Propositional Logic

Logic is the basis of all mathematical reasoning and all automated

reasoning. The rules of logic specify the meaning of mathematical
statements. These rules help us understand and reason with statements.

Importance of Mathematical Logic

The rules of logic give precise meaning to mathematical statements. These
rules are used to distinguish between valid and invalid mathematical
arguments. Apart from its importance in understanding mathematical
reasoning, logic has numerous applications in Computer Science, varying
from the design of digital circuits to the construction of computer programs
and verification of the correctness of programs.

A, -A
Types of Propositions
In propositional logic, propositions are statements that can be evaluated as
true or false. They are the building blocks of more complex logical
statements. Here’s a breakdown of the two main types of propositions:
 Atomic Propositions
 Compound Propositions

Propositional Logic
Propositional logic is a branch of mathematics that studies the logical
relationships between propositions (or statements, sentences, assertions)
taken as a whole, and connected via logical connectives

For Example,
1. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
2. 1 + 1 = 2
3. ‘b’ is a vowel.

Above 3 sentences are propositions, where the first two are Valid(True) and
the third one is Invalid(False).

all of the above sentences are propositions, where the first two are
Valid(True) and the third one is Invalid(False). Some sentences that do not
have a truth value or may have more than one truth value are not
propositions. For Example,
1. What time is it?
2. Go out and Play
3. x + 1 = 2

The above sentences are not propositions as the first two do not have a truth
value, and the third one may be true or false. To represent
propositions, propositional variables are used. By Convention, these
variables are represented by small alphabets such as . The area
of logic which deals with propositions is called propositional
calculus or propositional logic. It also includes producing new propositions
using existing ones. Propositions constructed using one or more propositions
are called compound propositions. The propositions are combined
together using Logical Connectives or Logical Operators

Truth Table of Propositional Logic

Since we need to know the truth value of a proposition in all possible
scenarios, we consider all the possible combinations of the propositions
which are joined together by Logical Connectives to form the given
compound proposition. This compilation of all possible scenarios in a tabular
format is called a truth table. Most Common Logical Connectives-

1. Negation
If is a proposition, then the negation of is denoted by ¬p , which when
translated to simple English means- “It is not the case that p” or simply
“not p“. The truth value of -p is the opposite of the truth value of p. The truth
table of -p is:T
p ¬p

T F

F T

Example, Negation of “It is raining today”, is “It is not the case that is raining
today” or simply “It is not raining today”.
 2. Conjunction
For any two propositions p and q , their conjunction is denoted by p^q,
which means “p and q“. The conjunction p^q is True when both p and q are
True, otherwise False. The truth table of is:

p∧
P q q

T T T

T F F

F T F

F F F

Example, Conjunction of the propositions p – “Today is Friday” and – “It is

raining today”,p^q is “Today is Friday and it is raining today”. This proposition
is true only on rainy Fridays and is false on any other rainy day or on Fridays
when it does not rain.
3. Disjunction
For any two propositions p and q , their disjunction is denoted by , which
means “ or “. The disjunction pvq is True when either or is True,
otherwise False. The truth table of is:

p∨
P q q

T T T

T F T

F T T

F F F

Example, Disjunction of the propositions – “Today is Friday” and – “It is

raining today”, pvq is T.“Today is Friday or it is raining today”. This
proposition is true on any day that is a Friday or a rainy day(including rainy
Fridays) and is false on any day other than Friday when it also does not rain.
4. Exclusive Or

For any two propositions and , their exclusive or is denoted by , which

means “either or but not both”. The exclusive or is True when either
or is True, and False when both are true or both are false. The truth table
of s:

TP q p⊕q

T T F

T F T

F T T

F F F

Example, Exclusive or of the propositions – “Today is Friday” and – “It is

raining today”, i s “Either today is Friday or it is raining today, but not
both”. This proposition is true on any day that is a Friday or a rainy day(not
including rainy Fridays) and is false on any day other than Friday when it
does not rain or rainy Fridays.
5. Implication
For any two propositions and , the statement “if then ” is called an
implication and it is denoted by . In the implication , is called
the hypothesis or antecedent or premise and q is called
the conclusion or consequence. The implication is also called
a conditional statement. The implication is false when is true and is
false otherwise it is true. The truth table of is:
 P q p→q

T T T

T F F

F T T

F F T

One might wonder that why is true when is false. This is because the
implication guarantees that when and are true then the implication is true.
But the implication does not guarantee anything when the premise is false.
There is no way of knowing whether or not the implication is false since did
not happen. This situation is similar to the “Innocent until proven Guilty”
stance, which means that the implication is considered true until proven
false. Since we cannot call the implication false when is false, our only
alternative is to call it true.

This follows from the Explosion Principle which says:

“A False statement implies anything” Conditional statements play a very
important role in mathematical reasoning, thus a variety of terminology is
used to express , some of which are listed below.

“If p, then “q”p is sufficient for q””q when p””a necessary condition for p is
q””p only if q””q unless ≠p””q follows from p”

Example, “If it is Friday then it is raining today” is a proposition which is of

the form . The above proposition is true if it is not Friday(premise is
false) or if it is Friday and it is raining, and it is false when it is Friday but it is
not raining.
6. Biconditional or Double Implication
For any two propositions and , the statement “ if and only if(iff) ” is
called a biconditional and it is denoted by . The statement is also
called a bi-implication. has the same truth value as The
implication is true when and have same truth values, and is false
otherwise. The truth table of is:

P q p↔q

T T T

T F F

F T F

F F T

Some other common ways of expressing are:

“p is necessary and sufficient for q””if p then q, and conversely””p if q”
Example, “It is raining today if and only if it is Friday today.” is a proposition
which is of the form . The above proposition is true if it is not Friday and
it is not raining or if it is Friday and it is raining, and it is false when it is not
Friday or it is not raining.

Propositional Logic Examples

1) Consider the following statements:
 P: Good mobile phones are not cheap.
 Q: Cheap mobile phones are not good.
 L: P implies Q
 M: Q implies P
 N: P is equivalent to Q

Which one of the following is not equivalent to p <-> q

conjunction p ∧ q is True, when both p and q is True. Disjunction of p and
Conjunction of p and q, denoted by p∧q, is the proposition ‘p and q’. The

q, denoted by p∨q, is the proposition ‘p or q’. The disjunction p∨q is False

when both p and q is False.

Logical Implication – It is a type of relationship between two statements or

when p is true and q is false, and true otherwise. i.e. p → q = ¬p ∨ q

sentence. Denoted by ‘p → q’. The conditional statement p → q is false

Bi-Condition A bi-conditional statement is a compound statement formed by

combining two conditionals under “and.” Bi-conditionals are true when both
statements have the exact same truth value.

p↔q means both p→q and q→p p→q is equivalent to ⌉p ∨ q and q is

Solution:

equivalent to ⌉q ∨ p So A and B are fine. D is a different way of writing A p

↔ q = (p→ q) ∧ (q→p) = (⌉p ∨ q) ∧ (q → p) [ Since p→ q = ⌉p ∨ q ] = (⌉p ∨
q) ∧ (⌉q ∨ p) = (¬p ∧ p )∨ (¬p ∧¬q )∨ (q ∧p ) ∨(q ∧¬q ) (Distributive law)
[As ((¬p∧ p )=0,(q ∧¬q )=0) (Complementation) ] ( ⌉p ∧ ⌉q) ∨ (p ∧ q) which
is Option (D) Only option which is not equivalent to p↔q is option (C). So,
option (C) is correct.

Conclusion
Propositional logic is a fundamental branch of mathematical logic that deals
with propositions (statements that are either true or false) and their
relationships. It uses logical connectives such as AND (∧), OR (∨), NOT (¬),
IMPLIES (→), and IF AND ONLY IF (↔) to form compound propositions. The
truth or falsity of these compound propositions can be determined using truth
tables. Propositional logic provides a foundation for more complex logical
systems and is essential in various fields, including computer science,
mathematics, and philosophy.
FAQs on Propositional Logic

What is a proposition in logic?

A proposition is a declarative statement that is either true or false, but not
both.

The basic logical connectives are AND ( ∧), OR (∨), NOT (¬), IMPLIES (→),
What are the basic logical connectives in propositional logic?

and IF AND ONLY IF (↔).

What is the difference between inclusive OR and exclusive OR?
Inclusive OR (∨) is true when at least one of the propositions is true, while
exclusive OR (XOR) is true when exactly one of the propositions is true, but
not both.