Conditional Statements
from Geometry
by Harold R. Jacobs
"If Avis is out of cars, we'll get you one from our competition." -- Avis Rent A Car
"If life is discovered on Mars, it will come as news to you. On CBS Radio." -- CBS
"If you've seen the traffic in Paris, you ain't seen nothing yet." -- Qantas
These ads all have something in common: each has a headline that begins with the word "if" (although the word "if" is sometimes implied). Statements
consisting of two clauses, one of which begins with the word "if" or "when" or something equivalent, are called
conditional statements. Such statements are often used to establish certain conclusions, and so they are very common in the field of advertising
and in the political field. They are also important in mathematics in writing deductive proofs.
Conditional statements are not always written in the form, "If a, then b." Rewrite each of the following sentences in "if-then" form.
Example: "A baby sneezes when it gets pepper in its nose."
Answer: "If a baby gets pepper in its nose, then it sneezes."
1. When you cross your eyes, I crack up.
2. Smokey the Bear wouldn't have to do commercials for a living if money grew on trees.
3. All surfers like big waves.
4. Licorice-flavored ice cream has a peculiar color.
5. People who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones.
6. No ghost has a shadow.