Introduction to Propositional Logic

Propositional logic studies the ways statements can interact with each
other.

A proposition or statement is any declarative sentence which is either

true or false.

Statements may be simple or compound.

These are simple statements:

 Telephone numbers in the Jamaica have 10 digits.
 The moon is made of cheese.
 Every even number greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of
two primes.
 3 + 7=12

And these are not statements:

 Would you like some cake?
 The sum of two squares.
 3+x=12

Statements may be represented using common letters, usually p, q, r.

Example:- p: Tami is a singer

r: Pluto is not a planet

Truth value of a proposition/statement

The truth value of a statement tells whether it is true or false and is

represented as follows:
 Letter Binary
A false statement: F 0
A true statement: T 1

A truth table shows the truth value(s) of a statement.

Compound Statements

A compound statement is a combination of two or more simple

statements.

For example:

Telephone numbers in the Jamaica have 10 digits and the moon is

made of cheese.

(Two statements have been combined using the word ‘and’.)

Compound statements are built using five basic logic connectives.

Basic Logical Connectives

1. Negation

Symbol ∼

Let 𝑝 represent a statement.

The negation of 𝑝 (it is not p) is represented ∼ 𝒑

Complete the truth table:

𝒑 ∼𝒑 𝒑 ∼𝒑
1 0 or T F
0 1 F T

2. Conjunction

Two statements joined by the word ‘and’.

Symbol ∧

Let p and q be two statements. The conjunction 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 is true if both p

and q are true.

Complete a truth table:

p q 𝒑 ∧ 𝒒 p q 𝒑 ∧ 𝒒
1 1 1 T T T
1 0 0 OR T F F
0 1 0 F T F
0 0 0 F F F

3. Disjunction

Two statements joined by the word ‘and’.

Symbol ∨

Let p and q be two statements. The conjunction 𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 is true if either p

or q are true.

Complete a truth table:

 p q 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 p q 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒
1 1 1 T T T
1 0 1 OR T F T
0 1 1 F T T
0 0 0 F F F

4. Conditional (Implication)

This is an if – then statement.

e.g. If I ask more questions in class, then I will understand the

mathematics better.

Each of these conditional statements has a hypothesis ("If …") and

a conclusion (" …, then …").

Symbol →

Let p and q be two statements. The conditional statement 𝑝 → 𝑞 is false

if and only if p is true and q is false.

Complete a truth table:

p q 𝒑 → 𝒒 p q 𝒑 → 𝒒
1 1 1 T T T
1 0 0 OR T F F
0 1 1 F T T
0 0 1 F F T
In 𝑝 → 𝑞, p is the hypothesis (antecedent or premise) and q is the
conclusion (or consequence).

There does not need to be any connection between the hypothesis and the
conclusion. The meaning depends only on the truth values of p and q.

Different Ways of Expressing 𝑝 → 𝑞

if p, then q p implies q
if p, q p only if q
q unless~𝑝 q when p
q if p q whenever p
p is sufficient for q q follows from p
q is necessary for p a necessary condition for p is q
a sufficient condition for q is p
Richard

5. Biconditional

Symbol ↔

e.g. A polygon has only three sides if and only if it is a triangle. (true)

Let p and q be two statements. The biconditional statement 𝑝 ↔ 𝑞 is

also read p if and only if q. It is the conjunction of 𝒑 → 𝒒 and 𝒒 → 𝒑

We can complete a truth table to determine the truth values of this

statement.

√
Complete the truth table:

p q 𝑝 → 𝑞 𝑞 → 𝑝 (𝒑 → 𝒒) ∧ (𝒒 → 𝒑) 𝒑 ↔ 𝒒
1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 1 0 0
0 1 1 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 1 1
0 0 1 1

We find that 𝒑 ↔ 𝒒 is true when both statements have the same

truth values.

It follows that (𝑝 → 𝑞) ∧ (𝑞 → 𝑝) ≡ 𝑝 ↔ 𝑞 . This is called a logical

equivalence.

𝑝 ↔ 𝑞 also reads as:

p if and only if (iff) q
p iff q.
p is necessary and sufficient for q
if p then q, and conversely
p implies q, and vice-versa
Lesson 2 ACTIVITY

Analyse the following statement to say which is true and which is

false.

1.

2.

3.
4.

5.