no such
assignments exist, the compound proposition
is unsatisfiable.
A compound proposition is unsatisfiable if and
only if its negation is a tautology.
A compound proposition is unsatisfiable if and
only if it is a contradiction.

57

Questions on
Propositional Satisfiability
Example: Determine the satisfiability of the following
compound propositions:
Solution: Satisfiable. Assign T to p, q, and r.

Solution: Satisfiable. Assign T to p and F to q.

Solution: Not satisfiable. Check each possible

assignment of truth values to the propositional variables
and none will make the proposition true.
58

Notation

Needed for the next

example.

59

Sudoku
A Sudoku puzzle is represented by a 99

grid made up of nine 33 subgrids, known as

blocks. Some of the 81 cells of the puzzle are
assigned one of the numbers 1,2, , 9.
The puzzle is solved by assigning numbers to
each blank cell so that every row, column and
block contains each of the nine possible
numbers.
Example

60

Encoding as a Satisfiability Problem

Let p(i,j,n) denote the proposition that is true

when the number n is in the cell in the ith row

and the jth column.
There are 999 = 729 such propositions.
In the sample puzzle p(5,1,6) is true, but
p(5,j,6) is false for j = 2,3,9

61

Encoding as a Satisfiability Problem

(cont)
For each cell with a given value, assert

p(d,j,n), when the cell in row i and column j

has the given value.
Assert that every row contains every number.

Assert that every column contains every

number.

62

Encoding as a Satisfiability Problem

(cont)
Assert that each of the 3 x 3 blocks contain

every number.
(this is tricky - ideas from chapter 4 help)
Assert that no cell contains more than one
number. Take the conjunction over all values
of n, n, i, and j, where each variable ranges
from 1 to 9 and
,
of
63

Solving Satisfiability
Problems
To solve a Sudoku puzzle, we need to find an

assignment of truth values to the 729 variables of the

form p(i,j,n) that makes the conjunction of the
assertions true. Those variables that are assigned T
yield a solution to the puzzle.
A truth table can always be used to determine the
satisfiability of a compound proposition. But this is too
complex even for modern computers for large problems.
There has been much work on developing efficient
methods for solving satisfiability problems as many
practical problems can be translated into satisfiability
problems.
Cook-Levin Theorem: SATISFIABILITY is NP-COMPLETE
The first problem ever to be proven NP-Complete problem
64