LOGIC

by : Rafael Pablo D. Cauilan

Cagayan State University
Andrews Campus
Statements and Using
Symbols to Represent
Statements

In everyday English , we use

many different kinds of
sentences. Some of these
sentences are clearly true or
false . Others are opinions , and
exclamations such as Help! Or
Fire ! However , in logic we are
concerned solely with
statements , and all English
sentences are statements.
Statement
A statement is a sentence that
is either true or false , but not both
simultaneously.
Here are two examples of sentence
1. London is the capital of England.
2. William Shakespeare wrote the
last episode of The Soprano.
 Statement 1 is a true statement and
statement 2 is false. Shakespeare had
nothing to do with The Sopranos ( perhaps
writer’s block after Macbeth ).
As long as a sentence is either true or
false , even if we do not know which it is ,
then the sentence is a statement.
The United States has the world’s
highest divorce rate
is a statement. It’s clear either true or false ,
and it’s not to know which it is.
 Some sentences , such as commands ,
questions , and opinions , are not statements
because they are not either true or false . The
following sentences are not statements.
1. Read pages 23-57. ( this an order or command )
2. If I start losing my memory , how will I know?
( this is a question )
3. Titanic is the greatest movie of all time . ( this is
an opinion )
 In symbolic logic , we use lowercase letters
such as p , q , r and s to represent statements. Here
are two examples.
p : London is the capital of England.
q: William Shakespeare wrote the last episode of
The Sopranos.

The letter p represents the first statement.

The letter q represents the second statement.
Negating
Statements

The sentence “ London is the capital of

England “ is a true statement.
The negation of this statement , “
London is not the capital of England “,
is a false statement. The negation of a
statement has a meaning that is
opposite that of the original meaning.
Thus , the negation of a true
statement is a false statement and
the negation of a false statement is a
true statement.
Forming Negation
Form the negation of each statement:
a: Shakespeare wrote the last episode of The
Sopranos .
b. Today is not Monday .
a. The most common way to negate this statement is to
introduce not into the sentence. The negation is
Shakespeare did not write the last episode of The
Sopranos .
The English language provides many ways of expressing a
statement’s meaning.
It is not true that Shakespeare wrote the last episode of
b. The negation of “ Today is not
Monday “ is
It is not true that today is not
Monday.
The negation is more naturally
expressed in English as
Today is Monday .
 The negation of a statement p expressed by writing
We read this as “ not p “ or it is not true that p “ .
Example:
Let p : Shakespeare wrote the last episode of The
Sopranos .
q : Today is Monday.
Express each of the following statements symbolically:
a. Shakespeare did not write the last episode of The
Sopranos .
b. Today is not Monday.
Solution :
a. Shakespeare did not write the last episode
of The Sopranos is the negation of
statement p. Therefore , it is expressed
symbolically as

b. Today is Monday is the negation of the

statement q. Therefore , it is expressed
symbolically as
In the next example , we translated symbolic
statements into English statements .
Let p represents the following statements.
p: The United States has the highest divorce
rate.
Express the symbolic statement in words.
The symbol is translated as “ not “. Therefore ,
represents
The United States does not have the world’s
highest divorce rate . Or
It is not true that United States has the world’s
highest divorce rate.
Quantified Statements
In English , we frequently encounter statements
containing the words all , some , no ( or none ).
These are called quantifiers . A statement that
contains these words is a quantified statement.
Here are some examples:
All poets are writers.
Some people are bigots.
No math books have pictures.
Some students do not works hard.
Using our knowledge of the English language , we can
express each of these quantified statements in the two
equivalent ways , that is , in two ways that have exactly the
same meaning . These equivalent statements are shown in
the table. An English Way to
Statement Example ( Two Equivalent
Express the Statement Quantified Statements )

All A are B. There are A that are not B. All poets are writers.
There are no poets that are not writers.

Some A are B. There exist at least one A Some people are bigots.
that is a B At least one person is a bigot.

No A are B. All A are not B. No math books have no pictures.

All math books do not have pictures.

Some A are Not all A are B. Some students do not work hard.
not B. Not all students work hard.
 In general , the negation of “ All A are B
“ is “ Some A are not B.” Likewise , the
negation of “ Some A are not B “ is All A are B
.”
Now let’s investigate how to negate a
statement with the word some . Consider the
statement “ Some canaries weigh 50
pounds.” Because some means “ there exist
at least one ,” the negation is “ it is not true
that there is at least one canary that weighs
50 pounds.” Because it is not true that there
is even one such critter , we can express the
negation as “ No canary weighs 50 pounds.”
 In general , the negation of “ Some A are B “
is “ No A are B.” Likewise , the negation of “ No A
are B “ is Some A are B .“
Statement Negation Example ( A Quantified
Statement and Its
Negation )
All A are B. Some A are not B. All people take exams
honestly.
The negation is
Some people do not take
exams honestly.
Some A are B No A are B. Some roads are open.
The negation is
No roads are open.
 If you’re wealthy or well educated , then
you’ll be happy.
We can break this statement down into three basic
sentences.
You’re wealthy . You’re well educated . You’ll
be happy.
These sentences are called simple statements
because each conveys one idea with no connecting
words. Statements formed by combining two or
more simple statements are called compound
statements . Words called connectives are used to
join simple statements to form a compound
statements . Connectives include words such as
and , or , if . . . then , and if and only if .
 And Statement
If p and q represents two simple
statements , then the compound
statements “ p and q” is symbolized
by The compound statement
formed by connecting statements
with the word and is called
conjunction . The symbol for and is .
Example : Translating from English to Symbolic
Form.
Let p and q represents the following simple
statements.
p: It is after 5 pm.
q: They are working.
Write each compound statement below in symbolic
form.
a. It is after 5 pm and they are working.
b. It is after 5 pm and they are not working.
Solution:
a. It is after 5 pm and they are working.

The symbolic form is

b. It is after 5 pm and they are not
working.

The symbolic form is

 The English language has a variety of ways to
express the connectives that appear in compound
statements . The table shows a number of ways to
translate into English.
Symbolic English Example:
Statement Statement p: It is after 5 pm.
q: They are working.
. It is after 5 pm and they are working.

It is after 5 pm , but they are working

It is after 5 pm , yet they are working.

It is after 5 pm , nevertheless , they are working.

 Or Statement
The connective or can mean two different
things. For example , consider this statement.
I visited London or Paris.
The statement can mean
I visited London or Paris but not both.
This is an example of the exclusive or , which
means “ one or the other , but not both . “
By contrast , the statement can mean
I visited London or Paris or both.
This is an example of the inclusive or , which means
“ either or both “
In general , when connective or appears , it
means the inclusive or . If p and q represent two
simple statements , then the compound statement
“ means The compound statement formed by
connecting statements with the word or is called a
disjunction . The symbol for or is V. Thus , we can
symbolize the compound statement “
Example : Translating from English to Symbolic
Form.
Let p : The bill receives majority approval.
q : The bill becomes a law.
Write each compound statement below in symbolic
form.
a. The bill receives majority approval or the bill
becomes a law.
b. The bill receives majority approval or bill does
not become a law.
Solution :
a. The bill receives majority approval or the bill
becomes a law.

The symbolic form is

b. The bill receives majority approval or the bill
does not become a law.

The symbolic form is

 If – Then Statements
All poets are writers.
This can be expressed as
There are no poets that are not writers.
Another way of expressing this statement is
If a person is a poet , then that person is a writer.
The form of this statement is “ If p , then q .” The compound
statement “If p , then q” is symbolized by The compound
statement formed by connecting statements with “ if – then “
is called conditional statement. The symbol for “ if – then “ is
.
In a conditional statement , the statement before the
connective is called the antecedent. The statement after the
connective is called the consequent.
antecedent consequent
Example : Translating from English to Symbolic Form.
Let p and q represent the following simple statements.
p : A person is a father.
q : A person is a male.
Write each compound statement below in symbolic form.
a. If a person is a father , then that person is a
male.
b. If a person is male , then that person is a father.
c. If a person is not a male , then that person is not
a father.
Solution:
a. If a person is a father , then that person is male.
The symbolic form is
b. If a person is male , then that person is a father.
The symbolic form is
c. If a person is not a male , then that person is not
a father.
The symbolic form is
 Conditional statements in English often omit
the word then and simply use a comma. When then
is included , the comma can be included or omitted.
Here are some examples:
If a person is a father , then that person is a
male.
If a person is a father then that person is a
male.
If a person is a father , that person is a male.
Symbolic English statement Example:
Statement p: A person is a father.
q: A person is a male.
If p then q . If a person is a father , then that person is a
male.
q if p A person is a male if that person is a father.

p is sufficient for q . Being a father is sufficient for being a male.

q is necessary for p. Being a male is necessary for being a father.

p only if q . A person is a father only if that person is a

male.
Only if q , p Only if a person is a male is that person a
father.
 If and Only If Statements
If a conditional statement is true , reversing
the antecedent and the consequent may result in a
statement that is not necessarily true:
• If a person is a father ,
then that person is a male. ----- true
• If a person is a bachelor ,
then that person is an unmarried male. ----- not
necessarily true
 However , some true conditional
statements are still true when the antecedent
and the consequent are reversed:
• If a person is an unmarried male,
then that person is a bachelor. ------ true
• If a person is bachelor , then
that person is an unmarried male. ----- also true
If p and q represent two simple
statements , then the compound statement “ p
if and only if q “ is symbolized by The
compound statements with if and only if is
called biconditional . The symbol for . The
phrase if and only if can be abbreviated as iff.
Example : Translating from English to Symbolic form.
Let p and q represent the following simple statements.
p: The word is set.
q: The word has 464 meanings.
Write each of the following compound statements in its
symbolic form.
a. The word is set if and only if the word has 464
meanings.
b. The word does not have 464 meanings if and only if
the word is not set.
Solution :
a. The word is set if and only if the word has 464
meanings.
The symbolic form is
b. The word does not have 464 meanings if and only
if the word is not set.
The symbolic form is
Common ways to translate into English

Symbolic English Example:

statement Statement p: A person is an unmarried male.
q : A person is a bachelor
p if and only if A person is an unmarried male if and only if that
q. person is a bachelor.
q if and only if A person is a bachelor if and only if that person is an
p. unmarried male.
If p then q, and If a person is an unmarried male then that person is a
if q then p. bachelor , and if a person is bachelor then that person
is an unmarried male.
p is necessary Being an unmarried male is necessary and sufficient
and sufficient for being a bachelor.
for q.
q is necessary Being a bachelor is necessary and sufficient for being
and sufficient an unmarried male
for p.
Summary of statements.
Statements of symbolic logic.

Name Symbolic Form Common English Translation

Negation Not p . It is not true that p.

Conjunction p and q , p but q.

Disjunction p or q .

Conditional If p , then q . p is sufficient for q. q is necessary for

p.
Biconditional p if and only if q. p is necessary and sufficient for
q.
Symbolic Statements with Parentheses
Parentheses in symbolic statements indicate which
statements are to be grouped together.
For example . means the negation of the entire statement
By contrast , means that only statement p is negated.
We read as “ it is not true that p and q “.
We read as “ not p and q “
Unless parentheses appear in a symbolic statement , the
symbol negates only the statement that immediately
follows it.
Example : Expressing Symbolic Statements With
and Without and Parentheses in English.
Let p and q represent the following simple
statements:
∨
p: She is wealthy.
q: She is happy.
Write each of the following symbolic statements in
words.
a.
b. c.
Solution:
a. The symbolic statement means the negation
of the entire statement . A translation of is
It is not true that she is wealthy and happy.
We can also express this statement as
It is not true that she is both wealthy and happy.
b. A translation of is
She is not wealthy and she is happy
c. The symbolic statement is
It is not true that she is wealthy or happy.
She is neither wealthy nor happy.
Many compound statements contain more than one
connectives . When expressed symbolically ,
parentheses are used to indicate which simple
statements are grouped together. When expressed
in English , commas are used to indicate the
groupings.
Here is a Statement
Symbolic table that illustrates groupings
Statements to group usingtranslation
English
parentheses. together
If q and not p , then not r .

q . and if not p then not r.

 The statement in the first row is an
if-then conditional statement. Notice that
the symbol is outside the parentheses .
By contrast , the statement in the second
row is an and conjunction. In this case ,
the symbol is outside the parentheses.
Notice that when we translate the
symbolic statement into English , the
simple statements in the parentheses
appear on the same side of the comma.
Example : Expressing Symbolic Statements with
parentheses in English.
Let , p , q and r represent the following simple
statements:
p: A student misses lecture.
q: A student studies.
r: A student fails.
Write each of the symbolic statements in words.
a. )
Solution :
a. .
One possible English translation for the symbolic statement
is
If a students studies and does not miss lecture , then a student
does not fail.
Observe how the symbolic statements in the parentheses appear
on the same side of the comma in the English translation.
b. ) ; One possible translation is
A student studies , and if a student does not miss the
lecture, then the student does not fail.
Once again , the symbolic statements in the parentheses appear
on the same side of the comma in English statement.
Dominance of Connectives
In the previous example ; the statement ) had
different meanings. If we are given without
parentheses , how do we know which statements
to group together.
If a symbolic statement appears without
parentheses , statements before and after the
most dominant connective should be group .
Symbolic connectives are categorized from the
least dominant , negation , to the most dominant ,
the biconditional.
DOMINANCE OF CONNECTIVES
the dominance of connectives used in symbolic logic is
defined in the following order:

1. Negation , 2. Conjunction , 3. Conditional, 4.

Biconditional, Disjunction ,

least dominant same level

most dominant
Using Dominance of Connectives
Statement Most Dominant Statement’s Type of Statement
Connective Meaning Clarified
Highlighted in red with grouping
Symbols
Conditional

( Conditional

) Biconditional

( Biconditional

( Conditional

and have the same The meaning is

level of dominance ambiguous
Example: Using Dominance of Connectives
Write each compound statement below in symbolic form :
a. I do not fail the course if and only if I study hard and I
pass the final.
b. I do not fail the course if and only if I study hard , and I
pass the final .
Solution :
We begin by assigning letters to the simple statements .
Let each letter represent an English statement that is not
negated . We can then represent any negated simple
statement with negation symbol , .
Use the following representations :
p : I fail the course .
q : I study hard .
r : I pass the final.
a. I do not fail the course iff I study hard and I
pass the final.

Because the most dominant connective that

appears is , the symbolic form with parentheses is
b. I do not fail the course iff I study hard , and
I pass the final.

In this statement , the comma indicates the

grouping , so it is not necessary to apply the
dominance of connectives . The symbolic form of
the statement is
THRUTH TABLES FOR NEGATION ,
CONJUNCTION , AND DISJUNCTION

• In this section , you will work by

determining when statements
involving negation , , conjunction ,
and disjunction (or) , are true and
when they are false , you will be able
to draw conclusions from the data.
Classifying a statement as true or
false is called assigning a truth value
to the statement.
 The negation of a True Statement is a False
statement . We can express this in a Table in which
T represents true and F represents false.
p

T F
The negation of a false statement is true. This
,too, can be shown in a table.
p
F T
 Combining the two tables results is
called the truth table for negation. This truth
table expresses the idea that has the
opposite truth value from p .
p

T F

F T
 Conjunction ,
A friend tells you “ I visited London and I visited
Paris .” In order to understand the truth values for
this statement, let’s break it down into its two
simple statements:
p : I visited London.
q : I visited Paris .
There are four possible cases to consider.
CASE 1 :
Your friend actually visited both cities , so p is true
and q is true. The conjunction “ I visited London
and I visited Paris “ is true because your friend did
both things . If both p and q are true , the
conjunction is true. We can show this in truth table
form.
p
q
T T
T
CASE 2 :
Your friend actually visited London , but did
not tell the truth about visiting Paris . In this
case , p is true and q is false . Your friend
didn’t do what was stated namely visit both
cities , so is true . We can show this in truth
table form:
p
q
T F
F
CASE 3 :
This time , London was not visited , but Paris
was . This makes p false and q true. As in case 2
, your friend didn’t do what was stated , namely
visited both cities , so is false . If p is false and
q is true , the conjunction is false.

p
q
F F
T
CASE 4 :
This time your friend visited neither city , so p
is false and q is false. The statement that both
were visited , , is false.

p
q
F F F
Let’s use a truth table to summarize all the four
cases. Only in the case that your friend visited
London and Paris is the conjunction true. Each of
the four cases appears in the truth table for
conjunction.
p
Definition of conjunction.
q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

A conjunction is true only when both simple

statements are true .
Example :Statement of conjunction and their truth
values.

Statement Truth Reason

Value
3 + 2 = 5 and London is in T Both simple statements are true.
England.
3 + 2 = 5 and London is in F The second simple statement is
France. false.
3 + 2 = 6 and London is in F The first simple statement is false.
England.
3 + 2 = 6 and London is in F Both simple statement are false.
France.
 The statements that come before and after the
main connectives in a compound statement do not
have to be simple statements. Consider the
example , the compound statement

The statements that makes up this conjunction

are and . The conjunction is true only when both
and are true. Notice that is not a simple
statement.
We call and the component statements of the
conjunction. The statements making up a compound
statement are called component statements.
Disjunction ,
Now , your friend states , “ I will visit
London or I will visit Paris , “ Because we
assume that this is the inclusive “ or “ if
your friend visits either or both of this cities
, the truth has been told. The disjunction is
false only in the event that neither city is
visited. An or statement is true in every
case , except when both component
statements ate false. The truth table for
disjunction , , is shown in the table.
The definition of disjunction is given in
words.
Definition of Disjunction.

p
q
T T
T
T T
F
F T
T
F F
A disjunction
F is false only when both
component statements are false.
Example ;

Statement Truth Value Reason

3 + 2 = 5 or London is in T Both component statements are

England. true.
3 + 2 = 5 or London is in France. T The first component statement is
true.
3 + 2 = 6 or London is in T The second component statement
England. is true.
3 + 2 = 6 or London is in France. F Both component statements are
false.
Using the definitions of negation , conjunction , and
disjunction
Let p and q represent the following.
p : 10 > 4
q:3 < 5
Determine the truth value for each statement:
a. b. c.
d.
Solution :
a. translates as
10 > 4 : 10 is greater than 4 is true.
and
3 < 5 : 3 is less than 5 is true
By definition , a conjunction , , is true only
when both component statements are true ,
Thus , is a true statement.
b. translates as
10 : 10 is not greater than 4 is false .
and
3 < 5 3 is less than 5 is true .
By definition , a conjunction , is true only when
both component statements are true.
Thus , is a false statement.
c. translates as
10 > 4 : 10 is greater than 4 is true .
or
3 5 : 3 is not less than 5 is false.
By definition , a disjunction , , is false only
when both component statements are false
. In this disjunction , only one of the two
component statement is false.
thus , is a true statement.
d. translates as
10 10 is not greater than 4 is false .
or
3 5 : 3 is not less than 5 is false .
By definition , a disjunction , , is false
only when both component statements are
false,
Thus , is a false statement.
Constructing Truth Table.
Truth tables can be used to gain a better understanding of
English statements. The truth are based on the definitions
of negation , conjunction , disjunction ,
Definition of Negation , Conjunction and disjunction.
1. Negation : not
The negation of a statement has the opposite truth
value from the statement.
2. Conjunction : and
The only case in which a conjunction is true is when
both comment statements are true.
3. Disjunction : or
The only case in which a disjunction is false is when
both component statant is false.
Construct a truth table for
To determine when the statement is true and when the
statement is false.
Solution: The parentheses indicate that we must first
determine the truth values for conjunction . After
this , we determine the truth values for the negation
by taking the opposite of the truth value for .
Step 1. As with all truth tables first list the simple
statements on top. Then pshow all the possible truth
values for these statements
q . In case there are two
simple statements and four possible combinations , or
T
cases T
T
F
F
T
F
F
Step 2 . Make a column for , the statement within the
parentheses in . Use as the heading for the column ,
and then fill in the truth values for the conjunction by
looking back at the columns . A conjunction is true
only when both component statements are true.

p
q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F
Step 3 . Construct on more column for . Fill in this
column by negation the values in the column. Using
the negation definition , take the opposite of the truth
table values in third column. This completes the truth
table for .
p
q
T T F
T
T F T
F
The final columnFin the truth
F table Tfor tells us that
the statement isT false only when both are true.
F F T
F
Example :
p : Harvard is a College ( true ) .
q : Yale is a College ( true ).
the statement translate as
It is not true that Harvard and Yale are
colleges.
This compound statement is false. It is true that
Harvard and Yale are colleges
Construct a truth table for to determine when statement
is true and when the statement is false.
Solution : Without parentheses , the negation symbol ,
negates only the statement that immediately follows it.
Therefore , we first determine the truth values for and .
Then we determine the truth values for the or
disjunction , .
Step 1. List the simple statements on top and show the
four possible cases.
p
q
T T
T F
F T
F F
Make column for and . Fill column by looking back
at the column , the first column , and taking the
opposite of the truth values in that column . Fill in
the column by taking the opposite of the truth
values in the second column , the q column.
p
q
T F F
T
T F F T

F T T F

F T T
F
 Step 3. Construct one more column for . To
determine the truth values of , look back at the
column , labeled column 3 below , and column ,
labeled column 4 below. Now use the disjunction
definition on the entries in column 3 and column 4.
Disjunction definition : An or statement is false
only when both component statement are false.
This occurs on
p in the first row.
q
T F F F
T
T F T T
F
F T F T
T
F T T T
F
Column 3 Column 4
is false.
Construct a truth table for
To determine when the statement is true and when the
statement is false.
Solution : The statement is an and conjunction because the
conjunction symbol , , is outside the parentheses . We
cannot determine the truth values for the statement until
we first determine the truth value for , the component
statements before and after the connective.
Step 1 . The compound statement involves two simple
statements and four possible cases.
Step 2. Because we need a column with truth for , begin
with . Use as the heading . Fill the column by looking back
at the p column , labeled column 1 below , and take the
opposite of the truth values in that column.
Step 3.
Now add column . To determine the truth values of ,
look back at the , labeled column 3 below , and the q
column , labeled column 2 below. Now , use the
disjunction definition on the entries in the column 3
and 2 . Disjunction definition. An or statement is
false only when both component statements are false.
This occurs only in the second row.
Step 4 .
The statement following the connectives is so add a
column . Fill in the column by looking at the q column
2 , and take the opposite of the truth values in that
column.
Step 5 .
The final column heading is , which is our given
statement . To determine its truth values , look
back at the column , labeled column 4 below, and
the column , labeled column 5 below. Now use the
conjunction definition on the entries in column 4
and 5 . Conjunction definition : An and statement is
true only when both component statements is true.
This occurs only in the last row.
p q

T T F T F F

T F F F T F

F T T T F F

F F T T T T

Column 4 Column 5
The truth table is now complete . By looking at the
truth values in the last column , we can see that the
compound statement

is true in the fourth row , that is when p is

false and q is false.
Exercise:
a. Construct a truth table for the following
statement :
I study hard and ace the final , or I fail the
course.
b. Suppose that you study hard , you do not ace the
final , and you fail the course. Under the
conditions , is the compound statement in part (a)
true or false ?
Initially , assign letters to the simple statements ,
Use the following representatives.
p : I study hard , q : I ace the final , r:I
fail the course
The symbolic form is