A colorful journey through mathematical logic for class 10 students
Let p: Jupiter is a planet and q: India is an island. Give verbal sentences:
Solutions:
Write in symbolic form using p and q:
p: 19 is a prime number
q: All angles of a triangle are equal
Solutions:
Determine truth values:
Solutions:
Which are propositions?
Solutions:
A proposition is a statement that is either true or false.
Write converse, inverse, and contrapositive:
Solutions:
Statement 1:
Statement 2:
Construct truth tables:
Solution for ¬p ∧ ¬q:
| p | q | ¬p | ¬q | ¬p ∧ ¬q |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | F | F | F |
| T | F | F | T | F |
| F | T | T | F | F |
| F | F | T | T | T |
Verify if tautology, contradiction or contingency:
Solutions:
Show that:
Proof for 1 (De Morgan's Law):
| p | q | p ∧ q | ¬(p ∧ q) | ¬p | ¬q | ¬p ∨ ¬q |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | T | F | F | F | F |
| T | F | F | T | F | T | T |
| F | T | F | T | T | F | T |
| F | F | F | T | T | T | T |
Since ¬(p ∧ q) and ¬p ∨ ¬q have the same truth values, they are equivalent.
Prove that q → p ≡ ¬p → ¬q
Solution:
We'll prove this using truth tables:
| p | q | q → p | ¬p | ¬q | ¬p → ¬q |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | T | F | F | T |
| T | F | T | F | T | F |
| F | T | F | T | F | T |
| F | F | T | T | T | T |
Since q → p and ¬p → ¬q have different truth values (see row 2), they are not equivalent.
Show that p → q and q → p are not equivalent
Solution:
We can show this with a counterexample:
Let p be True and q be False
p → q: True → False = False
q → p: False → True = True
Since they have different truth values, they are not equivalent.
Show that ¬(p → q) ≡ p → ¬q
Solution:
We'll check with a truth table:
| p | q | p → q | ¬(p → q) | ¬q | p → ¬q |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | T | F | F | F |
| T | F | F | T | T | T |
| F | T | T | F | F | T |
| F | F | T | F | T | T |
Since ¬(p → q) and p → ¬q have different truth values (rows 3 and 4), they are not equivalent.
Check if p → (q → p) is a tautology or contradiction without truth table
Solution:
We can rewrite the expression:
p → (q → p) ≡ ¬p ∨ (¬q ∨ p) ≡ (¬p ∨ p) ∨ ¬q ≡ T ∨ ¬q ≡ T
Since the expression simplifies to True regardless of p and q, it is a tautology.
Check whether ¬(p ∨ q) ∨ (¬p ∧ q) and ¬p are logically equivalent
Solution:
Using truth table:
| p | q | p ∨ q | ¬(p ∨ q) | ¬p | ¬p ∧ q | ¬(p ∨ q) ∨ (¬p ∧ q) | ¬p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | T | F | F | F | F | F |
| T | F | T | F | F | F | F | F |
| F | T | T | F | T | T | T | T |
| F | F | F | T | T | F | T | T |
Since both expressions have the same truth values, they are logically equivalent.
Prove p → (q → r) ≡ (p ∧ q) → r without truth table
Solution:
We can prove this using logical equivalences:
Left side: p → (q → r) ≡ p → (¬q ∨ r) ≡ ¬p ∨ (¬q ∨ r)
Right side: (p ∧ q) → r ≡ ¬(p ∧ q) ∨ r ≡ (¬p ∨ ¬q) ∨ r
Since ¬p ∨ (¬q ∨ r) ≡ (¬p ∨ ¬q) ∨ r (by associative property)
Both sides are equivalent.
Prove that p → (¬q ∨ r) ≡ ¬p ∨ (¬q ∨ r) using truth table
Solution:
Using truth table:
| p | q | r | ¬q | ¬q ∨ r | p → (¬q ∨ r) | ¬p | ¬p ∨ (¬q ∨ r) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T | T | T | F | T | T | F | T |
| T | T | F | F | F | F | F | F |
| T | F | T | T | T | T | F | T |
| T | F | F | T | T | T | F | T |
| F | T | T | F | T | T | T | T |
| F | T | F | F | F | T | T | T |
| F | F | T | T | T | T | T | T |
| F | F | F | T | T | T | T | T |
Since both expressions have identical truth values, they are equivalent.
Truth tables show all possible combinations of truth values for propositions. They help us understand how logical operators work.
Basic truth values: T (True) and F (False)
| p | ¬p |
|---|---|
| T | F |
| F | T |
| p | q | p ∧ q |
|---|---|---|
| T | T | T |
| T | F | F |
| F | T | F |
| F | F | F |
| p | q | p → q |
|---|---|---|
| T | T | T |
| T | F | F |
| F | T | T |
| F | F | T |
De Morgan's Laws:
¬(p ∧ q) ≡ ¬p ∨ ¬q
¬(p ∨ q) ≡ ¬p ∧ ¬q
Implication equivalence: p → q ≡ ¬p ∨ q
These equivalences help simplify complex logical expressions!
For a conditional statement: p → q
The contrapositive is logically equivalent to the original statement!
| Statement | Form | Truth Value |
|---|---|---|
| Original | Square → Rectangle | True |
| Converse | Rectangle → Square | False |
| Inverse | ¬Square → ¬Rectangle | False |
| Contrapositive | ¬Rectangle → ¬Square | True |