Module 3: Logic

What this module is about

This module deals with logic, or what others call as the “science of correct
reasoning”. Logic is used to communicate more effectively, construct valid arguments,
analyze legal contracts and make decisions. Most professions use logic widely in their
line of work; programmers use logic to design software, electrical engineers use logic in
designing circuits, lawyers use logic to create arguments as well as reasoning, and
mathematicians use logic to solve problems and create mathematical proofs.

Objectives:
After reading the module, you are expected to:
1. Understand the different concepts of logic and their symbolisms
2. Analyze information and the relationship between statements
3. Determine validity of arguments
4. Determine valid conclusions based on given assumptions.

3.1 Logic Statements

A logic statement is a declarative sentence that is either true or false, but not both
true and false simultaneously. It is can be a simple statement or a compound statement.
• Simple statement – a statement that conveys a single thought or idea.
o Ex. You are not allowed to enter without a face mask.
• Compound statement – a statement that conveys two or more ideas.
o Ex.: You must wear a face mask and you must wear your ID to enter the
school.
A compound statement can be made my combining simple statements with the aid of
connectives.
Truth Value
The truth value of a statement is either true or false. A statement cannot be true
AND false at the same time.
3.2 Connectives, Quantifiers and Negation
Connectives
Connectives are words or group of words used to link two simple statements to
form a compound statement. There are 5 types of connectives:
1. Conjunction (A Λ B)
- Conjunctions are used to link two statements wherein both should be
considered true for the compound statement to also be true. It is usually
indicated by the word “and”. (A and B)
- “To enter the school, you must wear your ID and you should wear proper
uniform.”
 2. Disjunction (A V B)
- Disjunctions are used to link two statements wherein at least one statement
should be considered true for the compound statement to also be true. It is
usually indicated by the word “or”. (A or B)
- “I want to eat chicken adobo or pork adobo.”
3. Negation ( ~ A)
- Negation conveys the opposite of a statement. It is indicated by properly
adding or removing the word “not”. (not A)
- “The car is red” becomes “the car is not red.”
4. Conditional (A → B)
- Conditional statements convey a cause and effect or chronological
statement where the first statement or antecedent must be true in order for
the second statement or consequent to also be true. It is usually an
“if…then…” statement. (if A then B)
- “If you submit the requirements properly and on time, then you will not have
a failing grade.”
5. Biconditional (A ↔ B)
- Biconditional statements are conditional statements that can go both ways,
meaning, the antecedent and consequent can be reversed and still be true.
It is usually indicated with “if and only if” (A if and only if B)
- “I have a triangle if and only if my polygon has three sides.”
Conditional and Related statements
The most commonly used form of conditional statements is “if p then q”, where p
and q are the ideas or thoughts, but it may also be written in different forms. Listed below
are how some equivalent forms for p → q.
• If p, then q • Every p is a q
• If p, q • q, if p
• p only if q • q provided that p
• p implies q • q is a necessary condition for p
• not p or q • p is a sufficient condition for
Every conditional statement p → q has three related statements, its converse, inverse
and contrapositive.
1. Converse (q → p)
• It is formed by interchanging antecedent p and consequent q. if both
conditional and its converse statements are true, then it is a biconditional
statement
2. Inverse (~p → ~q)
• It is formed by negating antecedent p and consequent q.
3. Contrapositive (~q → ~p)
• It is formed by negating antecedent p and consequent q, then interchanging
them.
* If a conditional statement is true, then the contrapositive is also logically true.
* If the converse is true, then the inverse is also logically true
* The inverse is the contrapositive of the converse.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are used to identify the number of objects that are subject to the
definition or action specified in the statement. The most common quantifiers used are
numbers. However, there are quantifiers that describes the number of people based on a
group:
1. All – it refers to the group as a whole; uses the plural form of the verb.
2. Each/ Every – it refers to the members of the group as individuals; uses the
singular form of the verb.
*Both all and every refer to the same group, only the structure is different.
3. There exists/ some – it refers to a non-particular number of affected objects, but
not the entire group.
Negation
Negation is used to convey the opposite of a statement. It is usually used to show
how a truth value of a statement may be reversed. The word ‘not’ is usually added to the
original statement. The following are shows how to negate connectives:
• A and B → not A or not B
o I like dogs and cats → I don’t like dogs but I like cats or I like dogs but not
cats. (likes one but not the other)
• A OR B → not A AND not B
o Either I will buy the cheese flavor or barbecue flavor → I will not buy the
cheese flavor and the barbecue flavor. (not cheese and also not barbecue)
• If A then B → If A then not B
o If you burn it, then it will turn black. → If you burn it, then it will not turn
black. (same condition but different outcome)
• All/ every → There exist not
o Every student submitted the requirements → There exists a student who
did not submit the requirements. (uniformity has an opposing singularity)
• There exist → all/ every not
o There exist students who failed the exam. → All students did not fail the
exam (occurrence was erased or did not happen)
Truth Tables
A table that shows the truth value of a compound statement for all possible truth values
of its simple statements.
Examples:
Table for AND and OR (p Λ q, p V q)

p q pΛq pVq

T T T T

T F F T

F T F T

F F F F

This example shows the basic truth tables and how the truth values of the
statements differ. For AND, the compound statement can only be true if BOTH simple
statements are true, while for OR, the compound statement will be true if at least one
simple statement is true.
Example 2:
Table for NOT with OR (~p V q) and NOT OR (~ (p V q))
p q ~p V q ~ (p V q)
T T F T T F T T T
T F F F F F T T F
F T T T T F F T T
F F T T F T F F F
1 3 2 4 1 3 2

For this second example, it shows the order of the negation (~) and the connective
OR (V). In (~p V q) the first one to be translated is the negation (~), which simply gets the
opposite of p, then get the truth values for OR. In ~ (p V q), we follow the parenthesis rule,
thus getting the truth values for (p V q) before negating it.
Example 3:
Table for Conditional Statements (p → q)
p q p→q
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

For conditional statements, only when p is true and q is false will the statement be
false and will be considered true for all other possible values.
Equivalent Statements
Equivalent statements are two different logical statements that have the same truth
value. When comparing compound statements, only the resulting truth values are
compared.
Example: Show that ~ (p V ~q) and ~p Λ q are equivalent statements
p q ~ (p V ~q) ~p Λ q
T T F T T F F F T
T F F T T T F F F
F T T F F F T T T
F F F F T T T F F
4 1 3 2 1 3 2

Given the truth values for p and q, after getting the final values for the compound
statement, we can see that they have the same values, therefore, ~ (p V ~q) and ~p Λ q
are equivalent statements.
Tautologies vs Contradiction
There are certain special arguments where their truth value is constant. These are
tautologies and contradictions. Tautologies are statements that are ALWAYS TRUE, and
its counterpart, contradictions or self-contradictions are ALWAYS FALSE.
Example: Show that p V (~p V q) is a tautology.
p q p V (~p V q)
T T T T F T T
T F T T F F F
F T F T T T T
F F F T T T F
1 5 2 4 3

An example of a tautology in sentence form is “Either you will pass or not pass the
subject.” Which is (p V ~p). Whatever happens, the statement will hold true. A
contradiction can be a negation of a tautology, “You will neither pass nor not pass.”
Arguments
Consists of statements called premises and another statement called conclusion.
It is considered valid if the conclusion is true whenever all the premises are assumed true.
Example:
1st Premise: If a person is happy, they smile.
2nd Premise: John is happy.
Conclusion: John is smiling

Arguments can be written in symbolic form to represent statements. For example, let v
represent “a person is happy” and s represent “They smile”.

v→s 1st premise

v 2nd premise
∴s conclusion The three dots ∴ is the symbol for “therefore”
To check whether the argument is valid, construct a truth table.
1st premise 2nd premise conclusion
v s v→s v s
T T Row 1 T T T
T F Row 2 F T F
F T Row 3 T F T
F F Row 4 T F F
Among all possible truth values, only the values in Row 1 are ALL true, therefore the
argument is valid.
Example 2:
If it rains, then the game will not be played. It is not raining; therefore, the game will be
played.
Let r represent “it is raining” and g “the game will be played” (if in the result there is the
word “not”, consider it as a negation)
r → ~g 1st premise
~r 2nd premise
∴g conclusion The three dots ∴ is the symbol for “therefore”
To check whether the argument is valid, construct a truth table.
1st premise 2nd premise conclusion
r g r → ~g ~r g
T T Row 1 F F T
T F Row 2 T F F
F T Row 3 T T T
F F Row 4 T T F

Since the conclusion in row 4 is false even though both premises are assumed true, then
this is an INVALID argument.
Euler Diagrams
The validity of arguments that use quantifiers such as all, some, and none is hard to
determine by using a truth table. However, by illustrating the relationships using Euler
diagrams, it will be a lot easier to understand. The following are the illustration of the four
possible relationships between two sets:
All P’s are Q’s No P’s are Q’s

Q P
Q
P

Some P’s are Q’s Some P’s are not Q’s

P Q
Q P

Example: Use the Euler Diagram to determine whether the ff. argument is valid.

All math subjects are fun

This subject is a math subject
∴ This subject is fun.

Fun subjects
Math subjects In the figure on the left, the conclusion
This subject “This subject is fun” can be proven valid
because “this subject” which is inside the
figure of “Math subjects” is also inside
the figure of “Fun subjects”.
Example 2:
Some carpenters are plumbers.
Mang Lorenzo is a carpenter.
∴ Mang Lorenzo is a plumber.
Let C stand for carpenters, P for plumbers, and L for Mang Lorenzo.

C P P C P
C
L L

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Figure 1 shows the first premise of some carpenters being plumbers. In figure 2, the
conclusion is proven true; but figure 3 shows that the conclusion does not necessarily
follow the premises. Since there is a possibility that the conclusion is false, then the
argument is invalid.

Worksheet
Create a truth table or an Euler Diagram to prove the validity of the given arguments. Tell
whether it is valid or invalid.

1. If a student wears an ID, then the student can enter the school. Jessa is not
wearing an ID; therefore, she cannot enter the school.

2. If you submit your activity late, then you will not get a perfect score. Miguel did not
submit late; therefore, he will get a perfect score.

3. No student is working.
Miss Fuentes is a student.
∴ She is not employed.

4. Some parents are rich.

Mr. Hill is a rich person.
∴ He is a parent.

5. Some teenagers are not students

Jeric is not a teenager.
∴ Jeric is studying