Discrete Structures

Sheikh Kashif Raffat

Discrete vs Continuous
• Examples of discrete Data

– Number of boys in the class.

– Number of candies in a packet.
– Number of books in a shelf.

• Examples of continuous Data

– Height of a person.
– Time in a race.
– Distance traveled by a car.
What is discrete Structures?

• Discrete mathematics is the part of mathematics

devoted to the study of discrete objects (Kenneth H.
Rosen, 6th edition).

• Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical

structures that are fundamentally discrete rather
than continuous.
Applications of discrete mathematics
• How can a circuit that adds two integers be designed?
• How many ways are there to choose a valid password on a
computer?
• What is the shortest path between two cities using
transportation system?
• How can I encrypt a message so that no unintended recipient
can read it?
• How many valid internet addresses are there?
• How can a list of integers be sorted so that the integers are in
increasing order?
Syllabus (Topics to be covered in this course)

• Logic
• Elementary Number Theory and Methods of Proof
• Set Theory
• Relations
• Sequences and Recursion
• Mathematical Induction
• Counting
• Relations and Equivalence Relations
• Graphs
• Trees
Reference Books
• Discrete Mathematics and its Applications
(with Combinatorics and Graph Theory)
6th Edition, The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007,
Kenneth H. Rosen.
• Discrete Mathematics with Applications
2nd Edition, Thomson Learning, 1995,
Susanna S. Epp.
• Discrete Mathematics for Computer Scientists
2nd Edition, Addison-Wesley, 1999, John
Truss.
Logic
• Propositional Logic
• Logic of Compound Statements
• Propositional Equivalences
• Conditional Statements
• Logical Equivalences
• Valid and Invalid Arguments
• Applications: Digital Logic Circuits
• Predicates and Quantifiers
• Logic of Quantified Statements
Propositional Logic
Proposition: A proposition (or Statement) is a declarative
sentence (that is, a sentence that declares a
fact) that is either true or false, but not both.

Examples
1. Is the following sentence a proposition? If it is a proposition,
determine whether it is true or false.
Paris is the capital of France.
This makes a declarative statement, and hence is a
proposition. The proposition is TRUE (T).
Examples (Propositions Cont.)

2. Is the following sentence a proposition? If it is a

proposition, determine whether it is true or false.

Can Ali come with you?.

This is a question not the declarative sentence and hence

not a proposition.
Examples (Propositions Cont.)

3. Is the following sentence a proposition? If it is a

proposition, determine whether it is true or false.

Take two aspirins.

This is an imperative sentence not the declarative

sentence and therefore not a proposition.
Examples (Propositions Cont.)

4. Is the following sentence a proposition? If it is a

proposition, determine whether it is true or false.

x+ 4 > 9.

Because this is true for certain values of x (such as x =

6) and false for other values of x (such as x = 5), it is not
a proposition.
Examples (Propositions Cont.)

5. Is the following sentence a proposition? If it is a

proposition, determine whether it is true or false.

He is a college student.

Because truth or falsity of this proposition depend

on the reference for the pronoun he. it is not a
proposition.
Notations

• The small letters are commonly used to denote the

propositional variables, that is, variables that
represent propositions, such as, p, q, r, s, ….

• The truth value of a proposition is true, denoted by T

or 1, if it is a true proposition and false, denoted by F
or 0, if it is a false proposition.
Compound Propositions
Producing new propositions from existing propositions.

Logical Operators or Connectives

1. Not 
2. And ˄
3. Or ˅
4. Exclusive or 
5. Implication 
6. Biconditional 
Compound Propositions
Negation of a proposition
Let p be a proposition. The negation of p, denoted by
 p (also denoted by ~p), is the statement

“It is not the case that p”.

The proposition  p is read as “not p”. The truth
values of the negation of p,  p, is the opposite of the
truth value of p.
Examples
1. Find the negation of the following proposition

p : Today is Friday.
The negation is
 p : It is not the case that today is Friday.

This negation can be more simply expressed by

 p : Today is not Friday.

Examples

2. Write the negation of

“6 is negative”.
The negation is

“It is not the case that 6 is negative”.

or “6 is non-negative”.
Truth Table (NOT)

• Unary Operator, Symbol: 

p p

true false

false true
Conjunction (AND)

Definition
Let p and q be propositions. The conjunction
of p and q, denoted by p˄q, is the proposition
“p and q”.
The conjunction p˄q is true when p and q are
both true and is false otherwise.
 Examples

1. Find the conjunction of the propositions p and q, where

p : Today is Friday.
q : It is raining today.
The conjunction is

p˄q : Today is Friday and it is raining today.

Truth Table (AND)

• Binary Operator, Symbol: 

p q pq
true true true
true false false
false true false
false false false
Disjunction (OR)

Definition
Let p and q be propositions. The disjunction
of p and q, denoted by p˅q, is the proposition
“p or q”.
The disjunction p˅q is false when both p and
q are false and is true otherwise.
Examples

1. Find the disjunction of the propositions p and q,

where

p : Today is Friday.
q : It is raining today.
The disjunction is

p˅q : Today is Friday or it is raining today.

Truth Table (OR)

• Binary Operator, Symbol: 

p q pq
true true true
true false true
false true true
false false false
Exclusive OR (XOR)

Definition
Let p and q be propositions. The exclusive or
of p and q, denoted by pq, is the proposition
“pq”.
The exclusive or, p  q, is true when exactly
one of p and q is true and is false otherwise.
Examples

1. Find the exclusive or of the propositions p and q,

where

p : Ali will pass the course

q : Ali will fail the course
The exclusive or is

pq : Ali will pass or fail the course

Truth Table (XOR)

• Binary Operator, Symbol: 

p q pq
true true false
true false true
false true true
false false false
Examples (OR vs XOR)

The following proposition uses the (English) connective

“or”. Determine from the context whether “or” is intended
to be used in the inclusive or exclusive sense.

1. “Nabeel has one or two brothers”.

A person cannot have both one and two brothers.
Therefore, “or” is used in the exclusive sense.
Examples (OR vs XOR)

2. To register for BSCS you must have passed

the qualifying exam or be listed as an Math
major.

Presumably, if you have passed the qualifying exam and

are also listed as an Math major, you can still register for
BSCS. Therefore, “or” is inclusive.
Composite Statements
Statements and operators can be combined in any
way to form new statements.

p q p q (p)(q)
true true false false false
true false false true true
false true true false true
false false true true true
Translating English to Logic

I did not buy a lottery ticket this week or I bought a

lottery ticket and won the million dollar on Friday.
Let p and q be two propositions
p: I bought a lottery ticket this week.
q: I won the million dollar on Friday.

In logic form
p(pq)
Conditional Statements
Implication
Definition: Let p and q be propositions. The conditional
statement p  q, is the proposition “If p, then
q”.
The conditional statement p  q is false when
p is true and q is false and is true otherwise.

where p is called hypothesis, antecedent or premise.

q is called conclusion or consequence
Implication (if - then)

• Binary Operator, Symbol: 

P Q PQ
true true true
true false false
false true true
false false true
Conditional Statements
Biconditional Statements
Definition: Let p and q be propositions. The
biconditional statement pq, is the
proposition “p if and only if q”.
The biconditional (bi-implication) statement p
 q is true when p and q have same truth
values and is false otherwise.
Biconditional (if and only if)

• Binary Operator, Symbol: 

P Q PQ
true true true
true false false
false true false
false false true
Composite Statements
• Statements and operators can be combined in any way to
form new statements.

P Q P Q (P)(Q)
true true false false false
true false false true true
false true true false true
false false true true true
 Equivalent Statements
P Q (PQ) (P)(Q) (PQ)(P)(Q)

true true false false true

true false true true true
false true true true true
false false true true true
• Two statements are called logically equivalent if and only if (iff) they
have identical truth tables
• The statements (PQ) and (P)(Q) are logically equivalent,
because (PQ)(P)(Q) is always true.
 Tautologies and Contradictions
• Tautology is a statement that is always true regardless of the truth
values of the individual logical variables

• Examples:
• R(R)

• If S  T is a tautology, we write S  T.
• If S  T is a tautology, we write S  T.
Tautologies and Contradictions
• A Contradiction is a statement that is always false regardless of
the truth values of the individual logical variables

Examples
• R(R)
• The negation of any tautology is a contradiction, and
the negation of any contradiction is a tautology.