Boolean Algebra Examples Example No1

Construct a Truth Table for the logical functions at points C, D and Q in the following circuit and identify a single logic gate that can be used to replace the whole circuit.

First observations tell us that the circuit consists of a 2-input NAND gate, a 2-input EX-OR gate and finally a 2-input EX-NOR gate at the output. As there are only 2 inputs to the circuit labelled A and B, there can only be 4 possible combinations of the input (22) and these are: 00, 0-1, 1-0 and finally 1-1. Plotting the logical functions from each gate in tabular form will give us the following truth table for the whole of the logic circuit below.

Inputs A 0 0 1 1 B 0 1 0 1

Output at C 1 1 1 0 D 0 1 1 0 Q 0 1 1 1

From the truth table above, column C represents the output function from the NAND gate and column Drepresents the output function from the Ex-OR gate. Both of these two output expressions then become the input condition for the Ex-NOR gate at the output. It can be seen from the truth table that an output atQ is present when any of the two inputs A or B are at logic 1. The only truth table that satisfies this condition is that of an OR Gate. Therefore, the whole of the above circuit can be replaced by just one single 2-input OR Gate.

Example No2
Find the Boolean algebra expression for the following system.

The system consists of an AND Gate, a NOR Gate and finally an OR Gate. The expression for the ANDgate is A.B, and the expression for the NOR gate is A+B. Both these expressions are also separate inputs to the OR gate which is defined as A+B. Thus the final output expression is given as:

The output of the system is given as Q = (A.B) + (A+B), but the notation A+B is the same as the De Morgans notation A.B, Then substituting A.B into the output expression gives us a final output notation of Q = (A.B)+(A.B), which is the Boolean notation for an Exclusive-NOR Gate as seen in the previous section.

Inputs B 0 0 1 1 A 0 1 0 1

Intermediates A.B 0 0 0 1
A+B

Output Q 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

Then, the whole circuit above can be replaced by just one single Exclusive-NOR Gate and indeed anExclusive-NOR Gate is made up of these individual gates.

Example No3
Find the Boolean algebra expression for the following system.

This system may look more complicated than the others to analyse but it also consists of simple AND,OR and NOT gates. Again as with the previous example we can write the Boolean notation for each logic function to give us a final expression for the output at Q.

The output from the 3-input AND gate is only a "1" when ALL the inputs are at logic level "1" (A.B.C). The output from the lower OR gate is only a "1" when one or both inputs B or C are at logic level "0". The output from the 2-input AND gate is a "1" when input A is a "1" and inputs B or C are at "0". Then the output at Q is only a "1" when inputs A.B.C equal "1" or A is equal to "1" and both inputs B or C equal "0", A.(B+C). Then by using "de Morgan's theorem" inputs B and input C cancel out as to produce an output at Q they can be either at logic "1" or at logic "0". Then this just leaves input A as the only input needed to give an output at Q as shown in the table below.

Inputs C 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 B 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 A 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1

Intermediates A.B.C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
B C B+C

Output A.(B+C) 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 Q 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0

Then, the whole circuit above can be replaced by just one single input labelled A thereby reducing a circuit of 6 individual logic gates to just one single piece of wire, (or Buffer). This type of circuit analysis using Boolean Algebra can quickly identify any un-necessary logic gates thereby reducing the number of gates required, the power consumption of the circuit and of course the cost.

Let's begin with a semiconductor gate circuit in need of simplification. The "A," "B," and "C" input signals are assumed to be provided from switches, sensors, or perhaps other gate circuits. Where these signals originate is of no concern in the task of gate reduction.

Our first step in simplification must be to write a Boolean expression for this circuit. This task is easily performed step by step if we start by writing sub-expressions at the output of each gate, corresponding to the respective input signals for each gate. Remember that OR gates are equivalent to Booleanaddition, while AND gates are equivalent to Boolean multiplication. For example, I'll write sub-expressions at the outputs of the first three gates:

. . . then another sub-expression for the next gate:

Finally, the output ("Q") is seen to be equal to the expression AB + BC(B + C):

Now that we have a Boolean expression to work with, we need to apply the rules of Boolean algebra to reduce the expression to its simplest form (simplest defined as requiring the fewest gates to implement):

The final expression, B(A + C), is much simpler than the original, yet performs the same function. If you would like to verify this, you may generate a truth table for both expressions and determine Q's status (the circuits' output) for all eight logic-state combinations of A, B, and C, for both circuits. The two truth tables should be identical. Now, we must generate a schematic diagram from this Boolean expression. To do this, evaluate the expression, following proper mathematical order of operations (multiplication before addition, operations inside parentheses before anything else), and draw gates for each step. Remember again that OR gates are equivalent to Boolean addition, while AND gates are equivalent to Boolean multiplication. In this case, we would begin with the sub-expression "A + C", which is an OR gate:

The next step in evaluating the expression "B(A + C)" is to multiply (AND gate) the signal B by the output of the previous gate (A + C):

Now that we have a Boolean Sum-Of-Products expression for the truth table's function, we can easily design a logic gate or relay logic circuit based on thatexpression:

As a result of the simplification, we can now build much simpler logic circuits performing the same function, in either gate or relay form:

Whereas a Sum-Of-Products expression could be implemented in the form of a set of AND gates with their outputs connecting to a single OR gate, a Product-Of-Sums expression can be implemented as a set of OR gates feeding into a single AND gate:

Michael Obcemea

Postulates and Theorems of Boolean Algebra

Assume A, B, and C are logical states that can have the values 0 (false) and 1 (true). "+" means OR, "" means AND, and NOT[A] means NOT A.

Postulates
(1) A + 0 = A (2) A + NOT[A] = 1 (3) A + B = B + A (4) A + (B + C) = (A + B) + C A1=A A
NOT

identity complement commutative law associative law

[A] = 0

AB=BA A (B C) = (A B) C

(5) A + (B C) = (A + B) (A + C) A (B + C) = (A B) + (A C) distributive law

Theorems
(6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) A+A=A A+1=1 A + (A B) = A A + (NOT[A] B) = A + B (A B) + (NOT[A] C) + (B C) = (A B) + (NOT[A] C)
NOT

AA=A A0=0 A ( A + B) = A A (NOT[A] + B) = A B A (B + C) = (A B) + (A C)

NOT

[A + B] = NOT[A] NOT[B]

[A B] = NOT[A] + NOT[B]

de Morgan's theorem

Another type of mathematical identity, called a "property" or a "law," describes how differing variables relate to each other in a system of numbers. One of these properties is known as the commutative property, and it applies equally to addition and multiplication. In essence, the commutative property tells us we can reverse the order of variables that are either added together or multiplied together without changing the truth of the expression:

Along with the commutative properties of addition and multiplication, we have the associative property, again applying equally well to addition andmultiplication. This property tells us we can associate groups of added or multiplied variables together with parentheses without altering the truth of the equations.

Lastly, we have the distributive property, illustrating how to expand a Boolean expression formed by the product of a sum, and in reverse shows us how terms may be factored out of Boolean sums-of-products:

To summarize, here are the three basic properties: commutative, associative, and distributive.

The Laws of Boolean

As well as the logic symbols "0" and "1" being used to represent a digital input or output, we can also use them as constants for a permanently "Open" or "Closed" circuit or contact respectively. Laws or rules for Boolean Algebra expressions have been invented to help reduce the number of logic gates needed to perform a particular logic operation resulting in a list of functions or theorems known commonly as the Laws of Boolean. Boolean Algebra uses these "Laws of Boolean" to both reduce and simplify a Boolean expression in an attempt to reduce the number of logic gates required. Boolean Algebra is therefore a system of mathematics based on logic that has its own set of rules which are used to define and reduce Boolean expressions. The variables used in Boolean Algebra only have one of two possible values, a "0" and a"1" but an expression can have an infinite number of variables all labelled individually to represent inputs to the expression, For example, variables A, B, C etc, giving us a logical expression of A + B = C, but each variable can ONLY be a 0 or a 1. Examples of these individual Boolean laws, rules and theorems for Boolean Algebra are given in the following table.

Truth Tables for the Laws of Boolean

Boolean Expression

Description

Equivalent Switching Circuit

Boolean Algebra Law or Rule

A+1=1

A in parallel with closed = CLOSED

Annulment

A+0=A

A in parallel with open = A

Identity

A.1=A

A in series with closed = A

Identity

A.0=0

A in series with open = OPEN

Annulment

A+A=A

A in parallel with A = A

Indempotent

A.A=A

A in series with A = A

Indempotent

NOT A = A

NOT NOT A (double negative) = A

Double Negation

A+A=1

A in parallel with not A = CLOSED

Complement

A.A=0

A in series with not A = OPEN

Complement

A+B = B+A

A in parallel with B = B in parallel with A

Commutative

A.B = B.A

A in series with B = B in series with A

Commutative

A+B = A.B A.B = A+B

invert and replace OR with AND invert and replace AND with OR

de Morgan's Theorem de Morgan's Theorem

The basic Laws of Boolean Algebra that relate to the Commutative Law allowing a change in position for addition and multiplication, the Associative Law allowing the removal of brackets for addition and multiplication, as well as the distributive Law allowing the factoring of an expression, are the same as in ordinary algebra. Each of the laws above are given with just a single or two variables, but the number of variables defined by a single law is not limited to this as there can be an infinite number of variables as inputs to the expression. The above laws can be used to prove any given Boolean expression and for simplifying complicated digital circuits. A brief description of the Laws of Boolean is given below.

Description of the Laws and Theorems

Annulment Law - A term ANDed with a "0" equals 0 or ORed with a "1" will equal 1. 1. 2.

A . 0 = 0, A variable AND'ed with 0 is always equal to 0. A + 1 = 1, A variable OR'ed with 1 is always equal to 1.

Identity Law - A term ORed with a "0" or ANDed with a "1" will always equal that term. 1. 2.

A + 0 = A, A variable OR'ed with 0 is always equal to the variable. A . 1 = A, A variable AND'ed with 1 is always equal to the variable.

Indempotent Law - An input ANDed with itself or ORed with itself is equal to that input. 1. 2.

A + A = A, A variable OR'ed with itself is always equal to the variable. A . A = A, A variable AND'ed with itself is always equal to the variable.

Complement Law - A term ANDed with its complement equals "0" and a term ORed with its complement equals "1". 1. 2.

A . A = 0, A variable AND'ed with its complement is always equal to 0. A + A = 1, A variable OR'ed with its complement is always equal to 1.

Commutative Law - The order of application of two separate terms is not important. 1. 2.

A . B = B . A, The order in which two variables are AND'ed makes no difference. A + B = B + A, The order in which two variables are OR'ed makes no difference.

Double Negation Law - A term that is inverted twice is equal to the original term.

1.

A = A,

A double complement of a variable is always equal to the variable.

de Morgans Theorem - There are two "de Morgans" rules or theorems, (1) Two separate terms NORed together is the same as the two terms inverted (Complement) and ANDed for example, A+B = A. B. (2) Two separate terms NANDed together is the same as the two terms inverted (Complement) and ORed for example, A.B = A +B. Other algebraic laws not detailed above include: Distributive Law - This law permits the multiplying or factoring out of an expression. Absorptive Law - This law enables a reduction in a complicated expression to a simpler one by absorbing like terms. Associative Law - This law allows the removal of brackets from an expression and regrouping of the variables.

Boolean Algebra Functions

Using the information above, simple 2-input AND, OR and NOT Gates can be represented by 16 possible functions as shown in the following table.

Function 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Description NULL IDENTITY Input A Input B NOT A NOT B A AND B (AND) A AND NOT B NOT A AND B NOT A AND NOT B (NAND) A OR B (OR) A OR NOT B NOT A OR B

Expression 0 1 A B
A B

A.B A.B
A.B A.B

A+B A+B
A+B

14. 15. 16.

NOT OR (NOR) Exclusive-OR Exclusive-NOR

A+B

A.B + A.B A.B + A.B

Example No1
Using the above laws, simplify the following expression:

(A + B)(A + C)

Q = (A + B)(A + C) AA + AC + AB + BC A + AC + AB + BC A(1 + C) + AB + BC A.1 + AB + BC A(1 + B) + BC A.1 + BC Q = A + BC - Distributive law - Identity AND law (A.A = A) - Distributive law - Identity OR law (1 + C = 1) - Distributive law - Identity OR law (1 + B = 1) - Identity AND law (A.1 = A)

Then the expression:

(A + B)(A + C) can be simplified to A + BC

Truth Tables
As well as a standard Boolean Expression, the input and output information of any Logic Gate or circuit can be plotted into a table to give a visual representation of the switching function of the system and this is commonly called a Truth Table. Logic gate truth tables shows each possible input to the gate or circuit and the resultant output depending upon the combination of the input(s). For example, consider a single 2-input logic circuit with input variables labelled as A and B. There are "four" possible input combinations 2 or 2 of "OFF" and "ON" for the two inputs. However, when dealing with Boolean expressions we do not general use ON or OFF but instead give them values of logic level "1" or logic level "0". The four possible combinations for a two-input gate are given as:

Input Combination 1. - "OFF" - "OFF" or ( 0,0 ) Input Combination 2. - "OFF" - "ON" or ( 0,1 ) Input Combination 3. - "ON" - "OFF" or ( 1,0 ) Input Combination 4. - "ON" - "ON" or ( 1,1 )
Therefore, a 3-input logic circuit would have 8 possible input combinations or 2 and a 4-input logic circuit would have 16 or 2 , and so on as n the number of inputs increases. Then a logic circuit with "n"number of inputs would have 2 possible input combinations of both "OFF" and "ON". In order to keep things simple to understand, we will only deal with simple 2-input logic gates, but the principals are still the same for gates with more inputs. The Truth tables for a 2-input AND Gate, a 2-input OR Gate and a NOT Gate are given as
3 4

2-input AND Gate

The output Q is true if both input A, AND input B are both true, (Q = A and B).

Symbol A 0 0 1 1 Boolean Expression Q = A.B

Truth Table B 0 1 0 1 Q 0 0 0 1

Read as A AND B gives Q

2-input OR (Inclusive OR) Gate

The output Q is true if either input A, OR input B is true, (Q = A or B).

Symbol A 0 0 1 1

Truth Table B 0 1 0 1 Q 0 1 1 1

Boolean Expression Q = A+B

Read as A OR B gives Q

NOT Gate
The output Q is only true when the input is NOT true, the output is the inverse or complement of the input (Q = NOT A).

Symbol A 0 1 Boolean Expression Q = NOT A or A

Truth Table Q 1 0

Read as inverse of A gives Q

The NAND and the NOR Gates are a combination of the AND and OR Gates with that of a NOT Gate or inverter.

2-input NAND (Not AND) Gate

The output Q is true if both input A and input B are not true, (Q = not(A and B)).

Symbol A 0 0 1 1 Boolean Expression Q = A.B

Truth Table B 0 1 0 1 Q 1 1 1 0

Read as NOT A or NOT B gives Q

2-input NOR (Not OR) Gate

The output Q is true if both input A and input B are not true, (Q = not(A or B)).

Symbol A 0 0 1 1 Boolean Expression Q = A+B

Truth Table B 0 1 0 1 Q 1 0 0 0

Read as NOT A and NOT B gives Q

As well as the standard logic gates there are also two special types of logic gate function called anExclusive-OR Gate and an ExclusiveNOR Gate. The actions of both of these types of gates can be made using the above standard gates however, as they are widely used functions, they are now available in standard IC form and have been included here as reference.

2-input EX-OR (Exclusive OR) Gate

The output Q is true if either input A or if input B is true, but not both (Q = (A and NOT B) or (NOT A and B)).

Symbol A 0 0 1 1 Boolean Expression Q = A B

Truth Table B 0 1 0 1 Q 0 1 1 0

2-input EX-NOR (Exclusive NOR) Gate

The output Q is true if both input A and input B are the same, either true or false, (Q = (A and B) or(NOT A and NOT B)).

Symbol A 0 0 1 1 Boolean Expression Q = A

B

Truth Table B 0 1 0 1 Q 1 0 0 1

Summary of all the 2-input Gates described above.

The following Truth Table compares the logical functions of the 2-input logic gates above.

Inputs A 0 0 1 1 B 0 1 0 1 AND 0 0 0 1 AND OR NOT NAND NOR EX-OR EX-NOR

Truth Table Outputs for each Gate NAND 1 1 1 0 OR 0 1 1 1 A.B A+B

A A.B A+B

NOR 1 0 0 0

EX-OR 0 1 1 0

EX-NOR 1 0 0 1

Logic Function

Boolean Notation

(A.B) + (A.B) or A (A.B) + or A

B

Boolean Algebra Postulates

Simplification of Boolean expressions can be carried out in the same fashion as numeric algebraic expressions. George Boole, an English mathematician came up with some propositions whose outcome would either be true or false. You must be aware of the Boolean jargon before getting into postulates, laws and derivations. So here is a quick start guide for you to read Boolean expressions. 0 refers to a truth value of FALSE whereas 1 refers to a truth value of TRUE. The symbol . represents the operation AND and + represents the operation OR. Some simple postulates can help us in simplifying seemingly complex Boolean expressions. Here are the Boolean postulates for you. y y y y y y y X = 0 or X = 1 0.0 = 0 1+1=1 0+0=0 1.1=1 1.0=0.1=0 1+0=0+1=1

Laws of Boolean Algebra

Here we will have a quick look at some of the laws. We will discover their properties and have a look at some of the examples in separate articles. For the moment it is all about having a taste of what the subject has to offer rather than getting in depth into the subject. The major laws are y y y y y y Commutative Law Associative Law Distributive Law Identity Law Redundance Law De Morgans Theorem