CHAPTE

3
Logic

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Section 3.3 The Conditional and the
Biconditional

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Conditional Statements

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Conditional Statements
Conditional statements can be written in if p, then q form
or in if p, q form. For instance, all of the following are
conditional statements.
If we order pizza, then we can have it delivered.
If you go to the movie, you will not be able to meet us for
dinner.
If n is a prime number greater than 2, then n is an odd
number.
In any conditional statement represented by “If p, then q” or
by “If p, q,” the p statement is called the antecedent and
the q statement is called the consequent.
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Example 1 – Identify the Antecedent and Consequent of a Conditional

Identify the antecedent and consequent in the following

statements.

a. If our school was this nice, I would go there more than

once a week.—The Basketball Diaries

b. If you don’t get in that plane, you’ll regret it.

—Casablanca

c. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful

than you can possibly imagine.—Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star
Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope

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Example 1 – Solution
a. Antecedent: our school was this nice
Consequent: I would go there more than once a week

b. Antecedent: you don’t get in that plane

Consequent: you’ll regret it

c. Antecedent: you strike me down

Consequent: I shall become more powerful than you can
possibly imagine

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Conditional Statements

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The Truth Table for the Conditional
pq

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p  q

To determine the truth table for p  q, consider the

advertising slogan for a web authoring software product
that states, “If you can use a word processor, you can
create a webpage.”

This slogan is a conditional statement.

The antecedent is p, “you can use a word processor,” and

the consequent is q, “you can create a webpage.”

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p  q

Now consider the truth value of p  q for each of the

following four possibilities.

Table 3.7

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p  q

Row 1: Antecedent T, Consequent T

You can use a word processor, and you can create a
webpage. In this case the truth value of the advertisement
is true. To complete Table 3.7, we place a T in place of the
question mark in row 1.

Row 2: Antecedent T, Consequent F

You can use a word processor, but you cannot create a
webpage. In this case the advertisement is false. We put
an F in place of the question mark in row 2 of Table 3.7.

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p  q

Row 3: Antecedent F, Consequent T

You cannot use a word processor, but you can create a
webpage. Because the advertisement does not make any
statement about what you might or might not be able to do
if you cannot use a word processor, we cannot state that
the advertisement is false, and we are compelled to place a
T in place of the question mark in row 3 of Table 3.7.

Table 3.7
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The Truth Table for the Conditional p  q

Row 4: Antecedent F, Consequent F

You cannot use a word processor, and you cannot create a

webpage. Once again we must consider the truth value in
this case to be true because the advertisement does not
make any statement about what you might or might not be
able to do if you cannot use a word processor. We place a
T in place of the question mark in row 4 of Table 3.7.

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The Truth Table for the Conditional p  q

The truth table for the conditional p  q is given in Table

3.8.

Truth Table for p  q

Table 3.8

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Example 3 – Construct a Truth Table for a Statement Involving a Conditional

Construct a truth table for .

Solution:
Enter the truth values for each simple statement and its
negation as shown in columns 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Use the truth values in columns 2 and 3 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 5, under the “or” connective.

Use the truth values in columns 1 and 5 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 6 under the “and”
connective.
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Example 3 – Solution cont’d

Use the truth values in columns 6 and 4 to determine the

truth values to enter in column 7 under the “If . . . then”
connective.

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An Equivalent Form of the
Conditional

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An Equivalent Form of the Conditional
The truth table for ~p q is shown in Table 3.9. The truth
values in this table are identical to the truth values in Table
3.8.

Truth Table for ~p q Truth Table for p  q

Table 3.9 Table 3.8

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An Equivalent Form of the Conditional
Hence, the conditional p  q is equivalent to the disjunction
~p q.

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Example 4 – Write a Conditional in Its Equivalent Disjunctive Form

Write each of the following in its equivalent disjunctive form.

a. If I could play the guitar, I would join the band.

b. If Cam Newton cannot play, then his team will lose.

Solution:
In each case we write the disjunction of the negation of the
antecedent and the consequent.

a. I cannot play the guitar or I would join the band.

b. Cam Newton can play or his team will lose.

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The Negation of the Conditional

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The Negation of the Conditional
Because , an equivalent form of
is given by , which, by one of De Morgan’s laws,
can be expressed as the conjunction

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Example 5 – Write the Negation of a Conditional Statement

Write the negation of each conditional statement.

a. If they pay me the money, I will sign the contract.

b. If the lines are parallel, then they do not intersect.

Solution:
In each case, we write the conjunction of the antecedent
and the negation of the consequent.

a. They paid me the money and I did not sign the contract.
b. The lines are parallel and they intersect.

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The Biconditional

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The Biconditional
The statement is called a biconditional
and is denoted by which is read as “p if and only if
q.”

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The Biconditional
Table 3.10 shows that p q is true only when p and q
have the same truth value.

Truth Table for p q

Table 3.10

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Example 7 – Determine the Truth Value of a Biconditional

State whether each biconditional is true or false.

a. x + 4 = 7 if and only if x = 3.
b. x2 = 36 if and only if x = 6.

Solution:
a. Both equations are true when x = 3, and both are false
when x  3. Both equations have the same truth value
for any value of x, so this is a true statement.

b. If x = –6, the first equation is true and the second

equation is false. Thus this is a false statement.

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