HW1a: Propositional Logic

THAO NGUYEN THANH

January 11, 2024

Explanation and examples of terminologies

1.true, truth, valid, correct :
1.1 true:
- Explanation:
+ connected with facts rather than things that have been invented
or guessed.[1]
- Example:
+ In Boolean algebra, the XNOR operation returns true only when
both input entries are the same.
+ The proposition ”p ∧ q” is true when both p and q are true.
1.2 truth :
- Explanation:
+the true facts about something, rather than the things that have
been invented or guessed [1]
- Example:
+ Considering the truth of the story before believing it.
+ if the values of p and ¬p are T and F respectively, the truth value
of (p ∧ ¬p) is F.
1.3 valid :
- Explanation:
+ based on what is logical or true [1]
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+ (computing) that is accepted by the system [1]
- Example:
+ the statement ” If the sun is shinning, then the sky is clear.” is
valid as it follows the logic implication.(P is true, because of the logic
relationship, Q must be true so the statement is valid)
+ We have to check whether the argument is valid or not.
1.4 correct:
- Explanation:
+ accurate or true, without any mistakes [1]
- Example:
+ ∀x∈ R, x2 ≥ 0 is correct.
+ 5≥4 is a correct statement.
2.fallacy, contradiction, paradox, counterexample:
2.1 fallacy
- Explanation:
+ an invalid argument form often used incorrectly as a rule of infer-
ence (or sometimes, more generally, an incorrect argument.) [3]
- Example:
+ A fundamental fallacy leads to many findings.
+” All odd numbers are prime numbers” is a fallacy as 9,15,21,etc
are not prime numbers.
2.2 contradiction
- Explanation:
+a combination of statements, ideas, or features of a situation that
are opposed to one another [3]
- Example:
+ ” x>2” and ”x<2” is contradiction.
2.3 paradox

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- Explanation:
+ a situation or statement that seems impossible or is difficult to
understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics
[2]
- Example:
+ It’s a curious paradox that drinking a lot of water can often make
you feel thirsty.
+ ”x≥5 and x≤-2” is paradox because no number can qualify this
statement.
2.4 counterexample
- Explanation:
- an element x such that P(x) is false.[3]
- Example:
+ Stark offers an interesting counterexample to Logan’s argument.
+∀x,x2≥ 0 is false as there is a counterexample that when x=i
then x=i2=-1
3. premise, assumption, presumption, axiom, hypothe-
sis, conjecture:
3.1 premise
- Explanation:
+ a previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred
or follows as a conclusion. [1]
- Example:
+” if x is an even number, x is divisible by 2.” In this sentence, from
a premise”if x is an even number”, we can infer the main clause.
3.2 assumption
- Explanation:
+a belief or feeling that something is true or that something will

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happen, although there is no proof.[2]
- Example:
-”Caculate the total distance assume that the velocity of the car is
not change.”⇒ the assumption is ”the velocity of the car is not
change”
3.3 presumption
- Explanation:
+ the act of supposing that something is true, although it has not
yet been proved or is not certain.[1]
- Example:
+ Given A is a set and we presume that every set is subset of it self
therefore,A ⊆ A is correct.
3.4 axiom
- Explanation:
+ a statement that is assumed to be true and that can be used as a
basis for proving theorems [3]
- Example:
+ Commutative law is axiom as it is accepted to be true without
any proof.
3.5 hypothesis
- Explanation:
-an idea or explanation of something that is based on a few known
facts but that has not yet been proved to be true or correct [1] -
Example:
- Hypothesis: ” ∀x ∈ N ,if x is odd,then x2 is odd.”
3.6 conjecture
- Explanation:
+ a mathematical assertion proposed to be true, but that has not

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been proved [3]
- Example:
+ Collatz Conjecture states that if a positive integer n is odd, triple
it, add 1 and repeat the process, you will reach 1 eventually.
4.tautology, contradiction, satisfiable, contingency:
4.1 tautology
- Explanation:
+ a compound proposition that is always true [3]
- Example:
+ ∀x ∈ N,x2≥ 0 is a tautology.
4.2 contradiction
- Explanation:
+ a compound proposition that is always false [3]
- Example:
+ No one was surprised by the defendant’s contradiction of the
plaintiff’s accusations.
+ -2 ≥ 0 is contradiction as this statement is always false.
4.3 satisfiable
- Explanation:
+ a compound proposition for which there is an assignment of truth
values to its variables that makes it true [3]
- Example:
+ ”2n> 100” is satisfiable as at n=7 the statement is correct.
4.4 contingency
- Explanation:
+ a compound proposition that is sometimes true and sometimes
false.[3]
- Example:

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+ we have p ∧ q is contingency as it has both True and False.
5.inference, argument, reasoning:
5.1 inference
- Explanation:
+ the act or process of forming an opinion, based on what you al-
ready know [1]
- Example:
+ Premise: ”If a natural number is divisible by 3, then the sum of its
digits is also divisible by 3.” From the first statement ”If a natural
number is divisible by 3” we can infer that ”the sum of its digits is
also divisible by 3” which is a inference.
5.2 argument
- Explanation:
+ a sequence of statements [3]
- Example:
+” If it is raining, the road will be slippery” is an argument. 5.3
reasoning
- Explanation:
+ the process of thinking about things in a logical way; opinions and
ideas that are based on logical thinking. [2]
- Example:
+ the reasoning behind this physics problem:” Find the speed of a car
if it takes about 2 hour to reach a total distanc of 50km (assume that
its speed is <24km/h)” is : its speed=50km/2h=25km/h >24km/h
thefore this problem has no solution.
6.variable, argument, arity
6.1 variable
- Explanation:

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+ a number, amount, or situation that can change and affect some-
thing in different ways.[2]
- Example:
+ In this statement: ”2n> 100”, n is a variable.
6.2 argument
- Explanation:
+ a value provided to obtain function’s result (an independent value)
[4]
- Example:
+ In C++, we have a function: int plus(int x,int y){x+y;} int
main(){ int z=plus (9,1);} then 9 and 1 are arguments.
6.3 arity
- Explanation:
+ The number of arguments that a function takes is called the arity
of a function.[4]
- Example:
+ f(x,y,z)=3x-5y+z then it has 3 arities.

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 REFERENCES

[1] Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english

[2] Cambridge dictionary — english dictionary, translations the-

saurus. Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

[3] Rosen, K. H. (2019). Discrete Mathematics and its applications

t
8 h edition. McGrawHill.