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Boolean function
Boolean algebra is an algebra that deals with binary
variables and logic operations. A Boolean function
described by an algebraic expression consists of binary
variables, the constants 0 and 1, and the logic operation Truth table for F1 and F2
symbols. For a given value of the binary variables, the
x y z F1 F2
function can be equal to either 1 or 0. As an example,
consider the Boolean function 0 0 0 0 0
F1 = x + x′y′z= = (x + x′)(x + y′z)=(x + y′z) 0 0 1 1 1
The function F1 is equal to 1 if x is equal to 1 or if both y′
and z are equal to 1. F1 is equal to 0 otherwise. The 0 1 0 0 0
complement operation dictates that when y = 1, y′ = 0. 0 1 1 0 1
Therefore, F1 = 1 if x = 1 or if y = 0 and z = 1. A Boolean
function expresses the logical relationship between binary 1 0 0 1 1
variables and is evaluated by determining the binary value 1 0 1 1 1
of the expression for all possible values of the variables.
1 1 0 1 0
A Boolean function can be represented in a truth table. The
number of rows in the truth table is 2n, where n is the 1 1 1 1 0
number of variables in the function.

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F2 = x′y′z + x′yz + xy′z′+ xy′z

= x′y′z + x′yz +xy′ (z′ + z)
= x′y′z + x′yz +xy′
= x′z(y′ + y) +xy′
= x′z + xy′
F1 = x + y′z

Truth table for F1 and F2

x y z F1 F2
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 0
0 1 1 0 1
1 0 0 1 1
1 0 1 1 1
1 1 0 1 0
1 1 1 1 0

Example:
1) x′y′z+x′yz+xy′ Example:
= x′z(y′+y)+xy′ 4) x+x′y+y′+(x+y′)x′y
= x′z+xy′ [A+A′=1] = x+x′y+y′+xx′y +y′x′y
2) xy+xywz+xz = x+x′y+y′ [AA′=0]
= xy(1+wz)+xz =(x+x′)(x+y)+y′ [x+yz=(x+y)(x+z)]
= xy+xz [A+1=1] =x+y+y′ [A+A′=1]
=x(y+z) =x+1 [A+1=1]
3) z(y+z)(x+y+z) =1
=(yz+zz)(x+y+z) 5) (xy′)′(y′+z) Example:
=(yz+z)(x+y+z) [z.z=z] = (x′+y)(y′+z) 6) (ABC)′(A+C)(A+C′)
=(xyz+yz+yz+xz+yz+zz) = (x′y′+ x′z+ yy′+yz) =(A′+B′+C′)(AA+CC′)
=(xyz+yz+xz+z) = x′y′+ x′z+yz [x+yz=(x+y)(x+z)]
=yz(x+1)+z(x+1) = x′(y′+z)+yz =(A′+B′+C′)A
=yz+z =AA′+AB′+AC′
=z(y+1) =A(B′+C′)
=z

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Complement of a function
The complement of a function F is F′ and is obtained from an interchange of 0′s for 1′s and
1′s for 0′s in the value of F. The complement of a function may be derived algebraically
through DeMorgan′s theorems.

(A+B +C)′ = (A +X)′ Let B+C = X

= A′ X′ By DE Morgan′s theorem
= A′ (B +C)′ substitute B+C = X
= A′ . (B′ .C′) By DE Morgan′s theorem
= A′ . B′ . C′ By associative theoreem

DeMorgan′s theorems for any number of variables resemble the two‐variable case in form
and can be derived by successive substitutions similar to the method used in the preceding
derivation. These theorems can be generalized as follows:
(A+B +C+D+……………..F)′ = A′ B′ C′ D′………….F′
(A.B.C.D.……………..F)′ = A′+B′+C′+D′………….+F′

Minterms & Maxterms

Minterms Maxterms
for three variables
x y z Term Designation Term Designation
Canonical and standard form 0 0 0 x′y′z′ m0 x+y+z M0

Minterms and Maxterms 0 0 1 x′y′z m1 x+y+z′ M1

0 1 0 x′yz′ m2 x+y′+z M2
Boolean functions expressed as a 0 1 1 x′yz m3 x+y′+z′ M3
sum of minterms or product of 1 0 0 xy′z′ m4 x′+y+z M4
maxterms are said to be in
1 0 1 xy′z m5 x′+y+z′ M5
canonical form.
1 1 0 xyz′ m6 x′+y′+z M6
1 1 1 xyz m7 x′+y′+z′ M7
A binary variable may appear either in its normal form (x) or in its complement form (x′).Now consider two
binary variables x and y combined with an AND operation. Since each variable may appear in either form,
there are four possible combinations: x′y′, x′y, xy′ and xy. Each of these four AND terms is called a minterm,
or a standard product. In a similar manner, n variables can be combined to form 2n minterms. Each minterm
is obtained from an AND term of the n variables, with each variable being primed if the corresponding bit of
the binary number is a 0 and unprimed if a 1.
In a similar fashion, n variables forming an OR term, with each variable being primed or unprimed, provide
2n possible combinations, called maxterms, or standard sums. each maxterm is obtained from an OR term of
the n variables, with each variable being unprimed if the corresponding bit is a 0 and primed if a 1, and each
maxterm is the complement of its corresponding minterm and vice versa.

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Example:
Since each one of these minterms results in f1 = 1, we have
f1 = x′y′z + xy′z′ + xyz = m1 + m4 + m7
Similarly, it may be easily verified that

f2 = x′yz + xy′z + xyz′ + xyz= m3 + m5 + m6 + m7 Function of three variables

x y z f1 f2
Now consider the complement of a Boolean function. It may be read from
the truth table by forming a minterm for each combination that produces a 0 0 0 0 0 0
in the function and then ORing those terms. The complement of f1 is read as
0 0 1 1 0

f1′ = x′y′z′ + x′yz′ + x′yz+ xy′z+ xyz′ = m0 + m2 + m3 + m5 + m6 0 1 0 0 0

f1′′ = (x′y′z′ + x′yz′ + x′yz+ xy′z+ xyz′)′ 0 1 1 0 1
f1 = (x′y′z′)′(x′yz′)′(x′yz)′(xy′z)′(xyz′)′ 1 0 0 1 0
=(x + y + z)(x + y′ + z)(x+y′+z′)(x′ + y + z′)(x′ + y′ +z)
1 0 1 0 1
= M0 . M2 . M3 . M5 . M6
1 1 0 0 1
1 1 1 1 1
f2 = (x + y + z)(x + y + z′)(x + y′ + z)(x′ + y +z)
= M0 . M1 . M2 . M4

EXAMPLE 2.4
Express the Boolean function F = A + B′C as a sum of minterms. Truth table for F=A+B′C
The function has three variables: A, B, and C. The first term A is missing two variables; therefore,
A B C F
A = A(B + B′) = AB + AB′
0 0 0 0
This function is still missing one variable, so
A = AB(C + C′) + AB′(C + C′) 0 0 1 1
= ABC + ABC′ + AB′C + AB′C′ 0 1 0 0
The second term B′C is missing one variable; hence,
0 1 1 0
B′C = B′C(A + A′) = AB′C + A′B′C
1 0 0 1
Combining all terms, we have
F = A + BC′ = ABC + ABC′ + AB′C + AB′C′ + A′B′C 1 0 1 1
But AB′C appears twice, and according to theorem 1 (x + x = x), it is possible to remove one 1 1 0 1
of those occurrences. Rearranging the minterms in ascending order, we finally obtain
1 1 1 1
F = ABC + ABC′ + AB′C + AB′C′ + A′B′C = = m1 + m4 + m5 + m6 + m7
When a Boolean function is in its sum‐of‐minterms form, it is sometimes convenient to express the function in the
following brief notation:
F(A, B, C) = (1, 4, 5, 6, 7)
The summation symbol  stands for the ORing of terms; the numbers following it are the indices of the minterms of the
function. The letters in parentheses following F form a list of the variables in the order taken when the minterm is
converted to an AND term. An alternative procedure for deriving the minterms of a Boolean function is to obtain
the truth table of the function directly from the algebraic expression and then read the
minterms from the truth table. Consider the Boolean function given in ;
F = A + B′C
The truth table shown in Table can be derived directly from the algebraic expression by listing the eight binary
combinations under variables A, B, and C.
`

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Each of the 2n functions of n binary variables can be also expressed as a product of

maxterms. To express a Boolean function as a product of maxterms, it must first be
brought into a form of OR terms. This may be done by using the distributive law,
x + yz = (x + y)(x + z). Then any missing variable x in each OR term is ORed with
xx′. The procedure is clarified in the following example.
EXAMPLE
Express the Boolean function F = xy + x′z as a product of maxterms.
First, convert the function into OR terms by using the distributive law:
F = xy + x′z = (xy + x′)(xy + z)
= (x + x′)(y + x′)(x + z)(y + z)
= (x′ + y)(x + z)(y + z)
The function has three variables: x, y, and z. Each OR term is missing one variable; therefore,
x′ + y = x′ + y + zz′ = (x′ + y + z)(x′ + y + z′)
x + z = x + z + yy′ = (x + y + z)(x + y′ + z)
y + z = y + z + xx′ = (x + y + z)(x′ + y + z)
Combining all the terms and removing those which appear more than once, we finally obtain
F = (x′ + y + z)(x′ + y + z′)(x + y + z)(x + y′ + z)
= M0M2M4M5
A convenient way to express this function is as follows:
F(x, y, z) = Π(0, 2, 4, 5)
The product Π symbol, , denotes the ANDing of maxterms; the numbers are the indices of the maxterms of the function.

Conversion between Canonical Forms

The complement of a function expressed as the sum of minterms equals the sum of minterms missing from
the original function. This is because the original function is expressed by those minterms which make the
function equal to 1, whereas its complement is a 1 for those minterms for which the function is a 0.
As an example, consider the function
F(A, B, C) = (1, 4, 5, 6, 7)
This function has a complement that can be expressed as

F′(A, B, C) = (0, 2, 3) = m0 + m2 + m3

Now, if we take the complement of F′ by DeMorgan′s theorem, we obtain F in a different form:

F = (m0 + m2 + m3)′ = m0′.m2′.m3′ = M0M2M3 =Π (0, 2, 3)

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Standard Forms

The two canonical forms of Boolean algebra are basic forms that one obtains from reading a given function
from the truth table. Another way to express Boolean functions is in standard form. In this configuration,
the terms that form the function may contain one, two, or any number of literals. There
are two types of standard forms: the sum of products and products of sums.
The sum of products is a Boolean expression containing AND terms, called product
terms, with one or more literals each. The sum denotes the ORing of these terms. An
example of a function expressed as a sum of products is
F1 = y′ + xy + x′yz′
A product of sums is a Boolean expression containing OR terms, called sum terms.
Each term may have any number of literals. The product denotes the ANDing of these
terms. An example of a function expressed as a product of sums is
F2 = x(y′ + z)(x′ + y + z′)