Which describes the difference between a term and a proposition?

• A. A term is a sentence; a proposition names a class.
• B. A term names a class; a proposition asserts a relationship between terms.
• C. A term is a quantity; a proposition is a statement.
• D. A term is a mathematical symbol; a proposition is a diagram.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that a term names a class, while a proposition asserts a relationship between terms. In traditional logic, a term like “dog” stands for the class of all dogs, and another term like “mammal” stands for the class of all mammals. A proposition then combines two terms and makes a claim about how those classes relate, such as “All dogs are mammals,” which predates a relationship of inclusion between the subject term and the predicate term. This description matches the correct option because it captures both the naming function of terms and the relational claim that propositions express. The other descriptions don’t fit: a term is not a sentence, a proposition is not just a single class name, a term isn’t a quantity or a mathematical symbol, and a proposition isn’t a diagram but a declarative sentence that can be true or false.