Conditional Statement
In the study of logic, there are two types of statements, conditional statement and bi-conditional statement. These statements
are formed by combining two statements, which are called compound statements. Suppose a statement is- if it rains, then we
don’t play. This is a combination of two statements. These types of statements are mainly used in computer programming
languages such as c, c++, etc. Let us learn more here with examples.
Conditional Statement Definition
A conditional statement is represented in the form of “if…then”. Let p and q are the two statements, then statements p and q can be
written as per different conditions, such as;
p implies q
p is sufficient for q
q is necessary for p
p⇒q
Points to remember:
1. A conditional statement is also called implication.
2. The sign of the logical connector conditional statement is →. Example P → Q pronouns as P implies Q.
3. The state P → Q is false if the P is true and Q is false otherwise P → Q is true.
Truth Table for Conditional Statement
The truth table for any two inputs, say A and B is given by;
A B A→B
T T T
T F F
F T T
F F T
Example: We have a conditional statement If it is raining, we will not play. Let, A: It is raining and B: we will not play. Then;
If A is true, that is, it is raining and B is false, that is, we played, then the statement A implies B is false.
If A is false, that is, it is not raining and B is true, that is, we did not play, still the statement is true. A is the necessary condition for B but it is not
sufficient.
If A is true, B should be true but if A is false B may or may not be true.
What is a Bi-Conditional Statement?
A statement showing an “if and only if” relation is known as a biconditional statement. An event P will occur if and only if the event
Q occurs, which means if P has occurred then it implies Q will occur and vice versa.
P ↔ Q ⇒ (P→Q) ∨ (Q→P)
Example:
P: A number is divisible by 2.
Q: A number is even.
If P will occur then Q will occur and if Q will occur then P will occur.
Hence, P will occur if and only if Q will occur.
We can say that P↔Q.
Conditional Statement Examples
Q.1: If a > 0 is a positive number, then is a = 10 correct or not? Justify your answer.
Solution: Given, a > 0 and is a positive number
And it is given a = 10
So the first statement a > 0 is correct because any number greater than 0 is a positive number. But a = 10 is not a correct
statement because it can be any number greater than 0.
Q.2: Justify P → Q, for the given table below.
P Q P→Q
I am late I am on time
I am punctual I am on time
Solution: Case 1: We can see, for the first row, in the given table,
If statement P is correct, then Q is incorrect and if Q is correct then P is incorrect. Both the statements contradict each other.
Hence, P → Q = False
Case 2: In the second row of the given table, if P is correct then Q is correct and if Q is correct then P is also correct. Hence, it
satisfies the condition.
P → Q = True
Therefore, we can construct the table;
P Q P→Q
I am late I am on time F
I am punctual I am on time T
