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Silay Institute, Incorporated

Silay City, Negros Occidental

TOPICS: THE CONDITIONAL & BICONDITIONAL, THE CONDITIONAL &

RELATED STATEMENTS & SYMBOLIC ARGUMENT

WEEK #: 7 (SEVEN)

I. THE CONDITIONAL & BICONDITIONAL:

CONDITIONAL STATEMENT:

Let p and q are two statements then "if p then q" is a compound statement.
Denoted by p→ q, where the arrow "→" is the conditional operator thus referred as a
conditional statement, or implication.
In this implication, p is called the hypothesis (or antecedent) and q is called the
conclusion (or consequent).

Conditional: p  q (“If p, then q”)

Truth Table for Conditional

p q pq
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

Note: A conditional p  q can only be false if the hypothesis p is true and the
conclusion q is false; otherwise, it is always true.

BICONDITIONAL STATEMENT:

If p and q are two statements then "p if and only if q" is a compound statement, denoted
as p ↔ q and referred as a biconditional statement or an equivalence.
The equivalence p ↔ q is true only when both p and q are true or when both p and q are
false. The double headed arrow "↔" is the biconditional operator.
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Biconditional: p ↔ q ("p if and only if q")

Truth Table for Biconditional:

Note that, from the truth table, we see that, for p↔q to be true, both p and q must have
the same truth values; otherwise it is false.

For Example:
(i) Two lines are parallel if and only if they have the same slope.
(ii) You will pass the exam if and only if you will work hard.

Two propositions are said to be logically equivalent if they have exactly the same truth
values under all circumstances.

Some Phrasings of the Bionditional:

Each of the following is equivalent to the biconditional p↔q.
 p if and only if q.
 p is necessary and sufficient for q.
 p is equivalent to q.

II. CONDITIONAL AND THE RELATED STATEMENTS:

Variations on Conditional Statements:

 Inverse
The inverse of a conditional statement is arrived at by replacing the
hypothesis and the conclusion with their negations.
If a statement reads, "The vertex of an inscribed angle is on a circle", then the
inverse of this statement is "The vertex of an angle that is not an inscribed
angle is not on a circle." Both the hypothesis and the conclusion were negated.
If the original statement reads "if p, then q", the inverse reads, "if not p, then
not q."
The truth value of the inverse of a statement is undetermined. That is,
some statements may have the same truth value as their inverse, and some
may not.
Note: The proposition ~p→~q is called the inverse of p →q.
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 Converse
The converse of a statement is formed by switching the hypothesis and the
conclusion. The converse of "If two lines don't intersect, then they are parallel"
is "If two lines are parallel, then they don't intersect." The converse of "if p,
then q" is "if q, then p."
The truth value of the converse of a statement is not always the same as the
original statement.

Note: The proposition q→p is called the converse of p →q.

 Contrapositive
The contrapositive of a statement is formed when the hypothesis and the
conclusion are interchanged, and both are replaced by their negation. In other words,
the contrapositive of a statement is the same as the inverse of that statement's
converse, or the converse of its inverse.
Take the statement, "Long books are fun to read." Its contrapositive is "Books
that aren't fun to read aren't long." The statement "if p, then q" becomes "if not q, then
not p."
The contrapositive of a statement always has the same truth value as the
original statement. Therefore, the contrapositive of a definition is always true. For
example, the statement "A triangle is a three-sided polygon" is true. Its
contrapositive, "A polygon with greater or less than three sides is not a triangle" is
also true.

Note: The proposition ~q→~p is called contrapositive of p →q.

Converse, Inverse & Contrapositive:

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III. SYMBOLIC ARGUMENT:

A symbolic argument consists of a set of premises and a conclusion. It is called a

symbolic argument because we generally write it in symbolic form to determine its
validity.

 A premise is a statement in an argument that provides reason or support

for the conclusion. There can be one or many premises in a single argument.
 A conclusion is a statement in an argument that indicates of what the arguer is
trying to convince the reader/listener.

Valid or Invalid?

 An argument is valid when its conclusion necessarily follows from a given set
of premises.
 If the truth table answer column is true in every case, then the statement is a
tautology, and the argument is valid.
 An argument is invalid or a fallacy when the conclusion does not necessarily
follow from the given set of premises.
 If the truth table answer column is not true in every case then the statement is
not a tautology, and the argument is invalid.

A syllogism is a form of logical reasoning that joins two or more premises to arrive at
a conclusion.

For example:
All birds lay eggs.
A swan is a bird.
Therefore, a swan lays eggs..

Syllogisms contain a major premise and a minor premise to create the conclusion, i.e.,
a more general statement and a more specific statement.
In the example, the major premise is that all birds lay eggs. The minor premise is that a
swan is a bird. The conclusion links these two propositions to conclude that if a swan is a
bird it must lay eggs. The symbol “∴” means “therefore”
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REFERENCES:

 https://www.zweigmedia.com/RealWorld/logic/logic3.html
 https://www.sparknotes.com/math/geometry3/logicstatements/section3/#:~:text=Va
riations%20on%20Conditional%20Statements,-
Summary%20Variations%20on&text=The%20three%20most%20common%20way
s,is%20replaced%20by%20its%20negation.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRBn_N3S4l4
 https://www.javatpoint.com/conditional-and-biconditional-statements
 https://slideplayer.com/slide/15076998/
 https://literarydevices.com/syllogism/

“Successful people don’t fear failure but understand that it’s necessary to learn and
grow from.”

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