Help with Converting Sentences to FOL

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around converting English sentences into First-Order Logic (FOL). Participants are exploring the representation of specific statements in FOL, including the use of predicates and quantifiers. The focus is on both the technical aspects of symbolization and the correct application of logical constructs.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks help in converting the sentences "Lara ate exactly two apples" and "Every city is either smaller than London or polluted" into FOL.
  • Another participant suggests identifying relations and naming them, proposing predicates for the second sentence.
  • A participant provides a potential FOL representation for the second sentence, indicating the use of predicates for cities, pollution, and size relative to London.
  • There is a discussion about the correct use of quantifiers, with one participant questioning whether a quantifier is needed for the representation of "London is not a polluted city."
  • Clarifications are made regarding the correct form of the FOL representation, with emphasis on the need for parentheses and the proper use of existential quantifiers.
  • Participants debate the necessity of quantifiers in certain expressions, with some asserting that quantifiers are only needed when variables are present.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the need for proper symbolization in FOL but have differing views on the application of quantifiers and the correct representation of certain statements. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best practices for using quantifiers in these contexts.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the assumptions made about the predicates and the specific requirements for quantifiers in different logical expressions. Some participants express uncertainty about terminology, such as "identifying quantifier."

hanzla
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Hi, I need to convert below senteces into FOL, but I have difficulty doing it. Could someone peale help?

Lara ate exactly two apples.

Every city is either smaller than London or polluted.
 
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Start by determining the relations used in these statements and giving names to those relations.
 
hanzla said:
Hi, I need to convert below senteces into FOL, but I have difficulty doing it. Could someone peale help?

Lara ate exactly two apples.

Every city is either smaller than London or polluted.
The 2nd sentence can be converted in a way more accessible to pridicate calculus so we have :

if x is a city then x is smaller than London or x is polluted

Your pridicates here are: is a city , is smaller than, is polluted 1st and 3rd are one pridicates and the 2nd a two place pridicate:

Now denote:
is a city by capital C
is polluted by P
Is smaller than by S
London by L

Can you carry on from here
 
We symbolize like this C(x): x is a city
P(x): x ia polluted
S(x): x is smaller than y
l for London

Does it have sa quatifier, cose its true for very city? Does the symbolization look like this?
∀x C(x) → (S(x,l) V P(x))
 
hanzla said:
S(x): x is smaller than y
You forgot the argument y of S.
hanzla said:
∀x C(x) → (S(x,l) V P(x))
Correct, but it is better to enclose everything after ∀x in parentheses.
 
I also have doubt about sentence `London is not a polluted city.` Is it correct like this. C(x): x is a city; P(x): x is polluted; l for London
¬P(l) ∧ C(x) does it need a identifying quantifier too?
 
The formula is $C(l)\land\neg P(l)$. I am not sure what the phrase "identifying quantifier" means.
 
Its existantial quantifier ∃ and it says “for some”, “there exists”, “there is a”, or “for at least one”.
∃x C(l)∧¬P(l)
 
hanzla said:
Its existantial quantifier ∃ and it says “for some”, “there exists”, “there is a”, or “for at least one”.
∃x C(l)∧¬P(l)
The above ∃x C(l)∧¬P(l) is not correct .The correct formula is

$\exists x(C(x)\wedge\neg P(x))$ or simply $C(l)\wedge\neg P(l)$

Only when you have a variable x,y,z...you can use a quantifier
 
Last edited:

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