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In propositional logic, a propositional formula is a type of syntactic formula which is well formed. If the values of all variables in a propositional formula are given, it determines a unique truth value. A propositional formula may also be called a propositional expression, a sentence, [1] or a sentential formula.
The precise form of atomic formulas depends on the formal system under consideration; for propositional logic, for example, the atomic formulas are the propositional variables. For predicate logic , the atoms are predicate symbols together with their arguments, each argument being a term .
The propositional calculus [a] is a branch of logic. [1] It is also called propositional logic, [2] statement logic, [1] sentential calculus, [3] sentential logic, [4] [1] or sometimes zeroth-order logic. [b] [6] [7] [8] Sometimes, it is called first-order propositional logic [9] to contrast it with System F, but it should not be confused with ...
Given a formula X, the negation ¬X is a formula. Given two formulas X and Y, and a binary connective b (such as the logical conjunction ∧), the expression (X b Y) is a formula. (Note the parentheses.) Through this construction, all of the formulas of propositional logic can be built up from propositional variables as a basic unit.
A propositional formula is a tautology if it is true under every valuation (or interpretation) of its predicate symbols. If Φ is a tautology, and Θ is a substitution instance of Φ, then Θ is again a tautology. This fact implies the soundness of the deduction rule described in the previous section.
An atomic formula or atom is simply a predicate applied to a tuple of terms; that is, an atomic formula is a formula of the form P (t 1,…, t n) for P a predicate, and the t n terms. All other well-formed formulae are obtained by composing atoms with logical connectives and quantifiers. For example, the formula ∀x. P (x) ∧ ∃y. Q (y, f (x ...
Together with the normal forms in propositional logic (e.g. disjunctive normal form or conjunctive normal form), it provides a canonical normal form useful in automated theorem proving. Every formula in classical logic is logically equivalent to a formula in prenex normal form.
In propositional calculus, a propositional function or a predicate is a sentence expressed in a way that would assume the value of true or false, except that within the sentence there is a variable (x) that is not defined or specified (thus being a free variable), which leaves the statement undetermined.