NATIONAL ENGINEERING COLLEGE, K.R.NAGAR-628503.

(An Autonomous Institution-Affiliated to Anna University, Chennai)

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
15CS31C – Discrete Structures
Question Bank - Logic and Proofs

Part-A
Propositional Logic
1. Define atomic and compound statements.
2. Negate the statement “John is playing football” in two different forms.
3. Express the statement “Good food is not cheap” in symbolic form.
4. Negate the statement “I went to my class yesterday” in symbolic form.
5. Construct the truth table for p˄(p˅~q).
6. Translate the following sentence into logical expression “You can accesses the internet
only if you are computer science major or you are not a freshman.”
7. Construct the truth table for~(p˄q).
8. How many rows are needed for the truth table of the formula (p˄q)↔((~r˄s)→t)?
Equivalence and Implication
9. Using truth table, show that the proposition p˅~(p˄q) is tautology.
10. Define a biconditional statement.
11. Define contrapositive of a statement and give an example.
12. Define converse and inverse of a statement.
13. Give the converse and contrapositive of the implication “If it is raining then I get wet”.
14. Define contingency and give an example.
15. Show that the propositions p→q and ~p˅q are logically equivalent.
Normal forms
16. Write all minterms of the variables P, Q and R.
17. Write all maxterms of the variables P, Q and R.
18. Define principle Disjunctive Normal form.
19. Define principle Conjunctive Normal form.
Rules of inference
20. State any two rules of inference with explanation.
21. If the premises P,Q,R are inconsistent prove that ~R is a conclusion from P and Q.
22. When a set of formulae is consistent and inconsistent?
23. State which rule of inference is used in the argument:
If it rains today, then we will not have a barbecue today. If we do not have a
barbecue today, then we will have a barbecue tomorrow. Therefore, if it rains today,
then we will have a barbecue tomorrow.
24. Let P,Q and R be the following statements :
P:I will study discrete mathematics Q:I will watch T.V R: I am in a good
mood.
Write the following statements in terms of P,Q,R and logical connectives
1)If I do not study discrete mathematics and I watch T.V , then I am in a good mood.
2)If I am in a good mood , then I will study discrete mathematics or I will watch T.V
3)If I am not in a good mood, these I will not watch T.V Or I will study discrete
mathematics.
4)I will watch T.V and I will not study discrete mathematics if and only if I am in a
good mood.
Proof Methods and Strategy
25. Prove that the sum of an irrational number and a rational number is irrational.
26. Prove that if 3n+2 is odd, then n is odd.
 Part – B
Propositional Logic
1. Check the following proposition is tautology ((P→Q) →R) ˅~P
2. Verify whether Q˅(P˄~Q)˅(~P˄~Q) is a contradiction or tautology.
3. Show that (P˄Q) ˄~(P˅Q) is a contradiction.
4. Construct the truth table for (~P˄(~Q˄R))˅((Q˄R)˅(P˄R))
5. Construct the truth table of the compound proposition (p ∨￢q) → (p ∧ q).
Equivalence and Implications
6. Prove that ~p→(q→r)≡q→(p˅r)
7. Show that ~(p˄q) →(~p˅(~p˅q))⟺ ~p˅q
8. Show that ￢(p ∨ (￢p ∧ q)) and ￢p ∧￢q are logically equivalent by developing a series of
logical equivalences.
9. Without constructing truth table prove that p˄(p→q) ⟹ 𝑞 is a tautology.
10. Prove that (p→(q→r)) ⟹(p→q) →(p→r) by constructing truth table
Normal Forms
11. Obtain the PDNF for (P˄Q)˅(~P˄R)˅(Q˄R).
12. Obtain the PCNF of (~P→R)˄(Q↔P).
13. Without using truth table obtain PDNF of (P→(Q˄P))˄(~P→(~Q˄~R)) and hence find
its PCNF.
14. Obtain PCNF of (~P→R) ˄ (Q⟹ P). Hence obtain PDNF.
15. Obtain the principal disjunctive normal form of the statement (P˄Q)˅(~P˄R) (i) Using
truth table (ii) Without using truth table.
16. Obtain the PCNF and PDNF of the formula (~P→R)˄(Q↔P).

Rules of inference
17. Demonstrate that R is a valid inference from the premises P→Q, Q→R and P.
18. Show that ~p follows logically from the premises ~(P˄~Q),(~Q˅R) and ~R.
19. Show that R˅S is a valid conclusion from the premises C˅D,(C˅D)→~H, ~H→(A˄~B),
(A˄~B) →(R˅S).
20. Using indirect method, show that P→Q, Q→R, P˅R ⟹ R.
21. Show that the following premises are inconsistent.
1)If jack misses many classes through illness, then he fails in high school.
2)If jack fails high school, then he is uneducated.
3)If jack reads a lot of books, then he is not uneducated.
4)Jack misses many classes through illness and reads a lot of books.
22. Test the validity of the following argument. If I study I will pass in the examination. If I
watch TV, then I will not study. I failed in the examination. Therefore I watched TV.
23. Show that the premises “If you send me an e-mail message, then I will finish writing the
program,” “If you do not send me an e-mail message, then I will go to sleep early,” and
“If I go to sleep early, then I will wake up feeling refreshed” lead to the conclusion “If I
do not finish writing the program, then I will wake up feeling refreshed.”
24. Show that the premises (p ∧ q) ∨ r and r → s imply the conclusion p ∨ s.
25. Show that the premises “It is not sunny this afternoon and it is colder than yesterday,”
“We will go swimming only if it is sunny,” “If we do not go swimming, then we will
take a canoe trip,” and “If we take a canoe trip, then we will be home by sunset” lead to
the conclusion “We will be home by sunset.”
GATE Questions
1. The binary operation is defined as follows
 P Q PQ
T T T
T F T
F T F
F F T
Which one of the following is equivalent to PVQ?
A)

B)

C)

D)

2. P and Q are two propositions. Which of the following logical expressions are equivalent?

A Only I and II
B Only I, II and III
C Only I, II and IV
D All of I, II, III and IV

3. Which of the following is TRUE about formulae in Conjunctive Normal Form?

For any formula, there is a truth assignment for which at least half the clauses evaluate to
A
true.
B For any formula, there is a truth assignment for which all the clauses evaluate to true
There is a formula such that for each truth assignment, at most one-fourth of the clauses
C
evaluate to true.
D None of the above

4. Which one of the following propositional logic formulas is TRUE when exactly two of p,

q, and r are TRUE?

5. Which one of the following Boolean expressions is NOT a tautology?

) Consider the following statements:

P: Good mobile phones are not cheap.

Q: Cheap mobile phones are not good.
L: P implies Q
M: Q implies P<>
N: P is equivalent to Q

Which one of the following about L, M, and N is CORRECT?(Gate 2014)

(A) Only L is TRUE.
(B) Only M is TRUE.
(C) Only N is TRUE.
(D) L, M and N are TRUE.

Which one of the following is not equivalent to p⇔q (Gate 2015)

Which one of the following is not equivalent to p←→q

Let R and S be any two equivalence relations on a non-empty set A. Which one of the
following statements is TRUE?
(A) R ∪ S, R ∩ S are both equivalence relations
(B) R ∪ S is an equivalence relation
(C) R ∩ S is an equivalence relation
(D) Neither R ∪ S nor R ∩ S is an equivalence relation

A binary operation⊗ on a set of integers is defined as x ⊗y = x2 + y2. Which one of the

following statements is TRUE about ⊗?
(A) Commutative but not associative
(B) Both commutative and associative
(C) Associative but not commutative
(D) Neither commutative nor associative

A relation R is defined on the set of integers as xRy if f(x + y) is even. Which of the
following statements is true?

(A) R is not an equivalence relation

(B) R is an equivalence relation having 1 equivalence class
(C) R is an equivalence relation having 2 equivalence classes
(D) R is an equivalence relation having 3 equivalence classes

The cardinality of the power set of {0, 1, 2 . . ., 10} is _________.

(A) 1024
(B) 1023
(C) 2048
(D) 2043