Notes

Compound Proposition [ English ]

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A compound proposition is a proposition formed by combining two or more simple (atomic) propositions using logical connectives.

Definition

A compound proposition is a declarative statement whose truth value depends on the truth values of its component propositions and the logical operators used to combine them.

Logical Connectives Used

SymbolNameMeaningExample
¬NOT (Negation)Reverses truth value¬p
AND (Conjunction)True if both are truep ∧ q
OR (Disjunction)True if at least one is truep ∨ q
IF–THEN (Implication)Conditional statementp → q
IF AND ONLY IF (Biconditional)True when both have same valuep ↔ q

Examples of Compound Propositions

Let:

Then:

  1. p ∧ q“7 is a prime number and 7 is an even number”→ False

  2. p ∨ q“7 is a prime number or 7 is an even number”→ True

  3. ¬p“7 is not a prime number”→ False

  4. p → q“If 7 is a prime number, then 7 is an even number”→ False

  5. p ↔ q“7 is a prime number if and only if 7 is an even number”→ False

Truth Table Example

pqp ∧ q
TTT
TFF
FTF
FFF

This table shows how the truth value of a compound proposition is determined.

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