Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

Chapter 1. The Logic

Section 1.1 Deductive versus Inductive Reasoning

What is logic: The science of correct reasoning. Logic is fundamental both to critical
thinking and problem solving.

What is reasoning: Reasoning is defined as the drawing of inferences or conclusions

from known or assumed facts.

Deductive versus Inductive reasoning: The type of logic, which is known as deductive
reasoning is the application of a general statement to a specific instance.
Example of deductive reasoning: To solve any quadratic equation like x 2 2x 1 0 ,
b b 2 4ac
one can use the general formula x for the equation ax 2 bx c 0.
2a
On the other hand, in inductive reasoning conclusions may be probable but not
guaranteed.

Example of inductive reasoning: The probable answer of next term of the sequence 1, 8,
15, 22, 29 could be 36. But it is not guaranteed. One may answer that the next number in
the sequence is 5, if he/she thinks the numbers are coming from Mondays in August
2005. Then next Monday is on September 5. We can only use inductive reasoning and
give one or more possible answers.

What is argument: The standard dictionary meaning of argument is a discussion in

which there is a disagreement.

Valid versus invalid argument: If the conclusion of an argument is guaranteed, the

argument is valid. On the other hand if the conclusion of the argument is not guaranteed,
the argument is invalid.

Saying that an argument is valid does not mean that the conclusion is true: We
verify the situation by an example. Consider two premises 1. All doctors are men, 2. My
mother is a doctor. Then the valid argument “My mother is a man” is not a true
conclusion.

Saying that an argument is invalid does not mean that the conclusion is false. We
verify the situation also by an example. Consider two premises 1. All professional
wrestlers are actors, 2. The Rock is an actor. Then the invalid argument “the Rock is a
professional wrestler”, may not be false. We will verify valid and invalid arguments and
conclusions with Venn diagram.

What is a Venn Diagram: A Venn diagram consists of a rectangle, representing the

universal set, and various closed figures within the rectangle, each representing a set.

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Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

Venn diagram and invalid arguments: To show that an argument is invalid you must
construct a Venn diagram in which the premises are met yet the conclusion does not
necessarily follow.
Example 1. Construct a Venn diagram to determine the validity of the given argument.
No snake is warm-blooded
All mammals are warm-blooded
Therefore, snakes are not mammals
Solution: Suppose x represents snakes.
The position of x in the diagram is unique and shows that the Snakes mammals
argument is valid. x Worm-blooded

Example 2. Construct a Venn diagram to determine the validity of the given argument.
All professional wrestlers are actors
The Rock is an actor
Therefore, the Rock is a professional wrestler
Solution: Suppose x represents Rock. Then the different position of x in the diagram
shows that the argument is invalid.

Professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers

x x
Actors Actors

Here the argument is invalid. But the conclusion could be true. This example
demonstrates that an invalid argument can have a true conclusion even though The Rock
is a professional wrestler, the argument used obtain the conclusion is invalid.

Exercise 3. a) Construct a Venn diagram and verify that the following argument is
invalid.
1. (Major premise) Some plants are poisonous
2. (Minor premise) Broccoli is a plant
Therefore (conclusion) Broccoli is poisonous.

b) Verify that the argument in question 1 is deductive, but argument in question 2

is inductive.

Section 1.2 Symbolic logic

What is a statement (or proposition): A statement is a sentence that is either true or

false. All logical reasoning is based on statement.

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Examples of statements (or propositions).

1. Apple manufactures computers.
2. A $2000 computer that is discounted 25% will cost $1500 (true)
3. A $2000 computer that is 25% discounted will cost $1000 (false)

Examples which are not statements.

1. I am telling the truth (either true or false)

2. Apple manufactures the world‟s best computers (either true or false)
3. Did you go to market yesterday? (question)

Symbols for logic: By tradition symbolic logic uses lowercase letters as labels for
statements. The most frequently used letters are p, q, r, s, and t.

Compound Statements and Logical Connectives

A compound statement is a statement that contains one or more simpler statements. A
compound statement can be formed by inserting the word „not‟ into a simpler statement
or by joining two or more simpler statements with connective words such as „and‟, „or‟,
„if …then…..‟, „only if‟, „if and only if‟ etc. The compound statement could be a
negation, a conjunction, a disjunction, a conditional, or any combination thereof.

Negations: The negation of a statement is the denial of the statement and is represented
by the symbol ~. For example, given the statement p: it is snowing, the negation is ~p: it
is not snowing.

Negations of statements containing qualifiers. The words some, all, no (or none) are
referred to as qualifiers. The negation of “all p are q would be some p are not q” and the
negation of “some p are q would be no p are q”.
One may remember the following diagram.

All p are q No p are q

Some p are q Some p are not q

Example 4. Determine which pairs of statements are negations of each other.

1. Some of the beverages contain caffeine
2. Some of the beverages do not contain caffeine
3. None of the beverages contain caffeine
4. All of the beverages contain caffeine

Solution: The negation of 1 is 3 and the negation of 3 is 1.

On the other hand the negation of 2 is 4 and the negation of 4 is 2.

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Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

Conjunction: A conjunction consists of two or more statements connected by the word

„and‟. Suppose p and q are two simpler statements, then p q is called the conjunction of
p with q.

Disjunction: A disjunction consists of two or more statements connected by the word

„or‟. Suppose p and q are two simpler statements, then p q is called the disjunction of p
with q.

Conditional: A conditional consists of two or more statements connected by the words

„if .. then ..‟. Suppose p: I am healthy, and q: I exercise regularly are two simpler
statements, then p q is called the conditional of p with q, which is in word „If I am
healthy then I exercise regularly.

Only if: Only if is the conclusion of the conditional. The symbol p q can be read as “ p
only if q”.

Biconditional: A biconditional is a statement of the form (p q) (q p) and is

symbolized as p↔ q and read as “p if and only if q. And sometimes also abbreviated as
p iff q”.
Variations of a conditional: For two given statements p and q, various conditional
statements can be formed. We discuss the following three cases.

Converse: The converse of the conditional “if p then q” is “if q then p”. Symbolically
converse of p q is q p.

Inverse: The inverse of the conditional “if p then q” is “if not p then not q”. Symbolically
inverse of p q is ~p ~q.

Contrapositive: The contrapositive of the conditional “if p then q” is “if not q then not
p”. Symbolically inverse of p q is ~q ~p.

Equivalent statements: A conditional and its contrapositive are equivalent to each

other. Symbolically p q≡ ~q ~p.
The converse and inverse of the conditional are equivalent to each other. Symbolically
q p≡ ~p ~q.

Example 5. Use the symbolic representation

p: I am innocent q: I have an alibi r: I go to jail
to express the symbol (p ~q) r in words
(The solution is “If I am innocent and I do not have an alibi then I go to jail)

Section 1.3 Truth Tables

Truth Value and Truth Table: The truth value of a statement (or proposition) is either
true (T) ore false (F). The truth table of a statement is the classification of the statement
as true or false and is denoted by T or F. A convenient way of determining whether a
compound statement is true or false is to construct a truth table.

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Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

Construction of a truth table.

Note: Remember the three sentences law of logic:
1. The conjunction p q is true if both p and q true, otherwise it is false
2. The disjunction p q is false if both p and q false, otherwise it is true
3. The conditional p q is false if p is true and q is false, otherwise it is true
p q p q p q
TTT FFF FTF

We consider the following example where truth table is a useful tool to find the solution.

Example 6. Under what specific condition(s) is the following compound statement true?
“I have a high school diploma, or I have a full time job and no high school diploma.”

We suppose that p: I have a high school diploma

q: I have a full time job

The symbolic form of the compound sentence “I have a high school diploma, or I have a
full time job and no high school diploma” is p q  p
We will make a truth table to find when it is true:

p q p q  p p q p
T T T F F
T F T F F
F T T T T
F F F T F

Conclusion: The statement “I have a high school diploma, or I have a full time job and no
high school diploma” is true when statement “I have a high school diploma” is false and
the statement “I have a full time job” is true.

Example 7. Construct a truth table for the symbol (p q) ~ r

To construct a truth table one needs to remember
Step 1. The tree diagram for the symbols (simple statement) p, q, and r

T TTT
T F TTF
T TFT
T F F TFF
T FTT
F T F FTF
T FFT
F
F FFF
Step 2. Last column in tree diagram contains the entries for column p, q, and r of the truth
table. We need 8 rows and 6 columns in the truth table.

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Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

p q r ~r p q (p q) ~ r
T T T F T F
T T F T T T
T F T F F T
T F F T F T
F T T F F T
F T F T F T
F F T F F T
F F F T F T
Step 3. Find negation for r
Step 4. Remember that p q is true (T) if both p and q true (T)
Step 5. Remember that (p q) ~ r is false (F) if (p q) is true (T) but ~ r is false
(F).
Question 1. Construct a dictionary and a truth table to determine if the following
statements are logically equivalent
i) It is Friday and I receive a paycheck
ii) It is not Friday and I do not receive a paycheck

Question 2. Write in sentence form what is the converse, inverse and contrapositive of
the statement “If I receive a paycheck, then it is Friday.”

Question 3. What is a Tautology? If a statement is a tautology, what can you say about
the statement?

Question 4. Define the necessary symbols and rewrite the following arguments in
symbolic form:
1. If the defendant is innocent, the defendant does not go to jail
2. The defendant does not go to jail
Therefore the defendant is innocent

Question 5. Use the following dictionary of symbols

p: The defendant is innocent
q: The defendant does not go to jail
Is the symbol [(p q) q] p a tautology? Write your conclusion in word.

Question 6. Prove the De Morgan‟s Laws

a) For two simple statements p and q ~ (p q) ≡~ p ~q
b) For two simple statements p and q ~ (p q) ≡~ p ~q

Question 7. Use De Morgan‟s law to find the negation of each of the following:
a) It is Friday and I receive a paycheck
b) You are correct or I am crazy
c) The streets are wet or it is not raining
d) I have a college degree and I am not employed
e) It is snowing and classes are cancelled
f) Maria is a doctor a Republican

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Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

Practice exercise problems

Make Venn diagram and check for validity:

1. (1) All homeless people are unemployed. Answer: Invalid

(2) Bill Gates is not a homeless person
Therefore, Bill Gates is not unemployed

2. (1) All homeless people are unemployed. Answer: Valid

(2) Bill Gates is not unemployed
Therefore, Bill Gates is not a homeless person
3. (1) All poets are loners. Answer: Valid
(2) All loners are taxi drivers
Therefore, all poets are taxi drivers
4. (1) All roads lead to Rome Answer: Valid
(2) Route 66 is a road
Therefore, Route 66 leads to Rome

5. (1) All forest rangers are environmentalists Answer: Invalid

(2) All forest rangers are storytellers
Therefore, all environmentalists are storytellers

6. Determine if the argument below is valid or invalid, deductive or inductive

(1) The television set did not work three nights ago. Answer: Inductive
(2) The television set did not work last night
Therefore, the set is broken

7. Fill in the blank with what is most likely to be the next two numbers, explain your
reasoning\

12, 5, 10, 3, -----, ----

0, 12, 24, 36, -----, -----
0, 12, 60, 252, -----, ------
3, 3, 6, 9, 15, -----, -------
7, 10, 13, 8, 11, -----, -----
5, 8, 11, 2, -----, ----, ----

8. Check which are the statements

(1) Is 2 a rational number?
(2) Abraham Lincoln was the best president
(3) His name is David
(4) Apple is the best computer
(5) Did you complete your home work?
(6) Two plus two is four
(7) Two plus two is 8

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Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

9. Chose the sentence that represents the negation of each statement

Statement 1: Her dress is not red

None of her dress is red
Some of her dress is not red
Her dress is red
All her dress is not red

Statement 2: No sleeping bag is waterproof.

All sleeping bags are waterproof
Some sleeping bags are not waterproof
Some sleeping bags are waterproof
No sleeping bags are not waterproof

10. Using symbolic representation choose the best way to express each compound
statement in symbolic form:

p: A person plays the guitar q: A person rides the motorcycle

r: A person wears the leather jacket

(a) If the person plays the guitar or rides a motorcycle, then the person wears a
leather jacket.

(b) A person wears the leather jacket and does not play the guitar or ride a
motorcycle.

11. Make a truth table for p q r ~ s and p q (r ~ s)

12. Explain what is meant by tautology. Show that ( p q) ( p q) is a tautology,
where p and q are simple statements.
13. Determine whether the following argument is valid:
1. If the defendant is innocent, the defendant does not go to jail
2. The defendant does not go to jail
Therefore, the defendant is innocent.
14. Use truth table show that the conclusion is valid (a tautology):
1. All lawyers study logic
2. You study logic only if you are a scholar
3. You are not a scholar
Therefore, you are not a layer

15. Show that [( p  q) (r q) (s p)] (s ~ r ) is a tautology.

GOOD LUCK

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Mat 142 Chapter 1 Logic Last updated on February 1, 2010

Group work 1. Name: 1. 2. 3.

1. Make a truth table for p q  p

2. Test the validity of the argument given below:

1. If the defendant is innocent, the defendant does not go to jail

2. The defendant does not go to jail
Therefore, the defendant is innocent.

Use: p: The defendant is innocent

q: the defendant goes to jail

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