Introduction to

Discrete
Structures

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Tahir Iqbal, Bahria University Lahore 1

 Predicates and Quantifiers - Predicates

➢ The statements “x > 3”, “x = y + 3”, and “computer x

is functioning properly” are not propositions
➢ This section discusses how proposition can be
produced from such statements
➢ The statement “x > 3” has two parts –
➢ the variables x, the subject of the statement
➢ is greater than 3, the predicate, the property
that the subject of the statement can have
➢ We denote P(x) = “x > 3”, where P denotes the
predicate “is greater than 3” and x is the variable
➢ Once we assign a value to x, it becomes proposition
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 Predicates and Quantifiers - Predicates

➢ Def: A predicate, or propositional function, is a

function that takes some variable(s) as arguments
and returns True or False.
➢ Example: Let P(x) = “x > 3”, what are the truth values
of P(2) and P(4)?
➢ Sol: P(2) = “2 > 3” is false and P(4) = “4 > 3” is true
➢ Example: Let Q(x, y) = “x = y + 3”, what are the truth
values of Q(1, 2) and Q(3, 0)?
➢ Sol: Q(1,2)= “1=2+3” is false, Q(3,0)= “3=0+3” is true
➢ Def: A statement of the form P(x1, x2, …., xn) is the
value of the propositional function P at the n-tuple
(x1, x2, …., xn), and P is called n-ary predicate
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 Predicates and Quantifiers- Predicates

➢ Example: Consider the statement

if x > 0 then x := x + 1.
Here P(x) = “x > 0”. If P(x) is true for the value of
x, then the assignment statement x := x + 1 is
executed, x is increased by 1. If P(x) is false for the
value of x, then the assignment statement is not
executed, x remains same
➢ The statements that describe valid input are known
as preconditions, and the conditions that the output
should satisfy when it has run are known as
postconditions
➢ Q7: Let R(x, y, z) = “x + y = z”, what are the truth
values of R(1, 2, 3) and R(0, 0, 1)?
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 Predicates and Quantifiers -
Quantifiers
➢ Another way of changing a predicate into a
proposition is called quantification
➢ In English, the words all, some, many, none, and few
are used in quantifications
➢ Two types of quantifications:
➢ Universal quantifications – a predicate is true for
every element under consideration
➢ Existential quantifications – there is one or more
element under consideration for which predicate
is true
➢ The area of logic that deals with predicates and
quantifiers is called predicate calculus
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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Universal
Quantifiers
➢ Def: The universal quantification of P(x) is the
statement “P(x) for all values of x in the domain”.
The notation x P(x) denotes the universal
quantification of P(x). Here  is called universal
quantifier. An element for which P(x) is false is
called a counterexample of x P(x).
➢ Quantifiers:
Statement When True? When False?
x P(x) P(x) is true for every x There is an x for
which P(x) is false
 x P(x) There is an x for which P(x) is false for
P(x) is true every x
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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Universal
Quantifiers
➢ Example: Let P(x) = “x+1 > x”. What is the truth value
of the quantification x P(x), where the domain
consists of all real numbers?
➢ Sol: Because P(x) is true for all real numbers x, the
quantification x P(x) is true.
➢ Example: Let Q(x) = “x < 2”. What is the truth value
of the quantification x Q(x), where the domain
consists of all real numbers?
➢ Sol: Because Q(x) is not true for every real number
x, because, for instance, Q(3) is false. That is, x=3
is a counterexample for the statement x Q(x).

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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Universal
Quantifiers
➢ Q8: Let P(x) = “x2 > 0”. What is the truth value of
the quantification x P(x), where the domain
consists of all real numbers?
➢ Q9: Let Q(x) = “x2 < 10”. What is the truth value of
the quantification x Q(x), where the domain
consists of positive integers less than 4?
➢ Q10: Let R(x) = “x2 ≥ x”. What is the truth value of
the quantification x R(x), where the domain
consists of all real numbers? What is the truth value
of the quantification if the domain consists of all
integers?

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 Predicates and Quantifiers –
Existential Quantifiers
➢ Def: The existential quantification of P(x) is the
statement “There exists an element x in the domain
such that P(x)”. The notation  x P(x) denotes the
existential quantification of P(x). Here  is called
existential quantifier.
➢ Example: Let P(x) = “x > 3”. What is the truth value
of the quantification x P(x), where the domain
consists of all real numbers?
➢ Sol: Because P(x) is sometimes true - for instance,
when x=4 – the existential quantification of P(x),
which is x P(x), is true.

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 Predicates and Quantifiers –
Existential Quantifiers
➢ Example: Let P(x) = “x = x+1”. What is the truth
value of the quantification  x P(x), where the
domain consists of all real numbers?
➢ Sol: Because P(x) is false for every real number x,
the quantification  x P(x) is false.
➢ Q11: Let Q(x) = “x2 > 10”. What is the truth value of
the quantification  x Q(x), where the domain
consists of positive integers not exceeding 4?
➢ Q12: Let R(x) = “x2 ≥ x”. What is the truth value of
the quantification  x R(x), where the domain
consists of all real numbers? What is the truth value
of the quantification if the domain consists of all
integers?
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Predicates and Quantifiers – Translating
English into Logical Expression
➢ Example: Express the statement “Every student in
this class has studied calculus” using predicates and
quantifiers.
➢ Sol: We rewrite as “For every student in this class,
the student has studied calculus”.
=> “For every student x in this class, x has studied
calculus”.
Let P(x) = “x has studied calculus”, then our
statement is represented by xP(x).
➢ Q13: Express the statements “Some students in
this class visited Dubai” and “Every student in this
class has visited either Makkah or Madina” using
predicates and quantifiers.
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 Predicates and Quantifiers –
Quantifiers with Restricted Domain
➢ Example: What do the statements x < 0(x2 > 0),
y≠0(y3 ≠ 0), and z > 0(z2 = 2) mean, where the
domain in each case consists of all real numbers?
➢ Sol: The statement x < 0(x2 > 0) states that for
every number x with x < 0, x2 > 0. That is, it states
“The square of a negative real number is positive”.
The statement is the same as x (x < 0 → x2 > 0).
The statement y ≠ 0(y3 ≠ 0) states that for every
real number y with y ≠ 0, we have y3 ≠ 0. That is, it
states “The cube of every nonzero real is nonzero”.
The statement is the same as y (y ≠ 0 → y3 ≠ 0).
Finally, the statement z > 0(z2 = 2) states that there
exist a real number z with z > 0 such that z2=2. That
is, it states “There is positive square root of 2”. The
statement is the same as z (z > 0 ⌃z2 = 2).
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 Predicates and Quantifiers –
Quantifiers with Restricted Domain
➢ Note: The restriction of a universal quantification is
the same as the universal quantification of a
conditional statement. For instance, x < 0(x2 > 0) is
another way of expressing x (x < 0 → x2 > 0).
➢ On the other hand, the restriction of an existential
quantification is the same as the existential
quantification of a conjunction. For instance,
z>0(z2=2) can be expressed as z (z > 0 ⌃ z2 = 2).
➢ Precedence of Quantifiers: The quantifiers  and 
have higher precedence then all logical operators
from propositional calculus. For example, xP(x) v
Q(x) is the disjunction of xP(x) and Q(x). In other
words, it means (xP(x)) v Q(x) rather than x (P(x)
v Q(x))
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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Negating
Quantified Expression
➢ Example: x P(x) means “P(x) is true for every x”.
What about x P(x) ?
➢ Sol: x P(x) = Not [“P(x) is true for every x.”]
=> “There is an x for which P(x) is not true.”
=> x P(x)
So, x P(x) is logically equivalent to x P(x).
➢ Example: x P(x) means “P(x) is true for some x”.
What about x P(x) ?
➢ Sol: x P(x) = Not [“P(x) is true for some x.”]
=> “P(x) is not true for all x.”
=> x P(x)
So, x P(x) is logically equivalent to x P(x).
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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Negating
Quantified Expression
➢ De Morgan’s laws for quantifiers:

Negation Equivalent When is When False?

Statement Negation True?
 x P(x) x P(x) For every x, There is an x
P(x) is false for which
P(x) is true
x P(x)  x P(x) There is an x for
which P(x) is P(x) is true
false for every x

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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Negating
Quantified Expression
➢ Example: What are the negations of the statements
“There is a religious man” and “All Saudi eat Rice”?
➢ Sol: Let P(x) = “x is a religious”,
=> “There is a religious man”= xP(x), where the
domain consists of all men
Now, xP(x) = xP(x) =“Every man is nonreligious”.
Next, let Q(x) = “x eats Rice”
=> “All Saudi eat Rice” = xQ(x), where the domain
consists of all Saudi
Now,  xQ(x) = xQ(x) = “Some Saudi does not
eat rice”.
➢ Q14: What are the negations of the statements
x (x2 > x) and x (x2 = 2)”?
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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Negating
Quantified Expression
➢ Example: Let L(x) = “x is a lion”, F(x) = “x is fierce”,
and C(x) = “x drinks coffee”. Show the quantifiers
for the statements (i) All lions are fierce, (ii) Some
lions don’t drink coffee, (iii) Some fierce creatures
don’t drink coffee.
➢ Sol: (i) x (L(x) → F(x)), ii) x (L(x)  C(x)), and
(iii) x (F(x)  C(x))
➢ Q15: Let B(x) = “x is a hummingbird”, L(x) = “x is a
large bird”, H(x) = “x lives on honey”, and R(x) = “x is
richly colored”. Show the quantifiers for the
statements (i) All hummingbirds are richly colored,
(ii) No large birds live on honey, (iii) Birds that do
not live on honey are dully colored, and (iv) Not all
large birds live on honey.
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 Predicates and Quantifiers – Logical
Equivalences
➢ Example: Show that x (P(x)  Q(x)) and xP(x) 
x Q(x) are logically equivalent.
➢ Sol: Let x (P(x)  Q(x)) is true
=> if a is in the domain, then P(a)  Q(a) is true
=> P(a) and Q(a) are true, for all a in the domain
=> xP(x) and xQ(x) are true
=> xP(x)  xQ(x) is true
So, they are logically equivalent.
➢ Q16: Show that x(P(x)→Q(x)) and x(P(x) 
Q(x)) are logically equivalent.

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