Assignment 1: MA211 Discrete Math

1. Which of the following are propositions?

(a) The earth is flat.

(b) What a beautiful day!
(c) Toronto is the capital of Canada.
(d) Come in.

2. Find the truth value of each compound statement.

(a) (5 < 8) and (2 + 3 = 4)

(b) If 1 = 2, then 3 = 3.
(c) Paris is in France or 2 + 3 = 4.
(d) ∆ABC is equilateral if and only if it is equiangular.

3. Negate each proposition.

(a) 1 + 1 = 0.
(b) The chalkboard is black.

4. Evaluate each boolean expression, where a = 2, b = 3, c = 5, and d = 7.

(a) [∼ (a > b)] ∨ [∼ (c < d)]

(b) ∼ [(a > b) ∨ (b ≤ d)]
(c) [∼ (b < c)] ∧ [∼ (c < d)]

5. Let t be a tautology and p an arbitrary proposition. Give the truth value of each propo-
sition.

(a) ∼ p ∨ t
(b) ∼ p∧ ∼ t
(c) ∼ (∼ p∧ ∼ t)

6. Construct a truth table for each proposition.

(a) (p ∨ q) ∨ (∼ q)
(b) ∼ (∼ p ∨ q)
(c) p ∧ (q ∧ r)

7. The exclusive disjunction of two propositions p and q is denoted by p XOR q. Construct

a truth table for p XOR q.

8. Write the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of each implication.

(a) If the calculator is working, then the battery is good.

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 (b) If London is in France, then Paris is in England.

9. Represent the switching network symbolically

10. (In continuation to the example) At the bus stop, Ellen noticed signs for three buses, B1,
B2, and B3, and approached another trio of women, F, G, and H. A conversation ensued:
Ellen: Where do the buses go?
F: At least one of B1 and B2 goes to the capital.
G: B1 goes to the capital.
H: B2 and B3 go to the capital.
F: B3 goes to the beach.
G: B2 and B3 go to the beach.
H: B1 goes to the beach.
Which bus did Ellen take?

11. At the bus terminal, Ellen overheard the following conversation between two baseball fans,
L and M:
L: I like the Yankees.
M: You do not like the Yankees. You like the Dodgers.
L: We both like the Dodgers.
Does fan L like the Yankees? Who likes the Dodgers?

12. After reaching the bus terminal at the capital, Ellen saw three personal computers. She
asked a young woman, I, whether the computers had Internet connections. She replied,
“Computer 1 is not connected to the Internet. Ask that man, J; he is a knight.” When
Ellen approached the man, he told her, “Computer 2 has an Internet connection, but
computer 3 does not.” A second man, K, who overheard the conversation, then said,
“If computer 2 has an Internet connection, then so does computer 1. Computer 3 is not
connected to the Internet.” Which computer had an Internet connection?

13. Show the equivalence of the following statements:

(a) (p ∨ q) → r ≡ (p → r) ∨ (q → r)
(b) p → (q ∨ r) ≡ (p∧ ∼ q) → r
(c) p → q ≡ (p∧ ∼ q) → f

14. The logical operators NAND (not and) and NOR (not or) are defined as follows:
p NAND q ≡ ∼ (p ∧ q)
p NOR q ≡ ∼ (p ∨ q)
Construct a truth table for the propositions: p NAND q and p NOR q.

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15. The Sheffer stroke | is a binary operator defined by the following truth table.

p q p|q
T T F
F T T
T F T
F F T

Prove the following equivalences:

(a) ∼ p ≡ p|p
(b) p|q ≡∼ (p ∧ q)
(c) p → q ≡ ((p|p)|(p|p))|(q|q)

16. A third useful quantifier is the uniqueness quantifier ∃!. The proposition (∃! x) P (x) means
‘There exists a unique’ (meaning exactly one) x such that P (x). Determine the truth value
of each proposition, where UD = set of integers.

(a) (∃! x)(x + 3 = 3)

(b) (∃!x)(∀y)(x + y = y)
(c) (∃!x)(x2 = 1)
(d) (∃!x)(∃!y)(2x = 3y)
(e) (∃!x)(∃!y)(xy = 1)

17. Negate each proposition, where x is an arbitrary integer.

(a) (∀x) (x2 > 0)

(b) Every supercomputer is manufactured in Japan.

18. Let P (x) : x2 > x, Q(x) : x2 = x, and the UD = set of integers. Determine the truth
value of each proposition.

(a) (∀x)[∼ P (x)]

(b) (∀x)[∼ P (x)]
(c) (∀x)[P (x) ∧ Q(x)]
(d) (∃x)[∼ P (x)]
(e) (∃x)[P (x) ∨ Q(x)]

19. Determine if each implication is vacuously true for the indicated value of n.

(a) If n ≥ 1, then 2n ≥ n; n = 0
(b) If n ≥ 4, then 2n ≥ n2 ; n = 0, 1, 2, 3

20. Prove each directly.

(a) The sum of any two even integers is even.

(b) The sum of any two odd integers is even.
(c) The square of an even integer is even.
(d) The arithmetic mean a+b 2 of any two non-negative real numbers a and b is greater
√
than or equal to their geometric mean ab.

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21. Prove each using the law of the contrapositive.

(a) If the square of an integer is even, then the integer is even.

(b) If the square of an integer is odd, then the integer is odd.

22. Prove by contradiction, where p is a prime number.

(a) log10 2 is an irrational number.

√
(b) 2 is an irrational number.

23. Find the flaw in the following “proof”:

Let a and b be real numbers such that a = b. Then ab = b2 .
Therefore, a2 − ab = a2 − b2
Factoring, a(a − b) = (a + b)(a − b)
Cancel a − b from both sides:
a=a+b
Since a = b, this yields a = 2a.
Cancel a from both sides.
Then we get 1 = 2.

24. Prime numbers of the form f (n) = 2n − 1, where n is a positive integer, are called
Mersenne primes, after the Franciscan monk Marin Mersenne (1588–1648). For example,
f (2) = 3, f (3) = 7, and f (5) = 31 are Mersenne primes. Give a counterexample to
disprove the claim that if n is a prime, then 2n − 1 is a prime.

25. Prove by the existence method.

(a) There are integers x such that x2 = x.

(b) There are integers x such that |x| = x.
(c) There are infinitely many integers that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in
two different ways.
(d) The equation x2 + y 2 = z 2 has infinitely many integer solutions.

26. Give a counterexample to disprove each statement, where P(x) denotes an arbitrary pred-
icate.

(a) The absolute value of every real number is positive.

(b) The square of every real number is positive.
(c) Every prime number is odd.
(d) Every month has exactly 30 days.