Is AvB Equivalent to Av~~B in Logical Proofs?

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AvB ("A or B") is proven to be equivalent to Av~~B ("A or not not B") by demonstrating that both statements yield the same truth values in all scenarios. The proof begins by applying the law of excluded middle to show that if A is true, AvB is true, and if B is true, AvB is also true. To establish the reverse implication, a proof by contradiction is used, leading to the conclusion that assuming AvB is false results in contradictions. Thus, both AvB and Av~~B imply each other, confirming their equivalence. The proof is successfully completed, affirming the logical relationship between the two expressions.
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I am trying to prove that AvB (which reads "A or B") is equivalent to Av~~B (which reads "A or not not B"). My steps are wrong... I checked them out on Fitch (the program we use in class to check validity of proofs). I can't write them out in here... I don't have the right symbols ... so maybe somebody can suggest a starting step that will help?
 
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NM! I got it all on my own! Wow, I am sooo super proud right now!
 


First, let's define the logical symbols we will use in this proof:
- A: statement A
- B: statement B
- ~: negation (not)
- v: disjunction (or)
- ~~: double negation (not not)

To prove that AvB is equivalent to Av~~B, we need to show that they have the same truth values in all possible scenarios. This can be done by showing that each statement implies the other.

Starting with AvB, we can use the law of excluded middle to break it down into two cases: either A is true or B is true.

Case 1: A is true
In this case, AvB is automatically true since one of the disjuncts (A) is true.

Case 2: B is true
Similarly, AvB is true since one of the disjuncts (B) is true.

Therefore, we have shown that AvB implies Av~~B in all possible scenarios.

To show the reverse implication, we can use a proof by contradiction. Assume that AvB is false. This means that both A and B are false. Using the double negation law, we can rewrite this as ~~A and ~~B.

Since ~~A is equivalent to A, we can substitute and get A and ~~B. From this, we can apply the law of excluded middle again to get two cases:

Case 1: A is true
This leads to a contradiction since we assumed A to be false.

Case 2: B is true
This also leads to a contradiction since we assumed B to be false.

Therefore, our initial assumption that AvB is false must be incorrect, and thus AvB must be true. This shows that Av~~B implies AvB in all possible scenarios.

Hence, we have shown that AvB and Av~~B are equivalent, and our proof is complete.
 
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TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...

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