Degree of Bachelor of Information Technology 1

Lesson 11 - Disjunctive and Conjunctive

Normal Forms

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to;

• define Minterm for the given Boolean variable.

• define Maxterm for the given Boolean variable.

• use disjunctive normal form for any Boolean expression.

• apply conjunctive normal form for the Boolean expression.

• use Karnaugh map for the minimization of Boolean expression.

11.1 Introduction
Two significant problems of Boolean algebra will be learned in this lesson. The two problems
can be described as follows:

1. Given the values of a Boolean function, how can a Boolean expression that represents this
function be found? This problem will be solved by showing that any Boolean function
can be represented by a Boolean sum of Boolean products of the variables and their
complements. The solution of this problem shows that every Boolean function can be
represented using the three Boolean operators ·, + and¯.

2. How to reduce the number of terms in a given Boolean expression.

Both of these problems have practical importance in circuit design.

11.2 Sum-of-Products Expansions

Consider the Examples 11.1. It illustrate how to find a Boolean expression that represents a
given Boolean function.

Example 11.1

Find Boolean expressions that represent the functions F (x, y, z) and G(x, y, z) which are
given in below table.

1
2 ITE 1812 - Mathematic for IT

Solution.

An expression that has the value 1 when x = z = 1 and y = 0 and the value 0 otherwise, is
needed to represent F . Such an expression can be formed by taking the Boolean product
of x, ȳ and z. This product x · ȳ · z, has the value 1 if and only if x = ȳ = z = 1 , which
holds if and only if x = z = 1 and y = 0.
To represent G, we need an expression that equals 1 when x = y = 1 and z = 0, or when
x = z = 0 and y = 1. We can form an expression with these values by taking the Boolean
sum of two different Boolean products. The Boolean product x · y · z̄ has the value 1 if
and only if x = y = 1 and z = 0. Similarly, the product x̄ · y · z̄ has the value 1 if and
only if x = z = 0 and y = 1. The Boolean sum of these two products, x · y · z̄ + x̄ · y · z̄,
represents G, because it has the value 1 if and only if x = y = 1 and z = 0 or x = z = 0
and y = 1.

Definition 11.1: Minterm

A literal is a Boolean variable or its complement. A minterm of the Boolean variables
xl , x2 , · · · · · · , xn is a Boolean product y1 · y2 · · · · · · yn , where yi = xi or yi = x̄i . Hence, a
minterm is a product of n literals, with one literal for each variable.

A minterm has the value 1 for one and only one combination of values of its variables. More
precisely, the minterm y1 · y2 · · · · · · yn is 1 if and only if each yi is 1 and this occurs if and only
if xi = 1 when yi = xi and xi = 0 when yi = x̄i .

Example 11.2
Find a minterm that equals 1 if x1 = x3 = 0 and x2 = x4 = x5 = 1 and equals 0 otherwise.

Solution.
The minterm x̄1 · x2 · x̄3 · x4 · x5 has the correct set of values.

By taking Boolean sums of distinct minterms we can build up a Boolean expression with a
specified set of values. In particular, a Boolean sum of minterms has the value 1 when exactly
one of the minterms in the sum has the value 1. It has the value 0 for all other combinations

2
Degree of Bachelor of Information Technology 3

of values of the variables. Consequently, given a Boolean function, a Boolean sum of minterms
can be formed that has the value 1 when this Boolean function has the value 1 and has the
value 0 when the function has the value 0. The minterms in this Boolean sum correspond to
those combinations of values for which the function has the value 1. The sum of minterms
that represents the function is called the sum-of-products expansion or the disjunctive
normal form of the Boolean function.

Example 11.3

Find the sum-of-products expansion for the function F (x, y, z) = (x + y) · z̄.

Solution.
We can construct the sum-of-products expansion by determining the values of F for all
possible values of the variables x, y and z. These values are shown in the below table.

The sum-of-products expansion of F is the Boolean sum of three minterms corresponding

to the three rows of this table that give the value 1 for the function. This gives

F (x, y, z) = x · y · z̄ + x · ȳ · z̄ + x̄ · y · z̄.

11.3 Product-of-Sums Expansions

Definition 11.2: Maxterm
The Boolean sum y1 + y2 + . . . · · · + yn , where yi = xi or yi = x̄i , has the value 0 for
exactly one combination of the values of the variables, namely, when xi = 0 if yi = xi
and xi = 1 if yi = x̄i . This Boolean sum is called a maxterm.

Example 11.4
Find a maxterm that equals 0 if x1 = x2 = 1 and x3 = 0 and equals 1 otherwise.

Solution.
The maxterm x̄1 + x̄2 + x3 has the correct set of values.

3
4 ITE 1812 - Mathematic for IT

It is also possible to find a Boolean expression that represents a Boolean function by taking a
Boolean product of Boolean sums. The resulting expansion is called the conjunctive normal
form or product-of-sums expansion of the function. These expansions can be found from
sum-of-products expansions by taking duals.

Example 11.5

Find the product-of-sums expansion for the function F (x, y, z) = (x + z) · y.

Solution.
We can construct the product-of-sums expansion by determining the values of F for all
possible values of the variables x, y and z. These values are shown in the below table.

The product-of-sums expansion of F is the Boolean product of five maxterms correspond-

ing to the five rows of this table that give the value 0 for the function. This gives

F (x, y, z) = (x + y + z) · (x̄ + y + z̄) · (x + ȳ + z) · (x̄ + y + z) · (x̄ + y + z̄).

11.4 Karnaugh Maps

To reduce the number of terms in a Boolean expression, it is necessary to find terms to combine.
There is a graphical method called a Karnaugh map or K-map, for finding terms to combine
for Boolean functions involving a relatively small number of variables. K-maps give us a visual
method for simplifying sum-of-products expansions.
There are four possible minterms in the sum-of-products expansion of a Boolean function in
the two variables x and y. There are four possible minterms in the sum-of-products expansion
of a Boolean function in the two variables x and y. A K-map for a Boolean function in these
two variables consists of four cells, where a 1 is placed in the cell representing a minterm if this
minterm is present in the expansion. Cells are said to be adjacent if the minterms that they
represent differ in exactly one literal. For instance, the cell representing x̄ · y is adjacent to the
cells representing x · y and x̄ · ȳ. The four cells and the terms that they represent are shown in
Figure 11.1.

4
Degree of Bachelor of Information Technology 5

Figure 11.1: K-maps in two variables.

Example 11.6
Find the K-maps for

(a) x · y + x̄ · y

(b) x · ȳ + x̄ · y

(c) x · ȳ + x̄ · y + x̄ · ȳ

Solution.
We include a 1 in a cell when the minterm represented by this cell is present in the
sum-of-products expansion. The three K-maps are shown in below figure.

We can identify minterms that can be combined from the K-map. Whenever there are 1s
in two adjacent cells in the K-map, the minterms represented by these cells can be combined
into a product involving just of the variables. for instance, x · ȳ and x̄ · ȳ are represented by
adjacent cells and can be combined into ȳ, because x · ȳ + x̄ · ȳ = (x + x̄) · ȳ = ȳ. Moreover, if
1s are in all four cells, the four minterms can be combined into one term, namely, the Boolean
expression 1 that involves none of the variables. We circle blocks of cells in the K-map that
represent minterms that can be combined and then find the corresponding sum of products.
The goal is to identify the largest possible blocks, and to cover all the 1s with the fewest blocks
using the largest blocks first and always using the largest possible blocks.

5
6 ITE 1812 - Mathematic for IT

Example 11.7
Simplify the sum-of-products expansions given in Example 11.6.

Solution.
The grouping of minterms is shown in below Figure using the K-maps for these expan-
sions. Minimal expansions for these sums-of-products are

(a) y

(b) x · ȳ + x̄ · y

(c) x̄ + ȳ

A K-map in three variables is a rectangle divided into eight cells. The cells represent the
eight possible minterms in three variables. Two cells are said to be adjacent if the minterms
that they represent differ in exactly one literal. One of the ways to form a K-map in three
variables is shown in Figure 11.2.

Figure 11.2: K-maps in three variables.

Example 11.8
Use K-maps to minimize these sum-of-products expansions.

(a) x · y · z̄ + x · ȳ · z̄ + x̄ · y · z + x̄ · ȳ · z̄

(b) x · ȳ · z + x · ȳ · z̄ + x̄ · y · z + x̄ · ȳ · z + x̄ · ȳ · z̄

Solution.
The grouping of minterms is shown in below Figure using the K-maps for these expan-

6
Degree of Bachelor of Information Technology 7

sions. Minimal expansions for these sums-of-products are

(a) x̄ · y · z + ȳ · z̄ + x · z̄

(b) x̄ · z + ȳ

Self-Assessment Exercises
1. Find the sum-of-products expansions of these Boolean functions.

(a) F (x, y, z) = x + y + z
(b) F (x, y, z) = (x + z) · y
(c) F (x, y, z) = x · ȳ

2. Find the product-of-sums expansions of these Boolean functions.

(a) F (x, y, z) = x + y + z
(b) F (x, y, z) = (x + z) · y
(c) F (x, y, z) = x · ȳ

3. Use a K-map to find a minimal expansion as a Boolean sum of Boolean products of each
of these functions of the Boolean variables x, y and z.

(a) x̄ · y + x̄ · ȳ
(b) x · y + x · ȳ
(c) x · y + x · ȳ + x̄ · y + x̄ · ȳ
(d) x · y · z + x · y · z̄ + x̄ · y · z + +x̄ · y · z̄

Suggested Reading
Chapter 10: Kenneth Rosen, (2011) Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, 7th Edition,
McGraw-Hill Education.