Simple math question

[Vaeal]

I am prepping for applied liberal arts mathematics and one of the test topic subsections lists:
Truth value of a compound statement (no truth tables)

Can someone explain to me what they mean by (no truth tables)? Google and youtube are only giving me truth tables when I try and look it up.

[KayV]

I think it means that you just have to be able to interpret simple truth values instead of constructing and interpreting truth tables. There is an example of at least one of those in the TECEP prep guide, if I recall correctly.

This might help:
Statements, truth values and truth tables

[bricabrac]

Truth Tables is under Chapter 3 Logic


You can use the online math lab for Liberal Arts Math
Text - Angel: A Survey of Mathematics with Applications (doesnt matter which edition but current is 10e)

InterActMath.com (InterActMath.com)
In the drop down box, scroll to - author and text , then enter

Click on whatever chapter you need extra help. Within each practice problem you have the option to have the software teach you the steps.

• For each problem you don't know how to solve, look to right there is an icon with a key 'help me solve this'

• When you click on it another window opens and the software will go through each step by clicking the yellow continue button at the bottom of the window

• There is also a print icon

Good luck!

[adavis84]

I am prepping for applied liberal arts mathematics and one of the test topic subsections lists:
Truth value of a compound statement (no truth tables)

Can someone explain to me what they mean by (no truth tables)? Google and youtube are only giving me truth tables when I try and look it up.

I would venture to guess what they mean by "no truth tables" is something like this:

Given any two statements P and Q, where Q is false, which one of the following must be false?

a) Not P and Q
b) Not (P and Q)
c) P or not Q
d) P implies Q

In this problem, they are not asking you to evaluate or construct a truth table. One could be useful here, but not strictly necessary. We know that "a" cannot be true because it is a compound statement using a conjunction ("and"), and for a statement using a conjunction to be true, both statements must be true. We are given: Q is false, and because we know that any conjunction (compound sentence using "and") where one or both of the conjuncts (the things before and after "and") are false renders the conjunction false, "a" must be false.

In your studying and learning of these types of rules, you're very likely to use truth tables, however (I think) they're letting you know the questions themselves will not be about truth tables.

Hope that's helpful.

[dfrecore]

When I took this test in Dec, they didn't spend a lot of time on this subject. Really, most of the test was common-sense kinds of things - finding price of a dress if you knew the original price, were given an discount, and tax. Lots of more basic algebra problems.

The book was terrible, so I gave up on it. And still got a 90% on the test.

If I were you, I would make sure that I knew algebra really well - but not even college algebra. Intermediate algebra is fine, actually basic algebra is fine. It was definitely HS Algebra I material (and I know this because I homeschool my son and he's in Algebra I - I actually teach him the material because he doesn't really like the videos that are supposed to do the teaching - and everything is what I remember from high school myself 30+ years ago). I felt like the reason the test was so easy was because I had been doing Algebra I so recently. And because most of the questions are REALLY easy.

There are questions here and there on probability and some other things that I didn't always know. But it really didn't matter because I was so strong on the thing they tested the most on.

Also, they only allowed a SINGLE piece of blank paper to do the problems on (that's what TESU says, so that's what ProctorU allowed), so I had to write really small to do all the problems I needed to do. I think that this was seriously the most challenging part of the exam!

[davewill]

... Also, they only allowed a SINGLE piece of blank paper to do the problems on (that's what TESU says, so that's what ProctorU allowed), so I had to write really small to do all the problems I needed to do. I think that this was seriously the most challenging part of the exam!

Did they say what size piece of paper? :coolgleam:

[Vaeal]

I took it and passed. The (no truth table) part of the description really could have been worded better. Thank y'all for your help.

[dfrecore]

Did they say what size piece of paper? :coolgleam:

The test guide doesn't say you can have paper at all, but ProctorU said I could have ONE piece of paper. I can't remember if they said what size though!

[GoodYellowDogs]

In my mind there are no simple math questions... just sayin'