How Can I Correctly Prove the Demorgan Laws?

  • Level: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter tomboi03
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Law
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
2 replies · 3K views
tomboi03
Messages
74
Reaction score
0
1st Demorgan Law
A-(B[tex]\cup[/tex]C) = (A-B)[tex]\cap[/tex](A-C)

I tried this..
={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex](B[tex]\cup[/tex]C)}
={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex]B OR x[tex]\notin[/tex]C}
={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex]B AND x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex]C}
=(A-B)[tex]\cap[/tex](A-C)

2nd Demorgan Law
A-(B[tex]\cap[/tex]C) = (A-B)[tex]\cup[/tex](A-C)

={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex](B[tex]\cap[/tex]C)}
={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex]B AND x[tex]\notin[/tex]C}
={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex]B OR x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex]C}
=(A-B)[tex]\cup[/tex](A-C)

Is this wrong? What am I doing wrong?
Please help me out!

Thank You!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
tomboi03 said:
1st Demorgan Law
A-(B[tex]\cup[/tex]C) = (A-B)[tex]\cap[/tex](A-C)

I tried this..
={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex](B[tex]\cup[/tex]C)}
={x: x[tex]\in[/tex]A, x[tex]\notin[/tex]B OR x[tex]\notin[/tex]C}
There's your problem. x[tex]\notin[/tex](B[tex]\cup[/tex]C) if and only if x[tex]\notin[/tex]B AND x[tex]\notin[/tex]C. It helps to imagine the sets as venn diagrams. Alternatively, look at it as [tex]\neg[/tex] (x [tex]\in[/tex] (B[tex]\cup[/tex]C)) which becomes [tex]\neg[/tex](x [tex]\in[/tex]B OR x[tex]\in[/tex]C) and then the not distributes by de morgan's law for logic, producing x[tex]\notin[/tex]B AND x[tex]\notin[/tex]C. I assume you're allowed to use his logic rules to prove that they hold for sets. You make a similar mistake in the second one.
 
Yes i agree with mXSCNT he explained very well where you made a mistake .

Alternatively you can prove the above by using the concept of subsets:

X=Y iff( X is a subset of Y and Y is a subset of X) iff ( xεX <===>xεY)