SIMPLIFICATION OF

BOOLEAN EXPRESSIONS
Boolean Algebra
Canonical and Standard Forms

Logical functions are generally expressed in terms of

different combinations of logical variables with their
true forms as well as the complement forms. Binary
logic values obtained by the logical functions and
logic variables are in binary form. An arbitrary logic
function can be expressed in the following forms.
(i) Sum of the Products (SOP)
(ii) Product of the Sums (POS)
Canonical and Standard Forms

Product Term - In Boolean algebra, the logical

product of several variables on which a function
depends is considered to be a product term. In other
words, the AND function is referred to as a product
term or standard product. The variables in a product
term can be either in true form or in complemented
form. For example, ABC′ is a product term.
Canonical and Standard Forms

Sum Term - An OR function is referred to as a sum

term. The logical sum of several variables on which a
function depends is considered to be a sum term.
Variables in a sum term can also be either in true
form or in complemented form. For example, A + B +
C′ is a sum term.
Canonical and Standard Forms

Sum of Products (SOP) - The logical sum of two or

more logical product terms is referred to as a sum of
products expression. It is basically an OR operation
on AND operated variables. For example, Y = AB + BC
+ AC or Y = A′B + BC + AC′ are sum of products
expressions.
Canonical and Standard Forms

Product of Sums (POS) - Similarly, the logical product

of two or more logical sum terms is called a product
of sums expression. It is an AND operation on OR
operated variables. For example, Y = (A + B + C)(A + B′
+ C)(A + B + C′) or Y = (A + B + C)(A′ + B′ + C′) are
product of sums expressions.
 Canonical and Standard Forms
Standard form - The standard form of the Boolean
function is when it is expressed in sum of the products or
product of the sums fashion. The examples stated, like
Y =AB + BC + AC or Y = (A + B + C)(A + B′ + C)(A + B + C′)
are the standard forms. However, Boolean functions are
also sometimes expressed in nonstandard forms like F =
(AB + CD)(A′B′ + C′D′), which is neither a sum of products
form nor a product of sums form. However, the same
expression can be converted to a standard form with help
of various Boolean properties, as:
F = (AB + CD)(A′B′ + C′D′) = A′B′CD + ABC′D′
MINTERM

A product term containing all n variables of the

function in either true or complemented form is
called the minterm. Each minterm is obtained by an
AND operation of the variables in their true form or
complemented form. For a two-variable function,
four different combinations are possible, such as, A′B
′, A′B, AB′, and AB. These product terms are called the
fundamental products or standard products or
minterms.
MINTERM

In the minterm, a variable will

possess the value 1 if it is in true
or uncomplemented form,
whereas, it contains the value
zero if it is in complemented
form. For three variables function,
eight minterms are possible as
listed in the following table.
MINTERM

So, if the number of variables is n, then the possible

number of minterms is 2n. The main property of a
minterm is that it possesses the value of 1 for only
one combination of n input variables and the rest of
the 2n – 1 combinations have the logic value of 0. This
means, for the above three variables example, if A =
0, B = 1, C = 1 i.e., for input combination of 011, there
is only one combination A′BC that has the value 1, the
rest of the seven combinations have the value 0
 MINTERM
Canonical Sum of Product Expression - When a Boolean
function is expressed as the logical sum of all the minterms
from the rows of a truth table, for which the value of the
function is 1, it is referred to as the canonical sum of product
expression. The same can be expressed in a compact form
by listing the corresponding decimal equivalent codes of the
minterms containing a function value of 1. For example, if
the canonical sum of product form of a three-variable logic
function F has the minterms A′BC, AB′C, and ABC′, this can
be expressed as the sum of the decimal codes corresponding
to these minterms as below.
MINTERM

F (A,B,C) = (3,5,6)
= m3 + m5 + m6
= A′BC + AB′C + ABC′
where Σ (3,5,6) represents the summation of
minterms corresponding to decimal codes 3, 5, and 6.
 MINTERM
The canonical sum of products form of a logic function can be
obtained by using the following procedure:
1. Check each term in the given logic function. Retain if it is a
minterm, continue to examine the next term in the same
manner.
2. Examine for the variables that are missing in each product
which is not a minterm. If the missing variable in the minterm
is X, multiply that minterm with (X+X′).
3. Multiply all the products and discard the redundant terms.
MINTERM

Example: Obtain the canonical sum of product form

of the following function, F (A, B) = A + B.
Solution. The given function contains two variables A
and B. The variable B is missing from the first term of
the expression and the variable A is missing from the
second term of the expression. Therefore, the first
term is to be multiplied by (B + B′) and the second
term is to be multiplied by (A + A′) as demonstrated
below.
MINTERM

F (A, B) = A + B
= A.1 + B.1
= A (B + B′) + B (A + A′)
= AB + AB′ + AB + A′B (as AB + AB = AB)

= AB + AB′ + A′B
Hence the canonical sum of the product expression of
the given function is F (A, B) = AB + AB′ + A′B.
MINTERM

Example: Obtain the canonical sum of product form of

the following function. F (A, B, C) = A + BC.
Solution. Here neither the first term nor the second
term is minterm. The given function contains three
variables A, B, and C. The variables B and C are missing
from the first term of the expression and the variable A
is missing from the second term of the expression.
Therefore, the first term is to be multiplied by (B + B′)
and (C + C′). The second term is to be multiplied by (A +
A′). This is demonstrated below.
MINTERM

F (A, B, C) = A + BC
= A (B + B′) (C + C′) + BC (A + A′)
= (AB + AB′) (C + C′) + ABC + A′BC
= ABC + AB′C + ABC′ + AB′C′ + ABC + A′BC
= ABC + AB′C + ABC′ + AB′C′ + A′BC
(as ABC + ABC = ABC)

Hence the canonical sum of the product expression of the

given function is
F (A, B,C) = ABC + AB′C + ABC′ + AB′C′ + A′BC.
MAXTERM

A sum term containing all n variables of the function

in either true or complemented form is called the
maxterm. Each maxterm is obtained by an OR
operation of the variables in their true form or
complemented form. Four different combinations are
possible for a two-variable function, such as, A ′ + B′, A
′ + B, A + B′, and A + B. These sum terms are called the
standard sums or maxterms.
MAXTERM

Note that, in the maxterm,

a variable will possess the
value 0, if it is in true or
uncomplemented form,
whereas, it contains the
value 1, if it is in complemented
form. Like minterms, for a
three variable function,
eight maxterms are also possible
as listed in the following table
MAXTERM

So, if the number of variables is n, then the possible

number of maxterms is 2n. The main property of a
maxterm is that it possesses the value of 0 for only
one combination of n input variables and the rest of
the 2n –1 combinations have the logic value of 1. This
means, for the above three variables example, if A =
1, B = 1, C = 0 i.e., for input combination of 110, there
is only one combination A′ + B′ + C that has the value
0, the rest of the seven combinations have the value
1.
MAXTERM

Canonical Product of Sum Expression. When a Boolean

function is expressed as the logical product of all the
maxterms from the rows of a truth table, for which the value
of the function is 0, it is referred to as the canonical product
of sum expression. The same can be expressed in a compact
form by listing the corresponding decimal equivalent codes
of the maxterms containing a function value of 0. For
example, if the canonical product of sums form of a three-
variable logic function F has the maxterms A + B + C, A + B′ +
C, and A′ + B + C′, this can be expressed as the product of the
decimal codes corresponding to these maxterms as below,
MAXTERM

F (A,B,C) = Π (0,2,5)
= M0 M2 M5
= (A + B + C) (A + B′ + C) (A′ + B + C′)

where Π (0,2,5) represents the product of maxterms

corresponding to decimal codes 0, 2, and 5.
 MAXTERM
The canonical product of sums form of a logic function can be
obtained by using the following procedure.
1. Check each term in the given logic function. Retain it if it is a
maxterm, continue to examine the next term in the same manner.
2. 2. Examine for the variables that are missing in each sum term
that is not a maxterm. If the missing variable in the maxterm is X,
add that maxterm with (X.X′).
3. 3. Expand the expression using the properties and postulates as
described earlier and discard the redundant terms
MAXTERM

Example: Obtain the canonical product of the sum

form of the following function.
F (A, B, C) = (A + B′) (B + C) (A + C′)
Solution. In the above three-variable expression, C is
missing from the first term, A is missing from the
second term, and B is missing from the third term.
Therefore, CC′ is to be added with first term, AA′ is to
be added with the second, and BB′ is to be added
with the third term. This is shown below.
 MAXTERM
F (A, B, C) = (A + B′) (B + C) (A + C′)
= (A + B′ + 0) (B + C + 0) (A + C′ + 0)
= (A + B′ + CC′) (B + C + AA′) (A + C′ + BB′)
= (A + B′ + C) (A + B′ + C′) (A + B + C) (A′ + B + C) (A + B + C′) (A + B′ + C′)
[using the distributive property, as X + YZ = (X + Y)(X + Z)]
= (A + B′ + C) (A + B′ + C′) (A + B + C) (A′ + B + C) (A + B + C′) [as (A + B′ +
C′) (A + B′ + C′) = A + B′ + C′]
Hence the canonical product of the sum expression for the given function
is F (A, B, C) = (A + B′ + C) (A + B′ + C′) (A + B + C) (A′ + B + C) (A + B + C′)
MAXTERM

Example: Obtain the canonical product of the sum

form of the following function. F (A, B, C) = A + B′C
Solution. In the above three-variable expression, the
function is given at sum of the product form. First,
the function needs to be changed to product of the
sum form by applying the distributive law as shown
below. F (A, B, C) = A + B′C = (A + B′) (A + C)
MAXTERM

Now, in the above expression, C is missing from the first

term and B is missing from the second term. Hence CC′ is
to be added with the first term and BB′ is to be added with
the second term as shown below.
F (A, B, C) = (A + B′) (A + C)
= (A + B′ + CC′) (A + C + BB′)
= (A + B′ + C) (A + B′ + C′) (A + B + C) (A + B′ + C)
[using the distributive property, as X + YZ = (X + Y) (X + Z)]
MAXTERM

= (A + B′ + C) (A + B′ + C′) (A + B + C)
[as (A + B′ + C) (A + B′ + C) = A + B′ + C]

Hence the canonical product of the sum expression

for the given function is
F (A, B, C) = (A + B′ + C) (A + B′ + C′) (A + B + C).
K-MAP (Karnaugh Map)

In many digital circuits and practical problems we

need to find expression with minimum variables. We
can minimize Boolean expressions of 3, 4 variables
very easily using K-map without using any Boolean
algebra theorems. K-map can take two forms Sum of
Product (SOP) and Product of Sum (POS) according
to the need of problem. K-map is table like
representation but it gives more information than
TRUTH TABLE. We fill grid of K-map with 0’s and 1’s
then solve it by making groups.
 K-MAP (Karnaugh Map)

Steps to solve expression using K-map- 

1. Select K-map according to the number of variables.
2. Identify minterms or maxterms as given in problem.
3. For SOP put 1’s in blocks of K-map respective to the minterms (0’s elsewhere).
4. For POS put 0’s in blocks of K-map respective to the maxterms(1’s elsewhere).
5. Make rectangular groups containing total terms in power of two like 2,4,8 ..
(except 1) and try to cover as many elements as you can in one group.
6. From the groups made in step 5 find the product terms and sum them up for
SOP form.
K-MAP (Karnaugh Map)

Example: SOP FORM :

1. K-map of 3 variables – Z= ∑A,B,C(1,3,6,7)
2. K-map for 4 variables –
F(P,Q,R,S)=∑(0,2,5,7,8,10,13,15)
Example: POS FORM :
1. K-map of 3 variables – F(A,B,C)=π(0,3,6,7)
2. K-map of  4 variables – 
F(A,B,C,D)=π(3,5,7,8,10,11,12,13)
THANK YOU
End of presentation
Activity #2

Simplify the following expressions:

1. Minterm of F (A, B, C) = A + B + C
2. Minterm of F (A, B, C) = C + AB + AC
3. Maxterm of F(A, B, C) = (A + B)(B + C)(A + C)
4. Using K-map, simplify the truth table below using
SOP and POS
 A B C D F
Activity #2 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0 0 1 0 1
0 0 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 1
0 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 1
1 0 0 1 0
1 0 1 0 0
1 0 1 1 0
1 1 0 0 1
1 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1 0