Chapter 3:

Reasoning and
Sense-Making
LOGICAL EQUIVALENCE
AND INFERENCE
LOGICAL EQUIVALENCE
Two PROPOSITIONS ARE SAID TO BE
LOGICALLY EQUIVQLENT IF AND ONLY IF THE
PROPOSITION IS TAUTOLOGY.

Example
Following are two statements.
p = It is false that he is a singer or he is a dancer.
q = He is not a singer and he is not a dancer.

The first statement p consists of negation of two simple

proposition
a = He is a singer.
b = He is a dancer.
They are connected by an OR operator (connective)
so we can write,
p = ~(a ∨ b)
The second statement q consists of two simple proposition
which are negation of a and b
~a = He is not a singer.
~b = He is not a dancer.
They are connected by an AND operator (connective)
so we can write,
q = ~a ∧ ~b
We have,
p = ~(a ∨ b)
q = ~a ∧ ~b
following are the truth tables for p and q
 a b aVb p = ~ (a V b a b ~a ~b q = ~a ^ ~b
)

T T T F T T F F F

T F T F T F F T F

F T T F F T T F F

F F F T F F T T T
NOTE:

A. An implication is always logically equivalent to its own

contrapositive.
B. The converse and the inverse of an implication are logically
equivalent.

USE THE EXAMPLES ON pp 42-43 in determining whether the

given proposition is logically equivalent or not
EQUIVALENCE LAW
• Involution
If p is a statement then,
~(~p) = p
where ~ is the NOT operator.
• Idempotent Law
If p is a statement then,
p+p=p
p.p=p
where + is the OR operator and
. is the AND operator
• Absorption Law
If p and q are two statements then,
p + (p.q) = p
p . (p + q) = p
where + is the OR operator and
. is the AND operator
• Complementarity Law
If p is a statement then,
p + (~p) = 1
p . (~p) = 0
where + is the OR operator,
. is the AND operator and
~ is the NOT operator
• Commutative Law
If p and q are two statements then,
p+q=q+p
p.q=q.p
where + is the OR operator and
. is the AND operator
• Associative Law
If p, q and r are three
statements then,
(p + q) + r = p + (q + r)
(p . q) . r = p . (q . r)
where + is the OR operator
and
. is the AND operator
• Distributive Law
If p, q and r are three
statements then,
p . (q + r) = (p . q) + (p . r)
p + (q . r) = (p + q) . (p + r)
p + (~p . q) = p + q
where + is the OR operator,
. is the AND operator and
~ is the NOT operator
• De Morgan's Law
If p and q are two statements then,
~(p + q) = ~p . ~q
~(p . q) = ~p + ~q
where + is the OR operator,
. is the AND operator and
~ is the NOT operator
Logical Equivalence and
Inference
 Logical Equivalence

Two propositions p and q are

said to be logically
equivalent, p = q, if p ↔ q is
a tautology.

a) An implication is always logically equivalent to its

own contrapositive.
b) The converse and the inverse of an implication
are logically equivalent
Example

Show that the following propositions are logical

propositions
a) p (p ^ q) and p
b) p → q and ~p ˅ q
c) ~(p ^ q) and ~p ^ ~q
 Solution
a) The two propositions have the same truth value, hence, they are
logically equivalent.

p q p^q p ^ (p ^ q)

T T T T

T F F T

F
The proposition T is called absorption.
p ˅(p^q)↔p F F

F F F F
b) Since p → q and ~p ˅ q have the same truth value in any case, they are
logically equivalent.

p q p→q ~p ~p ˅ q

T T T F T

T F F F F

F T T T T

F F T T T
This is called the conditional equivalence.

p q ~p ~q p^q ~(p ^ q) ~p ˅~q

T T F F T F F

T F F T F T T

F T T F F T T

F F T T F T T
ACTIVITY for the day
USE THE CONCEPT ON
PREVIOUS SLIDES TO ANSWER
EXERCISES 3.1 PP 49 – 51
LETTERS A-E
Answers will be placed in one
expanded long envelop.
Previous assignment will be passed
also in a separate expanded long
envelop.
LET THERE BE A REPRESENTATIVE TO THE TASK IN GETTING THE
ATTENDANCE AND THE OUTPUT. THANK YOU
 Lesson 4:
Proofs in
Mathematics
Mathematics Proof

 PROOF
– the lifeblood of mathematics. It establishes the
truthfulness of a proposition, argument, or theorem.
A mathematical proof by nature is a rigorous task. It
requires both expertise and experience, as well as
patience, perseverance, and a lot of practice.
MATHEMATICAL PROOF

– a valid argument that uses axioms, definition of

terms, rule of inference, logical equivalence,
and/or previously derived theorem in establishing
the truth of a theorem.
Lemma, Corollary,
Conjecture
 LEMMA – a subsidiary theorem whose importance
is mainly to serve as a key step to proving
something of greater significance. It is a minor
result or a stepping stone whose sole purpose is to
help in proving a theorem.
 COROLLARY – a consequence of a theorem. It is
usually much easier to prove than the theorem
itself. A proposition that follows from a statement
already proven. A result in which the proof relies
heavily on a given theorem (ex. “this is a corollary
of Theorem A”).
 CONJECTURE – a statement proposed or believed
to be true based on observations, partial
evidence or intuition of an expert. It is a
conclusion or proposition based on incomplete
information, for which no proof has been found.
Some well known
conjectures..
Four-Color Theorem – Given any separation of a plane into
contiguous regions, only four colors are needed to color the
regions, such that no pair of adjacent regions are of the same
color.

 Fermat’s Last Theorem – No three positive integers a, b, and c

satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n
greater than 2.
 Collatz’ Conjucture – If any natural number is chosen, and a
half or triple plus one procedure is repeatedly performed, then
it will eventually reach 1.

 Golbach’s Conjecture – Every even integer greater than 2 can

be expressed as the sum of two primes.
 Polignac’s Conjecture – For any positive even
integer n, there are infinitely many prime gaps of
size n.

 Toeplitz’ Conjecture – Every Jordan curve in the

plane contains all four vertices of a square.
Ways to prove theorems,
propositions, and conjectures

 Direct Proof
 Mathematical Induction
 Proof by contraposition
 Proof by contradiction
 Proof by cases
Counterexamples

 Proof using counterexamples is not a technical

proof because it only shows that a given
statement cannot possibly correct by showing an
instance that contradicts the seemingly universal
statement.

 It’s main function is to verify or disprove the

truthfulness of a proposition, formula, or
conjecture.
 An exception to a proposed general rule or law.

 An example which may verify or disprove a

statement.
Direct Proof
 A way of showing the truth or falsehood of a given statement
by the usage of a straightforward combination of established
facts, usually axioms, existing lemmas and previously proven
theorems, without making any further assumptions

 The method of the proof is to takes an original statement p,

which we assume to be true, and use it to show directly that
another statement q is true.