For this logic connective sentence:
- $(P \wedge Q \wedge R) \vee (P \wedge Q \wedge \neg R) \vee (\neg P \wedge Q \wedge R) \vee (\neg P \wedge \neg Q \wedge R)$
How can I simplify the above (or find its equivalent) to:
- $(P \wedge Q) \vee (\neg P \wedge R)$
I tried to expand it to disjunction normal form....but it will take a very long time to expand the entire sentence 1. Can anyone please suggest a method that allows the simplification of sentence 1 to sentence 2?
Thanks
As Mathreadler said, we can use distributive property to get: $$(P\land Q \land (R \lor \lnot R)) \lor (\lnot P \land R \land (Q\lor \lnot Q))$$
And since $A \lor \lnot A $ is a tautology, we get the required answer.