ITMS-01

Discrete Structures

UNIT III SET THEORY AND ELEMENTARY LOGIC

Overview

George Boole (1815-1864) was the first to develop symbolic logic or Boolean logic.
It was his system of “and”, “or” and “not” transformed the world led to the birth of the
Digital Revolution. In this unit, you are going to learn how to argue logically. You will
examine an argument whether it is valid or not. You will appreciate how mathematical
notation and a few rules were used to formalized logical arguments.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the unit, I am able to:
1. understand set theory; and
2. understand elementary logic; and
3. apply appropriately these concepts to different situation in everyday life and realize
the importance of such concepts in information technologies.

Setting Up
Can you say a message in two different ways and mean the same thing?

Lesson Proper

Lesson 1 Set Theory

Definition: A set is a collection of elements.

Curly braces “{“ and “}” are used to denote sets.

Example:
! { 11, 12, 13 }
! { Apple, Banana, Grape }
! {Apple, Banana , Grape, 11, Leo }

A set is defined only by the elements which it contains. Thus repeating an element,
or changing the ordering of elements in the description of the set, does not change the set
itself:
" { 11, 11, 11, 12, 13 } = { 11, 12, 13 }
" {Apple, Banana, Grape} = { Grape, Banana, Apple}

STANDARD NUMERICAL SETS

• The natural numbers:
N = { 1, 2, 3, 4, … }
• The integers:
Z = { … -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, … }
• The positive integers:
Z+ = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, … }

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• The real numbers: R --contains any decimal number of arbitrary precision

• The rational numbers: Q --these are decimal numbers whose decimal expansion
repeats.

Q: Give examples of numbers in R but not Q.

A: 2, 𝜋, 𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟.


The Greek letter “∈” (epsilon) is used to denote that an object is an element of a set.
When crossed out “∉” denotes that the object is not an element.”

Example
3 ∈ S reads:
“3 is an element of the set S ”.

Let’s practice:

Which of the following is/are true:
1. 3 ∈ R
2. -3 ∈ N
3. -3 ∈ R
4. 0 ∉ Z+
5. ∃x x∈R ∧ x2=-5

Answer: 1, 3 and 4

1. 3 ∈ R. True: 3 is a real number.

2. -3 ∈ N. False: natural numbers don’t contain negatives.

3. -3 ∈ R. True: -3 is a real number.

4. 0 ∉ Z+. True: 0 isn’t positive.

5. ∃x x∈R ∧ x2=-5 . False: square of a real number is non-neg., so can’t be -5.


Definition: A set S is said to be a subset of the set T if and only if every element of S is also
an element of T. This situation is denoted by

S ⊆ T

A synonym of “subset” is “contained by”.

Definitions are often just a means of establishing a logical equivalence which aids in
notation. The definition above says that:
S ⊆ T ⇔ ∀x (x∈S ) → (x∈T )
You already had all the necessary concepts, but the “⊆” notation saves work.

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When “⊂” is used instead of “⊆”, proper containment is meant.

Definition: A subset S of T is said to be a proper subset if S is not equal to T.
S ⊂ T ⇔ S ⊆T ∧ ∃x (x ∉ S ∧ x∈T )

What algebraic symbol is ⊂ reminiscent of?

Answer: ⊂ is to ⊆, as < is to ≤.

Definition: The empty set is the set containing no elements. This set is also called
the null set and is denoted by:
! {}
! ∅

Let’s practice:
Which of the following is/are true:
a) N ⊂ R
b) Z ⊆ N
c) -3 ⊆ R
d) {1,2} ∉ Z+
e) ∅ ⊆ ∅
f) ∅ ⊂ ∅

Answer: 1, 4 and 5
1. N ⊂ R. All natural numbers are real.
2. Z ⊆ N. Negative numbers aren’t natural.
3. -3 ⊆ R. Nonsensical. -3 is not a subset but an element! (This could have
made sense if we viewed -3 as a set –which in principle is the case– in this
case the proposition is false).
4. {1,2} ∉ Z+. This actually makes sense. The set {1,2} is an object in its own
right, so could be an element of some set; however, {1,2} is not a number,
therefore is not an element of Z.
5. ∅ ⊆ ∅. Any set contains itself.
6. ∅ ⊂ ∅. No set can contain itself properly.


Definition: The cardinality of a set S is the number of distinct elements in the set.
|S | denotes the cardinality of S.

Example
Compute each cardinality.
1. |{1, -13, 4, -13, 1}|
2. |{3, {1,2,3,4}, ∅}|
3. |{}|
4. |{ {}, {{}}, {{{}}} }|
Hint: After eliminating the redundancies just look at the number of top level commas and
add 1 (except for the empty set).

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Answer:
1. |{1, -13, 4, -13, 1}| = |{1, -13, 4}| = 3
2. |{3, {1,2,3,4}, ∅}| = 3. To see this, set S = {1,2,3,4}. Compute the cardinality
of {3,S, ∅}
3. |{}| = |∅| = 0
4. |{ {}, {{}}, {{{}}} }| = |{ ∅, {∅}, {{∅}}| = 3


Definition: The set S is said to be finite if its cardinality is a nonnegative integer.
Otherwise, S is said to be infinite.

Example: N, Z, Z+, R, Q are each infinite.

Note: We’ll see later that not all infinities are the same. In fact, R will end up having
a bigger infinity-type than N, but surprisingly, N has same infinity-type as Z, Z+, and
Q.

Definition: The power set of S is the set of all subsets of S.
Denote the power set by P (S ) or by 2s .

Lemma: | 2s | = 2|s|

To understand the previous fact consider
S = {1,2,3}
Enumerate all the subsets of S :
0-element sets: {} 1
1-element sets: {1}, {2}, {3} +3
2-element sets: {1,2}, {1,3}, {2,3} +3
3-element sets: {1,2,3} +1
Therefore: | 2s | = 8 = 23 = 2|s|

Notationally, n-tuples look like sets except that curly braces are replaced by parentheses:
! ( 11, 12 ) –a 2-tuple aka ordered pair

! { Apple, Banana, Grape } –a 3-tuple

! {Apple, Banana,Grape, 11, Leo } – a 5-tuple

As opposed to sets, repetition and ordering do matter with n-tuples.
" (11, 11, 11, 12, 13) ≠ ( 11, 12, 13 )

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Lesson 2 Proposition

A proposition is a declarative sentence that is either true or false
(but not both).

Example:

The following are propositions:

i) Cabanatuan City is in Nueva Ecija. (true)
ii) Paris is in the Philippines. (false)
iii) 4 < 6 . (true)
iv) 3 = 8 . (false)

However, the following are not propositions:

1. What is your name? (This is a question.)
2. Do your homework. (This is a command.)
3. This sentence is true or false. (Neither true or false)
4. 𝑥 is an even number. (It depends on what 𝑥
represents.),
5. Bernoulli. (It is not even a sentence.)


Can you give 10 examples of proposition, (5 true proposition and 5 false proposition)?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Can you give 5 examples of not proposition (provide the reason)?

1.
( )
2.
( )
3.
( )
4.
( )
5.
( )

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Lesson 3 Predicate

A predicate is a property or description of subjects in the universe of discourse.
The following predicates are all italicized :
! Johnny is tall.
! The bridge is structurally sound.
! 17 is a prime number.

Again, many correct answers. The most obvious answers are:
! For “Josh is taller than Daniel.” the universe of discourse of both variables is
all people in the universe
! For “16 is greater than one of 11, 44” the universe of discourse of all three
variables is Z (the set of integers)
! For “Mary is at least inches taller than Therese.” the first and last variable
have people as their universe of discourse, while the second variable has R
(the set of real numbers).

The multivariable predicates, together with their variables create multivariable
propositional functions. In the above examples, we have the following generalizations:
! x is taller than y.
! a is greater than one of b, c.
! x is at least n inches taller than y.

QUANTIFIERS

There are two quantifiers
• Existential Quantifier
“∃” reads “there exists”
• Universal Quantifier
“∀” reads “for all”

Each is placed in front of a propositional function and binds it to obtain a
proposition with semantic value.

Existential Quantifier

! “∃x P (x)” is true when an instance can be found which when plugged in for x
makes P (x) true
! Like disjunctioning over entire universe
∃x P (x ) ⇔ P (x1) ∨P (x2) ∨P (x3) ∨ …

Universal Quantifier

! “∀x P (x)” true when every instance of x makes P (x) true when plugged in
! Like conjunctioning over entire universe
∀x P (x ) ⇔ P (x1) ∧P (x2) ∧ P (x3) ∧ …

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Lesson 4 Compound Proposition and Truth Table

Connectives are used for making compound proposition. The five connectives are
represented by the following (p and q are given proposition):

Connective Representation Meaning
Negation not ~𝑝 not 𝑝
Conjunction 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑞
Disjunction 𝑜𝑟 𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 𝑝 𝑜𝑟 𝑞
Implication 𝑖𝑓 … 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 … 𝑝 → 𝑞 𝑖𝑓 𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑞
Biconditional 𝑖𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑓 𝑝 ↔ 𝑞 p if and only if q

The truth value of a compound proposition depends only on the value of its
components. You write “F” for false and “T” for true. You can summarize the meaning of the
connectives in a table called the Truth Table.

Negation:

The truth value of the negation of any proposition is just the opposite truth value of
the proposition. Following is the truth table for negation.

𝒑 ~𝒑
T F
F T

Example:

Let 𝑝 be “Therese is pretty.”

Then ~𝑝 is “Therese is not pretty.

Conjunction:

The truth value of the conjunction of a compound proposition is only true when the
components are both true. Following is the truth table for conjunction.

𝒑 𝒒 𝒑 ∧ 𝒒
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

Example:

Let 𝑞 be “Therese is kind.”

Then 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 is “Therese is pretty and Therese is kind.”

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Disjunction:

The truth value of the disjunction of a compound proposition is only false when both
components are false. Following is the truth table for disjunction.

𝒑 𝒒 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

Example:
𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 is “Therese is pretty or Therese is kind.”


Implication:

The truth value of the implication of a compound proposition is only false when the
premise is true and the conclusion is false. Following is the truth table for implication.

𝒑 𝒒 𝒑 → 𝒒
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T

Example:
𝑝 → 𝑞 is “If Therese is pretty then she is kind.”

Biconditional:

The truth value of the biconditional of a compound proposition is true when the
components have the same truth value. Following is the truth table for biconditional.

𝒑 𝒒 𝒑 ↔ 𝒒
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F T

Example:
𝑝 ↔ 𝑞 is ‘’Therese is pretty if and only if she is kind.”



Can you give examples using the five connectives?

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Lesson 5 TAUTOLOGY, CONTRADICTION AND CONTINGENT

Definition: A compound proposition is called a tautology if no matter what truth values
its propositions have, its own truth value is always True.

Example

Consider: 𝒑 ∨ ~𝒑 (Law of excluded middle)
Let us look at its truth table.

𝒑 ~𝒑 𝒑 ∨ ~𝒑
T F T
F T T

Since the truth value of 𝒑 ∨ ~𝒑 in all cases is always True, you have a tautology.

An argument is valid only when it is a tautology.

Definition: The opposite to a tautology, is a compound proposition that’s always false –
called a contradiction.

Example
Consider: 𝒑 ∧ ~𝒑
Let us look at its truth table.

𝒑 ~𝒑 𝒑 ∧ ~𝒑
T F F
F T F

Observe that the truth value of the above example is always False. Thus, a
contradiction.


Definition: On the other hand, a compound proposition whose truth value isn’t constant
is called a contingent.

Example
Consider: 𝒑 → ~𝒑
Let us look at its truth table.

𝒑 ~𝒑 𝒑 → ~𝒑
T F F
F T T

Observe that the truth value of 𝒑 → ~𝒑 is not consistently true or consistently
false. Thus, we call 𝒑 → ~𝒑 a contingent.

The easiest way to see if a compound proposition is a tautology/contradiction is to
use a truth table.

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Let us practice.
Consider:

~𝒑 ∧ 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 → 𝒒

Let us find out whether the given argument is a tautology, contradiction or contingent.
There are two ways of finding whether an argument is a tautology, contradiction or
contingent, namely:

1. by a truth table; or

2. by a proof.

By the truth table:
(Note: the number of rows you will need is equal to 2! , where 𝑛 is the number of
proposition in the argument.)
In above argument, you have 2 proposition, 𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑞. Therefore, there will be 2! = 4 rows
in your truth table for all the cases to be considered. So,

𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 ~𝒑 ∧ 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 ~𝒑 ∧ 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 → 𝒒

T T

T F

F T

F F



𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 ~𝒑 ∧ 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 ~𝒑 ∧ 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 → 𝒒

T T F T F T

T F F T F T

F T T T T T

F F T F F T

Therefore, ~𝒑 ∧ 𝒑 ∨ 𝒒 → 𝒒 is a tautology since it is always true.

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Lesson 6 Logical Equivalence

Definition: Two compound propositions p, q are logically equivalent if their biconditional
joining p ↔ q is a tautology. Logical equivalence is denoted by p ⇔ q.

Example

The contrapositive of a logical implication is the reversal of the implication, while
negating both components. That is, the contrapositive of 𝒑 → 𝒒 is ~𝒒 → ~𝒑 .
Let us demonstate that 𝒑 → 𝒒 ⇔ ~𝒒 → ~𝒑 .

𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 ~𝒒 𝒑→𝒒 ~𝒒 → ~𝒑 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ ~𝒒 → ~𝒑

T T

T F

F T

F F

𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 ~𝒒 𝒑→𝒒 ~𝒒 → ~𝒑 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ ~𝒒 → ~𝒑

T T F F T T T

T F F T F F T

F T T F T T T

F F T T T T T

Since the truth value of 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ ~𝒒 → ~𝒑 is a tautology. Therefore 𝒑 → 𝒒 and
~𝒒 → ~𝒑 are logically equivalent. In symbols, 𝒑 → 𝒒 ⇔ ~𝒒 → ~𝒑 .

It is important to bear in mind that stating the implication is the same as saying its
contrapositive.

Note:
p ⇔q by definition means that p ↔ q is a tautology. Furthermore, the biconditional
is true exactly when the truth values of p and of q are identical. So if the last column of
truth tables of p and of q is identical, the biconditional is a tautology.

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Let us look at the converse of an implication.

The converse of a logical implication is the reversal of the implication. That is, the
converse of 𝒑 → 𝒒 is 𝒒 → 𝒑 .

Example

The converse of “If g is an integer then it is a real number.” is “If g is a real number then it is
an integer.”

Or

𝒑 : g is an integer.

𝒒 : g is a real number.

𝒑 → 𝒒 : If g is an integer then it is a real number. (implication)

𝒒 → 𝒑 : If g is a real number then it is an integer. (converse)

As you will see next: 𝒑 → 𝒒 and 𝒒 → 𝒑 are not logically equivalent.

𝒑 𝒒 𝒑→𝒒 𝒒→𝒑 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ 𝒒 → 𝒑

T T

T F

F T

F F

𝒑 𝒒 𝒑→𝒒 𝒒→𝒑 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ 𝒒 → 𝒑

T T T T T

T F F T F

F T T F F

F F T T T

We can see from the truth table that 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ 𝒒 → 𝒑 is not a tautology.

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So, 𝒑 → 𝒒 and 𝒒 → 𝒑 are not logically equivalent. You can also say that the implication
is not logically equivalent to its converse.

Let us look at the inverse of an implication.

The inverse of a logical implication is the reversal of the implication. That is, the
inverse of 𝒑 → 𝒒 is ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 .

Let us see if the implication and its inverse are logically equivalent. That is,
𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 is a tautology. Let us examine its truth table.

𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 ~𝒒 𝒑→𝒒 ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒

T T F F

T F F T

F T T F

F F T T

𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 ~𝒒 𝒑→𝒒 ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒

T T F F T T T

T F F T F T F

F T T F T F F

F F T T T T T

It is evident that the truth table of 𝒑 → 𝒒 ↔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 is a contingent. So, 𝒑 → 𝒒 and
~𝒑 → ~𝒒 are not logically equivalent.

In essence, stating the implication is not the same as saying its inverse because implication
and inverse are not logically equivalent.

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Can you examine whether the converse and inverse of an implication are logically
equivalent?

Implication : 𝒑→𝒒

Converse : 𝒒→𝒑

Inverse : ~𝒑 → ~𝒒

Let us look at the biconditional of converse and inverse of an implication.
That is,
𝒒 → 𝒑 ↔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 .

𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 ~𝒒 𝒒→𝒑 ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 𝒒 → 𝒑 ↔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒

T T F F

T F F T

F T T F

F F T T

𝒑 𝒒 ~𝒑 ~𝒒 𝒒→𝒑 ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 𝒒 → 𝒑 ↔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒

T T F F T T T

T F F T T T T

F T T F F F T

F F T T T T T

You have a tautology. Therefore, 𝒒 → 𝒑 and ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 are logically equivalent.
In symbols, 𝒒 → 𝒑 ⇔ ~𝒑 → ~𝒒 . Also, you can say that the stating the converse of an
implication is the same as stating its inverse.

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When compound proposition are involve, there will be more and more components
and the size of the truth table for the compound proposition increases.

How many rows are required to construct the truth-table of:

𝑞↔ 𝑝→𝑟 ∧ ∼ 𝑠 ∧ 𝑟 ∨∼ 𝑡 → ∼ 𝑞 → 𝑟 .

In general, 2! rows, where 𝑛 is the number of proposition in the given argument.
In the above argument, you have 𝑛 = 5. So, the number of rows needed to construct the
truth table of the given argument is 2! = 32.

But constructing the truth table is not always the best way to examine whether the
argument is a tautology or not.

Consider the compound proposition:

𝑝 ⟶ 𝑝 ∨ ∼ 𝑠 ∧ 𝑟 ∨∼ 𝑡 ∨ ∼ 𝑞 → 𝑟

I can say that this is a tautology. How?

You can consider the argument as a triple disjunction. Notice that a part of it is a tautology.
That is, (p →p) is always true. The disjunction of True with any other compound
proposition is still True.

𝑝 ⟶ 𝑝 ∨ ∼ 𝑠 ∧ 𝑟 ∨∼ 𝑡 ∨ ∼ 𝑞 → 𝑟

⇔ T ∨ ∼ 𝑠 ∧ 𝑟 ∨∼ 𝑡 ∨ ∼ 𝑞 → 𝑟

⇔ T

Thus, (p →p ) ∨ (¬(s∧r)∨¬t) ) ∨ (¬q→r ) is a tautology.

An argument is valid only when it is a tautology.

So, (p →p ) ∨ (¬(s∧r)∨¬t) ) ∨ (¬q→r ) is a valid argument.

What can you say about the biconditional of the converse and inverse of an implication?
Would you qualify it as a valid argument? Why or why not?

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Another way to see logical equivalence is:

“Two logical expressions possibly involving propositional formulas and quantifiers are
said to be logically equivalent if no-matter what universe and what particular propositional
formulas are plugged in, the expressions always have the same truth value.”

DeMorgan’s identities:
• Conjunctional negation:
∼ 𝑝! ∧ 𝑝! ∧ … ∧ 𝑝! ⇔ ∼ 𝑝! ∨∼ 𝑝! ∨ … ∨∼ 𝑝!
• Disjunctional negation:
∼ 𝑝! ∨ 𝑝! ∨ … ∨ 𝑝! ⇔ ∼ 𝑝! ∧∼ 𝑝! ∧ … ∧∼ 𝑝!
Since the quantifiers are the same as taking a bunch of AND’s (∀) or OR’s (∃) we have:
• Universal negation:
∼ ∀𝑥 𝑃 𝑥 ⇔ ∃𝑥 ∼ 𝑃 𝑥
• Existential negation:
∼ ∃𝑥 𝑃 𝑥 ⇔ ∀𝑥 ∼ 𝑃 𝑥

Table of Logical Equivalence

𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆

𝑝 ∧ 𝑇 ⇔ 𝑝
Identity Laws
𝑝 ∨ 𝐹 ⇔ 𝑝
𝑝 ∨ 𝑇 ⇔ 𝑇
Domination Laws
𝑝 ∧ 𝐹 ⇔ 𝐹
𝑝 ∨ 𝑝 ⇔ 𝑝
Idempotent Laws
𝑝 ∧ 𝑝 ⇔ 𝑝

∼ ∼ 𝑝 ⇔ 𝑝 Double Negation Law

𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 ⇔ 𝑞 ∨ 𝑝
Commutative Laws
𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 ⇔ 𝑞 ∧ 𝑝
𝑝∨𝑞 ∨𝑟 ⇔𝑝∨ 𝑞∨𝑟
Associative Laws
𝑝∧𝑞 ∧𝑟 ⇔𝑝∧ 𝑞∧𝑟
𝑝∨ 𝑞∧𝑟 ⇔ 𝑝∨𝑞 ∧ 𝑞∨𝑟
Distributive Laws
𝑝∧ 𝑞∨𝑟 ⇔ 𝑝∧𝑞 ∨ 𝑞∧𝑟
∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 ⇔∼ 𝑝 ∨∼ 𝑞
De Morgan’s Laws
∼ 𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 ⇔∼ 𝑝 ∧∼ 𝑞

𝑝 ∧∼ 𝑝 ⇔ 𝐹 Negation (Conjunction)

𝑝 ∨∼ 𝑝 ⇔ 𝑇 Negation (Disjunction)

𝑝∧𝑞 →𝑞 ⇔ ∼ 𝑝∧𝑞 ∨𝑞 Implication to Disjunction

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 ITMS-01 Discrete Structures

Demonstrate that
∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 → 𝑞

is a valid argument by showing that it is a tautology by proof.

Proof:

∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 → 𝑞
⇔ ∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑝 ∨ ∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 → 𝑞 Distributive Law
⇔ 𝑝 ∧∼ 𝑝 ∨ ∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 → 𝑞 Commutative Law
⇔ 𝐹 ∨ ∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 → 𝑞 Negation (Conjunction)
⇔ ∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 → 𝑞 Identity Law
⇔ ∼ ∼ 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 ∨ 𝑞 Implication to Disjunction
⇔ ∼ ∼ 𝑝 ∨∼ 𝑞 ∨ 𝑞 DeMorgan’s Law
⇔ 𝑝 ∨∼ 𝑞 ∨ 𝑞 Double Negation Law
⇔ 𝑝 ∨ ∼ 𝑞 ∨ 𝑞 Associative Law
⇔ 𝑝 ∨ 𝑞 ∨∼ 𝑞 Commutative Law
⇔ 𝑝 ∨ 𝑇 Negation (Disjunction)
⇔ 𝑇 Domination Law

So, [¬p ∧(p ∨q )]→q is a tautology.
Therefore, it is a valid argument.

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 ITMS-01 Discrete Structures

References

Cargal, J.M., Discrete Mathematics for Neophytes: Number Theory, Probability,
Algorithms, and Other Stuff

http://www.math.northwestern.edu

Lipschutz, Seymour Ph.D., Lipson, Marc Ph.D., Schaum’s Outlines DISCRETE
MATHEMATICS, Third Edition 2007.

Cruz, Rebecca J. and Tandingan, Glenda R., Simplified Discrete Mathematics, 2012 Edition.

Ymas, Sergio Jr E., Lopez, Joseph P., DISCRETE MATHEMATICS, 2009 Edition.

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 ITMS-01 Discrete Structures

Assessing Learning

Activity 1
Name: __________________________________________________ Score: ________________
Course/Year/Section: _______________________________ Date: _________________

Directions: Show complete solution. Encircle your final answer.

1) Give an example of a set that is a subset of a standard numerical set, has a
cardinality of 7.






















2) Is the empty set a subset of your answer in 1)?

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 ITMS-01 Discrete Structures

Activity 2
Name: __________________________________________________ Score: ________________
Course/Year/Section: _______________________________ Date: _________________

Directions: Identify the following whether it is a proposition or not. If it is a proposition, tell
whether it is true or false. If it is not a proposition, justify it.

1) Carlo is a smart student. ________________________________.

2) It is Tuesday today. ________________________________.

3) Jump. ________________________________.

4) What is your course? ________________________________.

5) It is sunny today. ________________________________.

6) 1 < 2. ________________________________.

7) 3 > 4. ________________________________.

8) 2 = 1. ________________________________.

9) I am studying at NEUST. ________________________________.

10) I am a Filipino. ________________________________.


11-15 Give examples of True Proposition.

16-20 Give examples of False Proposition.

21-30 Give examples of not proposition and justify accordingly.

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 ITMS-01 Discrete Structures

Activity 3
Name: __________________________________________________ Score: ________________
Course/Year/Section: _______________________________ Date: _________________

Directions:

Consider
𝑝: Mary is rich.
𝑞: Josh is intelligent.

Construct

1) ~𝑝: _______________________________________________________________________.

2) 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞: _______________________________________________________________________.

3) 𝑝 ∨ 𝑞: _______________________________________________________________________.

4) 𝑝 → 𝑞 _______________________________________________________________________.

5) 𝑝 ↔ 𝑞 _______________________________________________________________________.

Bonus:

Give originally constructed examples of each connective (2 each).

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 ITMS-01 Discrete Structures

Activity 3
Name: __________________________________________________ Score: ________________
Course/Year/Section: _______________________________ Date: _________________

Directions: Show complete solution. Encircle your final answer.

1. Simplify the expression. Verify using truth table whether the expression is logically
equivalent with your answer.
(a) ∼ ∼ 𝑝 ∨∼ 𝑞
















(b) 𝑝 ∧ 𝑞 ∨ 𝑝 ∧∼ 𝑞

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 ITMS-01 Discrete Structures

Activity 4
Name: __________________________________________________ Score: ________________
Course/Year/Section: _______________________________ Date: _________________

Directions: Show that the statement below by way of truth table.

“I do not go outside or did not have or have Covid-19 virus.” is logically equivalent to
“If I go outside and have COVID-19, then I have COVID-19.”

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