Logic Gates YOUR NOTES


Logic Gates
A logic gate is a building block of a digital circuit. Logic gates perform a logical operation
on one or more binary inputs to produce a binary output
An electrical signal entering the logic gate is represented by a 1
No electrical signal is represented by a 0
There are several types of logic gates, each performing a specific logical operation
Logic gates can be combined to carry out meaningful functions such as performing
calculations or checking if data meets certain conditions
A table showing the symbol used to represent each logic gate

Gate Symbol Description

The NOT gate takes a single binary input and outputs the
NOT
opposite of the input

The AND gate takes two inputs and produces one output
Only two positive inputs (1 and 1) will result in a positive
AND
output of 1
If either of the inputs is a 0 the output will be a 0

The OR gate takes two inputs and produces one output

OR
If either of the inputs is positive (1) the output will be 1

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 YOUR NOTES

A NAND gate is a combination of an AND gate followed
NAND by a NOT gate. If both inputs are a 1 it will output a 0. Any
other combination of inputs will result in an output of 1

A NOR gate is a combination of an OR gate followed by a

NOR NOT gate. If both inputs are 0 it will output a 1. Any other
combination of inputs will result in an output of 0

An XOR gate (exclusive OR) will output a 1 if the inputs are

XOR
different to one another (a 1 and a 0)

 Exam Tip
You will need to either draw a diagram of a logic circuit using these symbols, or
you will have to interpret an existing diagram. This is why it is important to
remember the symbol of each gate and the logic rules for each one

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Logic Circuits YOUR NOTES

Logic Circuits
Logic gates can be combined to produce different outputs
The combination of two or more logic gates forms a logic circuit
A logic diagram is a visual representation of combinations of logic gates within a logic
circuit
An example of Logic Circuit

In this diagram, the inputs are represented by A and B

P is the output of the OR gate on the left and becomes the input of the NOT gate. This is
called an intermediary output
Q is the final output of the logic circuit

 Exam Tip
You may be asked to draw a logic circuit from a logic statement or a boolean
expression. Circuits must be drawn without simplification
Logic circuits will be limited to a maximum of three inputs and one output

An example of Logic Circuit

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This logic circuit contains three inputs (A, B and C) YOUR NOTES
It contains a NAND gate, a NOT gate, a NOR gate and finally an OR gate 
X is the final output
This logic circuit can be represented as a logic expression as
X=((NOT(A NAND B) OR (B NOR C

 Worked Example
A sprinkler system switches on if it is not daytime (input A) and the temperature is
greater than 40 (input B)
Draw a logic circuit to represent the problem statement above
[2]

 Exam Tip
You may need to draw a logic circuit from a problem statement (as in the
example above), from a truth table or from a boolean expression

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 Truth Tables YOUR NOTES

Truth Tables
NOT gate
A NOT gate has one input and will invert it to produce an opposite output. This is shown in
the truth table below
A is the input
Z is the output

Input Output

A Z
0 1
1 0

AND gate
An AND gate has two inputs

InputOutput

A B Z
0 0 0
0 1 0

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 1 0 0 YOUR NOTES
1 1 1 

The AND gate truth table shows the only combination of inputs which will result in a positive
output is 1 and 1
OR gate
An OR gate has two inputs

Input Output

A B Z
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1

The truth table shows an OR gate produces an output of 1 if any of the inputs are a 1
NOR gate
A NOR gate has two inputs

Input Output

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 A B Z YOUR NOTES
0 0 1 

0 1 0
1 0 0
1 1 0

The truth table shows a NOR gate works oppositely to an OR gate - the only input
combination which results in a 1 is two 0s
NAND gate
A NAND gate has two inputs

Input Output

A B Z
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

The truth table shows a NAND gate works in the opposite way to an AND gate - the only
input combination which does not result in a 1 is two positive inputs (1 +1)
XOR gate
An XOR gate has two inputs

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 YOUR NOTES


Input Output

A B Z
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

The truth table shows how an XOR gate works. It will only output a 1 if the two inputs are
different to one another

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 YOUR NOTES
 Worked Example

A truth table for a two input (A and B) logic gate
A B X
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1
Identify what logic gate the truth table is representing
[1]
OR [1]
What symbol is used to represent this logic gate?
[1]

[1]

Truth tables can also be used to help work out the possible outputs of a logic circuit
containing more than one gate

 Exam Tip
You will only be asked to create truth tables for logic circuits with three inputs.
The number of rows you should have in a three input truth table is 8 (not
including the headings)

When creating a truth table for multiple inputs, begin by entering the possible input
combinations into the leftmost columns
A truth table for a three input (A, B and C) logic gate
A B C Z
0 0 0

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 0 0 1 YOUR NOTES

0 1 0
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 0 1
1 1 0
1 1 1
›
The column on the right contains the final output of the logic circuit (Z)
Column(s) in between the inputs and the final output can be used to help work out the final
output by containing intermediary outputs
Intermediary outputs are the output of gates found within the logic circuit
In the logic circuit diagram below, D and E are intermediary outputs

The fourth column labelled D represents the output of NOT A

A B C D (NOT A) E Z
0 0 0 1
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 1 1
1 0 0 0
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 0

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The next intermediary output is E which is the equivalent of ((NOT A) AND B) this notation is YOUR NOTES
called a logic expression 
The E intermediary output can be worked out by performing the AND logical operation on
columns B and D

D (NOT E ((NOT A) AND

A B C Z
A) B)

0 0 0 1 0
0 0 1 1 0
0 1 0 1 1
0 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 0
1 1 0 0 0
1 1 1 0 0

The final output (Z) can be worked out by performing the OR logical operation on columns E
and C

D (NOT Z (((NOT A) AND B) OR

A B C E ((NOT A) AND B)
A) C)

0 0 0 1 0 0
0 0 1 1 0 1
0 1 0 1 1 1
0 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 0 1
1 1 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 0 0 1

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 Exam Tip YOUR NOTES
 In the exam it is likely truth tables will just contain columns for the inputs and the

final output. You can still work out intermediary outputs to help you find the final
output answers

 Worked Example

Complete the Truth table for the logic circuit above

A B Q
0 0
0 1
1 0
1 1
[4]
A B Q
0 0 1
0 1 1
1 0 0
1 1 1
[4]

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