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Logic

Biconditional (If and Only If)

Lesson

A biconditional pqp \leftrightarrow q(“p if and only if q”) is true when both parts have the same truth value — both T or both F.

Truth table

  p | q | p↔q
 ---+---+----
  T | T |  T
  T | F |  F
  F | T |  F
  F | F |  T

Equivalent to (pq)(qp)(p \to q) \wedge (q \to p): two conditionals, one in each direction.

Practice

Work through these. Stuck? Click Get a hint.

Warm-Up

Quick problems to get going.

Problem 1

TTT \leftrightarrow T

Problem 2

TFT \leftrightarrow F

Problem 3

FTF \leftrightarrow T

Problem 4

FFF \leftrightarrow F

Practice

Standard problems matching the lesson.

Problem 5

For pq to be T, parts must be...?\text{For } p \leftrightarrow q \text{ to be T, parts must be...?}

Problem 6

¬TF\neg T \leftrightarrow F

Problem 7

¬FT\neg F \leftrightarrow T

Problem 8

T¬TT \leftrightarrow \neg T

Problem 9

F¬FF \leftrightarrow \neg F

Problem 10

(TF)F(T \wedge F) \leftrightarrow F

Problem 11

(TF)T(T \vee F) \leftrightarrow T

Problem 12

(TF)F(T \to F) \leftrightarrow F

Problem 13

(FT)T(F \to T) \leftrightarrow T

Problem 14

TTTT \leftrightarrow T \leftrightarrow T

Problem 15

TTFT \leftrightarrow T \leftrightarrow F

Problem 16

“2+2=4 iff 3<5”\text{``2+2=4 iff 3<5''}

Problem 17

“2+2=4 iff 3>5”\text{``2+2=4 iff 3>5''}

Problem 18

“2+2=5 iff 3>5”\text{``2+2=5 iff 3>5''}

Challenge

Harder problems — edge cases, trickier numbers, multiple steps.

Problem 19

¬(TF)\neg(T \leftrightarrow F)

Problem 20

¬(TT)\neg(T \leftrightarrow T)

Problem 21

(TF)F(T \leftrightarrow F) \leftrightarrow F

Problem 22

(TT)T(T \leftrightarrow T) \leftrightarrow T

Problem 23

(FF)F(F \leftrightarrow F) \leftrightarrow F

Problem 24

(TT)(FF)(T \to T) \leftrightarrow (F \to F)

Problem 25

(TF)(FT)(T \to F) \leftrightarrow (F \to T)

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