20809261Elementary Logic
Course Information
Description
This course covers contemporary formal logic, including propositional and predicate logic with identity. Students will translate English sentences into symbolic form and evaluate arguments using truth tables, derivations, truth trees, and counterexamples. It fulfills the Quantitative Reasoning B requirement at UW-Madison and the logic requirement at Edgewood College. Assumes a strong background in algebra.
Total Credits
4
Course Competencies
  1. Translate complex English sentences into propositional and predicate logic
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam
    Criteria
    Translate complex English sentences into symbolic notation in a problem set focused on symbolization practice
    Identify scope and ambiguity in compound statements
    Represent nested quantifiers and logical structure
    Distinguish grammatical form from logical form

  2. Identify well-formed formulas in propositional and predicate logic
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam
    Criteria
    Recognize well-formed formulas by applying formation rules
    Construct well-formed formulas
    Use a problem set focused on syntax generation
    Explain what makes a formula syntactically correct
    Evaluate symbolic strings for well-formedness

  3. Construct and interpret complete truth tables
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam
    Criteria
    Build complete truth tables for compound formulas
    Use a problem set on table construction
    Classify formulas as tautologies, contradictions, or contingencies
    Interpret table results to assess consistency
    Evaluate semantics
    Process multi-step truth table problems

  4. Use truth tables to determine validity of propositional arguments
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  5. Apply inference and replacement rules in propositional logic
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  6. Use formal rules in predicate logic, including identity and quantifiers
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  7. Construct and analyze truth trees
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  8. Generate counterexamples to demonstrate invalidity
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  9. Accurately manipulate quantifiers and distinguish universal and existential claims
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  10. Correctly apply the logic of identity in formal proofs and evaluations
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  11. Recognize and prove logical equivalence using symbolic techniques
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

  12. Distinguish between formal symbolic validity and informal reasoning
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral or written product, quiz and/or exam

This Outline is under development.