CHAPTER 1 THE NATURE OF MATHEMATICS

MATHEMATICS
 a set of problem-solving tools, as a language, as a study of patterns, as an art, or as a process of thinking,
among others
 study of numbers and arithmetic operations
 a set of tools or a collection of skills that can be applied to questions of “how many” or “how much”
 a science which involves logical reasoning, drawing conclusions from assumed premises, and strategic
reasoning based on accepted rules, laws, or probabilities
 an art which studies patterns for predictive purposes or a specialized language which deals with form, size,
and quantity

PATTERN
 is an arrangement which helps observers anticipate what they might see or what happens next
 shows what may have come before
 organizes information so that it becomes more useful

Pattern-seeking behavior of humans from childhood to adulthood:

 A toddler separates blue blocks from red blocks.
 A kindergarten student learns to count.
 A first grader does skip counting.
 A third grader notices that multiples of two are even numbers.
 A six grader creates patterns that cover a plane.
 A junior high school student learns that a function is essentially a pattern of how one number is
transformed to another.
 A college biology undergraduate studies the sequence of DNA and proteins.
 A stock trader studies trends in the stock market.
 A weatherman makes weather forecasts based on atmospheric patterns.
 A doctor decides who is healthy and who is not by recognizing certain health patterns.

BELOW ARE EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS PATTERNS:

1) LOGIC PATTERNS – are seen on aptitude tests in which takers are shown a sequence of pictures and asked
to select which figure comes next among several choices.
2) NUMBER PATTERNS – familiar to students since they are among the first patterns encountered in school.
In higher year, students encounter number patterns through the concept of functions, which is a formal
description of the relationships among different quantities.
3) GEOMETRIC PATTERNS – a motif or design that depicts abstract shapes like lines, polygons, and circles,
and typically repeats like a wallpaper. They appear in paintings, drawings, tapestries, wallpapers, tilings,
and carpets. E.g. symmetries, spirals, tilings, stripes, and fractional dimensions.
4) WORD PATTERNS – can be found in language like the morphological rules on pluralizing nouns or
conjugating verbs for tense, as well as the metrical rules of poetry.
knife : knives life : lives wife: ?

MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE
 is a system of communication about objects like numbers, variables, sets, operations, functions, and
equations
  is a collection of both symbols and their meaning shared by a global community of people who have an
interest in the subject
 is a universal language, the only one shared by all human beings regardless of culture, religion, or gender.
Not everyone can be proficient in English, French, Chinese, or Japanese but most possess math literacy.
This shared language called numeracy connects people across continents and through time.

ELEMENTS OF THE MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE

Mathematics uses many of symbols. There are the ten digits (0, 1, 2, …, 9), symbols for operations (+, – , ×,
÷), symbols that represent values (x, y, z, etc.) and many other special symbols ( =, <, ≤,  , etc.). We use a, b, c
for constants (fixed values) and x, y, z for variables (unknowns).

Logic – is the basis of all mathematical reasoning, and of all automated reasoning. It has practical
applications to the design of computing machines, to the specification of systems, to artificial intelligence
etc.
Propositional Logic or PL – is a part of logic which deals with statements that are either true or false
(but not both) called proposition.
Proposition – is a declarative sentence that is either true or false, but not both.
Examples: 1. Quezon City is the capital of the Philippines.
2. Discrete Mathematics is an easy course.
3. 3 + 5 = 8.
4. 3 + 3 = 4
Proposition 1, 2, 3 are true, whereas 4 is false.

Logical Connectives – a sentence that maybe either a (single) proposition or a compound proposition.

Compound Proposition – is formed by combining propositions.

– to be able to form compound propositions, we use basic logical connectives:
not, and, if-then, if-and only -if
NAME SYMBOL SYNTAX VERBAL FORM EQUIVALENT TERM
Not ¬ or ~ ¬P not P Negation
And  PQ P and Q Conjunction
Or  P  Q/ P  Q P or Q Disjunction
If-then  PQ If P then Q or Conditional/ Implication
P implies Q
If-and only-if  PQ P if and only if Q Bi-conditional

Table 1 Example:
Truth Table for the Negation of a Proposition The negation of the proposition “ Leni is
p ¬p
simple” is “ Leni is not simple”.
T F
F T
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 Table 2
Truth Table for the Conjunction of Two Proposition Example:
p q p q Let p = “Duterte is a joker.”
T T T q = “He is a communist.”
T F F Therefore: p  q = “Duterte is a joker and he
F T F
is a communist.”
F F F

Table 3
Truth Table for the Disjunction of Two Proposition Example:
p q p q Let p = “Mar is an activist.”
T T T q = “Grace is a loyalist.”
T F T Therefore: p  q = “Mar is an activist or
F T T
Grace is a loyalist.”
F F F

Table 4
Truth Table for Implication/ Conditional Statement Example:
P q pq Let p = “Mar is an activist.”
T T T q = “Grace is a loyalist.”
T F F Therefore: p  q = “If Mar is an activist then
F T T Grace is a loyalist.”
F F T

Table 5
Truth Table for Bi-conditional Statement
P Q pq qp (p  q)  (q  p) p
q
T T T T T
T F F T F
F T T F F
F F T T T

Methods Example:
of Formal Marcos
Proofsis a communist if and only if he declares Martial Law.
An argument is a finite sequence p1 , p 2 ..., p n , q of statements. The statements p1 , p 2 ..., p n are
called the premises of the argument and q is its conclusion.
An argument p1 , p 2 ..., p n , q is called logically valid if ( p1  p 2  ...  p n )  q is a tautology.
Example 1: Consider the following argument.
If Bryan solved ten math problems correctly then Bryan obtained a grade of 1.0. Bryan solved 10
math problems correctly. Therefore, Bryan obtained a grade of 1.0.
Solution: Let p : Bryan solved ten math problems correctly.
q : Bryan obtained a grade of 1.0.

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 Symbolizing the given argument,
pq
p
 q

The argument can be written in the form

[( p  q)  p ]  q . We use the truth table to
determine the argument’s validity.

p q pq ( p  q)  p [( p  q )  p ]  q
T T T T T
T F F F T
F T T F T
F F T F T

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 [( p  q)  p ]  q is a tautology. Hence the argument is valid.

Example 2: Consider a parallel argument.

If Romeo solved six Calculus problems correctly then Romeo obtained a grade of 2.0. Romeo
obtained a grade of 2.0. Therefore, Romeo solved six Calculus problems correctly.
Solution: Let p : Romeo solved six Calculus problems correctly.
q : Romeo obtained a grade of 2.0.
Symbolizing the given argument,
pq p q pq ( p  q)  q [( p  q )  q]  p
q T T T T T
 p T F F F T
F T T T F
The argument can be written in the form F F T F T
[( p  q)  q ]  p . We use the truth table to
determine the argument’s validity.

[( p  q)  q ]  p is not a tautology. Hence the argument is invalid.

Rules of Inference
1. Modus Ponens (MP) 1. Disjunctive Syllogism 7. Simplification (Simp)
pq (DS) pq
p pq  p
q p
q
2. Modus Tollens (MT) 5. Constructive Dilemma 8. Conjunction (Conj)
pq (CD) p
q ( p  q)  ( r  s) q
 p pr  pq
qs
3. Hypothetical Syllogism 6. Absorption (Abs) 9. Addition (Add)
(HS) pq p
pq  p  ( p  q)  pq
qr
pr

Rules of Replacement
1. De Morgan’s (DM) 6. Transposition (Trans)
 ( p  q)   p   q pq ~ q ~ p
 ( p  q)   p   q
2. Commutative (Com) 7. Material Implication (Impl)
pq  q p
pq  q p
pq ~p  q

3. Associative (Assoc) 8. Material Equivalence (Equiv)

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 p  ( q  r )  ( p  q)  r ( p  q)  ( p  q)  ( q  p )
p  ( q  r )  ( p  q)  r
( p  q)  ( p  q)  (~ p  ~ q )
4. Distributive (Dist) 9. Exportation (Exp)
p  ( q  r )  ( p  q)  ( p  r ) ( p  q)  r  p  ( q  r )
p  ( q  r )  ( p  q)  ( p  r )
5. Double Negation (DN) 10. Tautology
p ~~p
p  ( p  p)
p  ( p  p)

Formal Proofs of Validity

Every proposition must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
i. It is a premise of the argument.
ii. It can be derived from one or more of the propositions already included in the list using one of the
rules of inference.
iii. It is equivalent to a proposition already included in the list because one of the replacement rules
guarantees the logical equivalence of the appropriate underlying prepositional forms.

Example 1: Construct a formal proof of the validity of the following argument.

If Mel is enrolled in Algebra then Joan is enrolled in Calculus. Mel is enrolled in Algebra and
Vince is enrolled in Physics. Therefore, Joan is enrolled in Calculus.
Solution:
We symbolize the component simple The premises of the argument are p  q and
propositions: p  r . The conclusion is q.
p : Mel is enrolled in Algebra. Use the rules of inference,
q : Joan is enrolled in Calculus. 1. p  q Premise
r : Vince is enrolled in Physics. 2. p  r Premise
3. p Simp, 2
4. q MP 1, 3

Example 2: Provide a formal proof of the validity of the following arguments.

If Mark is correct then his analysis is correct and if Anne is correct then her calculation is correct.
Anne is correct. Therefore, Mark’s analysis is correct or Anne’s calculation is correct or both.

Solution:
Let p : Mark is correct. ( p  q)  ( r  s )
q : Mark’s analysis is correct. r
r : Anne’s is correct. q  s
s : Anne’s calculation is correct.

The argument is symbolized as follows:

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 or
1. ( p  q)  ( r  s ) Premise
2. r Premise
We commence the formal proof: 3. ( r  s )  ( p  q) Com, 1
1. ( p  q)  ( r  s ) Premise 4. rs Simp, 3
2. r Premise 5. s MP, 2, 4
3. r  p Add, 2 6. sq Add, 5
4. p  r Com, 3 7. qs Com, 6
5. q  s CD, 1, 4

EXERCISE 3
Name: _______________________________________ Score: __________ Rating: _________
Course & Section: ______________________________ Date: _____________________

I. Supply the missing statement or reason, as the case may be.

1) 1. (~ p  q )  ( q  ~ r ) Premise
2. ( q  ~ r )  s Premise
3. ~ s Premise
4. ______________ 1, 2 HS
5. ______________ 3, 4 MT

2) 1. ( p  q)  r Premise
2. ~r Premise
3. ______________ 1, 2 MT
4. ______________ 3, DM
5. ______________ Simp

3) 1. (~ p  ~ q )  p Premise
2. ~ (~ p  ~ q )  p _________
3. ( p  q )  p _________

4) 1. ( p  q)  ( r  s ) Premise
2. p Premise
3. p  q _________
4. r  s _________
5. r _________
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5) 1. p ~ p Premise
2. p _________
3. ~p _________
4. ~p  q _________
5. pq _________
6. q _________

II. Express the following arguments using the symbols indicated. What rules of inference are used
in each of them?
1. If the teens like it, then the sales volume will go up. Either the teens like it or the store will close.
The sales volume will not go up. Therefore, the store will close.
2. I shall either play basketball or I shall go to a mall and watch a movie. Therefore, I shall either
play basketball or go to a mall.
3. If I get my Christmas bonus AND my friends are free, then I will take a road trip with my friends.
If my friends don't find a job after Christmas, then they will be free. I got my Christmas bonus and
my friends did not find a job after Christmas. Therefore, I will take a road trip with my friends