SEC T ION 3.
2 | Truth Tables, Equivalent Statements, and Tautologies 123
s e c t i o n 3.2 Truth Tables, Equivalent Statements, and Tautologies
Truth Tables
In Section 3.1, we defined truth tables for the negation of a statement, the conjunction of
two statements, and the disjunction of two statements. Each of these truth tables is shown
below for review purposes.
Negation Conjunction Disjunction
p p p q pq p q pq
T F T T T T T T
F T T F F T F T
F T F F T T
F F F F F F
p q Given statement In this section, we consider methods of constructing truth tables for a statement that in-
volves a combination of conjunctions, disjunctions, and/or negations. If the given statement
T T
involves only two simple statements, then start with a table with four rows (see the table at
T F the left), called the standard truth table form, and proceed as shown in Example 1.
F T
F F
▼ example 1 Truth Tables
Standard truth table form for a given a. Construct a table for p q q.
statement that involves only the two
simple statements p and q b. Use the truth table from part a to determine the truth value of p q q, given
that p is true and q is false.
Solution
a. Start with the standard truth table form and then include a p column.
p q p
T T F
T F F
F T T
F F T
Now use the truth values from the p and q columns to produce the truth values for
p q, as shown in the rightmost column of the following table.
p q p p q
T T F T
T F F F
F T T T
F F T T
Negate the truth values in the p q column to produce the following.
p q p p q p q
T T F T F
T F F F T
F T T T F
F F T T F
124 CHAPTER 3 | Logic
As our last step, we form the disjunction of p q with q and place the results
in the rightmost column of the table. See the following table. The shaded column is
the truth table for p q q.
p q p p q p q p q q
T T F T F T row 1
T F F F T T row 2
F T T T F T row 3
F F T T F F row 4
b. In row 2 of the above truth table, we see that when p is true, and q is false, the state-
ment p q q in the rightmost column is true.
▼ check your progress 1
a. Construct a truth table for p q p q.
b. Use the truth table that you constructed in part a to determine the truth value of
p q p q, given that p is true and q is false.
Solution See page S8. ◀
Given Compound statements that involve exactly three simple statements require a standard
p q r statement truth table form with 23 苷 8 rows, as shown at the left.
T T T
T
T
T
F
F
T
▼ example 2 Truth Tables
T F F a. Construct a truth table for p q r q.
F T T b. Use the truth table from part a to determine the truth value of p q r q,
F T F given that p is true, q is true, and r is false.
F F T Solution
F F F a. Using the procedures developed in Example 1, we can produce the following table.
The shaded column is the truth table for p q r q. The numbers in the
Standard truth table form for a squares below the columns denote the order in which the columns were constructed.
statement that involves the three
simple statements p, q, and r Each truth value in the column numbered 4 is the conjunction of the truth values to its
left in the columns numbered 1 and 3.
p q r pq r r q p q r q
T T T T F T T row 1
T T F T T T T row 2
T F T F F F F row 3
T F F F T T F row 4
F T T F F T F row 5
F T F F T T F row 6
F F T F F F F row 7
F F F F T T F row 8
1 2 3 4
b. In row 2 of the above truth table, we see that p q r q is true when p is
true, q is true, and r is false.
SEC T ION 3.2 | Truth Tables, Equivalent Statements, and Tautologies 125
▼ check your progress 2
a. Construct a truth table for p r q r.
b. Use the truth table that you constructed in part a to determine the truth value of
p r q r, given that p is false, q is true, and r is false.
Solution See page S8. ◀
Alternative Method for the Construction of a Truth Table
In Example 3 we use an alternative procedure to construct a truth table.
▼ Alternative Procedure for Constructing a Truth Table
1. If the given statement has n simple statements, then start with a standard form that
TA K E N O T E has 2n rows. Enter the truth values for each simple statement and their negations.
2. Use the truth values for each simple statement and their negations to enter the
The alternative procedure ffor con-
truth values under each connective within a pair of grouping symbols, includ-
structing a truth table, as described to
ing parentheses ( ), brackets [ ], and braces { }. If some grouping symbols are
the right, generally requires less writ-
ing, less time, and less effort than the nested inside other grouping symbols, then work from the inside out. In any
truth table procedure that was used in situation in which grouping symbols have not been used, then we use the fol-
Examples 1 and 2. lowing order of precedence agreement.
First assign truth values to negations from left to right, followed by conjunc-
tions from left to right, followed by disjunctions from left to right, followed by
conditionals from left to right, and finally by biconditionals from left to right.
3. The truth values that are entered into the column under the connective for which
truth values are assigned last, form the truth table for the given statement.
▼ example 3 Use the Alternative Procedure to Construct a Truth Table
Construct a truth table for p p q.
Solution
Step 1: The given statement p p q has the two simple statements p and q.
Thus we start with a standard form that has 22 苷 4 rows. In each column, enter
the truth values for the statements p and q, as shown in the columns num-
bered 1, 2, and 3 of the following table.
p q p p q
T T T T F
T F T T T
F T F F F
F F F F T
1 2 3
