RCM 112

L4-Boolean algebra
 LOGIC GATES
• logic gate: a logic element that performs a logical operation
on one or more bits to produce an output bit
• logic circuit: a switching circuit made up of logic gates that
produces one or more output bits
• The Inverter
• The AND Gate
• The OR Gate
• The NAND Gate
• The NOR Gate
• The Exclusive-OR and Exclusive-NOR Gates
 THE INVERTER
• The inverter (NOT circuit) performs the
operation called inversion complementation.
• The inverter changes one logic level to the
opposite level.
• In terms of bits, it changes a 1 to a 0 and a 0
to a 1.
• Its Logic circuit symbol and truth table are
 THE AND GATE

• The AND gate is one of the basic gates that can be

combined to form any logic function.
• An AND gate can have two or more inputs and
performs what is known as logical multiplication.
• For a 2-input AND gate, output X
– is HIGH only when inputs A and B are HIGH;
– is LOW when either A or B is LOW, or when both A and B
are LOW.
• AND Gate Truth Table With two inputs
 THE OR GATE

• The OR gate is another of the basic gates from which

all logic functions are constructed.
• An OR gate can have two or more inputs and
performs what is known as logical addition.
• For a 2-input OR gate, output X is HIGH when either
input A or input B is HIGH, or when both A and B are
HIGH;
• X is LOW only when both A and B are LOW.
• OR Gate Truth Table
 THE NAND GATE

• The NAND gate is a popular logic element because it

can be used as a universal gate: that is,
– NAND gates can be used in combination to perform the AND
and inverter operations.
• A NAND gate produces a LOW output only when all the
inputs are HIGH.
• When any of the inputs is LOW, the output will be
HIGH.
 THE NOR GATE

• The NOR gate, like the NAND gate, is a useful logic

element because it can also be used as a universal gate;
that is,
– NOR gates can be used in combination to perform the OR, and
inverter operations.
• A NOR gate produces a LOW output when any of its
inputs is HIGH.
• Only when all of its inputs are LOW is the output HIGH.
 THE EXCLUSIVE-OR GATES
• Exclusive-OR gates are formed by a combination of other
gates already discussed.
• The XOR gate has only two inputs.
• The output of an exclusive-OR gate is HIGH only when the two
inputs are at opposite logic levels.
– For an exclusive-OR gate. output X is HIGH when input A is LOW and
input B is HIGH, or when input A is HIGH and input B is LOW: X is LOW
when A and B are both HIGH or both LOW.
 The Exclusive-NOR Gate

• Standard symbols for an exclusive-NOR (XNOR) gate

• an XNOR has only two inputs.
• When the two input logic levels are opposite. the
output of the exclusive-NOR gate is LOW.
– Output X is LOW when input A is LOW and input B is
HIGH, or when A is HIGH and B is LOW; X is HIGH when A
and B are both HIGH or both LOW.

• An exclusive-OR gate can be used as a two-bit adder.

 BOOLEAN OPERATIONS AND EXPRESSIONS

• Boolean algebra is the mathematics of digital systems.

• A basic knowledge of Boolean algebra is indispensable/too
important to the study and analysis of logic circuits.
• After completing this section, you should be able to
- Define variable
- Define literal
- Identify a sum term
- Evaluate a sum term
- Identify a product term
- Evaluate a product term
- Explain Boolean addition
- Explain Boolean multiplication
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 BOOLEAN OPERATIONS AND EXPRESSIONS
• A variable is a symbol (usually an italic uppercase
letter) used to represent a logical quantity.
– Any single variable can have a I or a 0 value.
• The complement is the inverse of a variable and is
indicate­d by a bar over a variable (overbar)
• A literal is a variable or the complement of a
variable.
• Boolean Addition (The OR gate is a Boolean adder.)
– Boolean addition is equivalent to the OR operation and the
basic rules are illustrated with their relation to the OR gate
as follows.

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 BOOLEAN OPERATIONS AND EXPRESSIONS
• In Boolean algebra, a sum term is a sum of literals.
• In logic circuits, a sum term is produced by an OR
op­eration with no AND operations involved.
– Example A + B, A + , A + B + ,
and A + B + C + .
• A sum term is equal to 1 when one or more of the
literals in the term are 1.
• A sum term is equal to 0 only if each of the literals
is O.
– Example -Determine the values of A and B that make
the sum term + B equal to O.
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• Boolean Multiplication (The AND gate is a Boolean multiplier.)
– Boolean multiplication is equivalent to the AND operation and the
basic rules are illustrated with their relation to the AND gate as follows:

• In Boolean algebra, a product term is the product of literals.

• In logic circuits, a product term is produced by an AND operation
wi­th no OR operations involved.
– Examples AB, A, ABC, and AC.
• A product term is equal to 1 only if each of the literals in the term
is 1.
• A product term is equal to 0 when one or more of the literals are
O.

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 LAWS AND RULES OF BOOLEAN ALGEBRA

• As in other areas of mathematics, there are certain

well-developed rules and laws that must be followed
in order to properly apply Boolean algebra.
• After completing this section, you should be able to
- Apply the commutative laws of addition and multiplication
- Apply the associative laws of addition and multiplication
- Apply the distributive law
- Apply twelve basic rules of Boolean algebra.
• The basic laws of Boolean algebra are
– the commutative laws for addition and multiplication
– the associative laws for addition and multiplication and
– the distributive law-are the same as in ordinary algebra
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 Commutative Laws
• The commutative law of addition for two
variables is written as: A+B = B+A
A
B
A+B  B
A
B+A

• The commutative law of multiplication for

two variables is written as: AB = BA
A
B
AB  B
A
B+A
 Associative Laws

• for three variables: A + (B + C) = (A + B) + C

• This law states that when ORing more than

two variables, the result is the same
regardless of the grouping of the variables.
• The associative law of multiplication is written
as follows for three variables: A(BC) = (AB)C

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 Distributive Law

• The distributive law for three variables

A(B + C) = AB+ AC
• The distributive law also expresses the process
of factoring out the common
– example, AB + AC = A(B + C).

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 Rules of Boolean Algebra

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 DEMORGAN'S THEOREMS

• DeMorgan's theorems provide mathematical

verification of the
– equivalency of the NAND and negative-OR gates and
– the equivalency of the NOR and negative-AND gates.
• After completing this section, you should be
able to
– State DeMorgan's theorems.
– Relate DeMorgan's theorems to the equivalency of
the NAND and negative-OR gates and to the
equivalency of the NOR and negative-AND gates.
– Apply DeMorgan's theorems to the simplification of
Boolean expressions
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 DEMORGAN'S THEOREM
• DeMorgan's first law
– The complement of a product of variables is equal
to the sum of the complements of the variables

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 DEMORGAN'S THEOREM
• DeMorgan’s Second laws
– The complement of a sum of variables is equal to
the product of the complements of the variables.

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 Application of DeMorgan's theorems

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 BOOLEAN ANALYSIS OF LOGIC CIRCUITS

• A logic circuit can be described by a Boolean

equation.
• To derive the Boolean expression for a given
logic circuit, begin at the left-most inputs and
work toward the final output, writing the
expression for each gate.

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 CONSTRUCTING A TRUTH TABLE FOR A LOGIC CIRCUIT
• A logic circuit can be described by a truth
table.

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 SIMPLIFICATION USING BOOLEAN ALGEBRA

• ­Many times in the application of Boolean

algebra, you have to reduce a particular
expression to its simplest form or change its
form to a more convenient one to implement
the expression most efficiently.
• The approach taken in this section is to use
the basic laws, rules, and theorems of Boolean
algebra to manipulate and simplify an
expression

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 SIMPLIFICATION USING BOOLEAN ALGEBRA
• A simplified Boolean expression uses the
fewest gates as much as possible to
implement a given expression.
– i.e Simplification means fewer gates for the same
function

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 SIMPLIFICATION USING BOOLEAN ALGEBRA

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 SIMPLIFICATION USING BOOLEAN ALGEBRA

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 STANDARD FORMS OF BOOLEAN EXPRESSIONS

• All Boolean expressions, regardless of their

form, can be converted into either of two
standard forms:
– the sum-of-products form or
– the product-of-sums form.
• Standardization makes the evaluation,
simplification, and implementation of Boolean
expressions much more systematic and easier.
 Objectives
• After completing this section, you should be able to
- Identify a sum-of-products expression
- Determine the domain of a Boolean expression
- Convert any sum-of-products expression to a standard form
- Evaluate a standard sum-of-products expression in terms of
binary values
- Identify a product-of- sums expression
- Convert any product-of-sums expression to a standard form
- Evaluate a standard product-of-sums expression in terms of
binary values
- Convert from one standard form to the other
 THE SUM-OF-PRODUCTS (SOP) FORM

• When two or more product terms are summed by

Boolean addition, the resulting expression is a sum-of-
products (SOP).

• Example

• An SOP expression can contain a single-variable term,

• In an SOP expression, a single overbar cannot extend

over more than one variable; however, more than one
variable in a term can have an overbar.
• Domain of a Boolean Expression
– The domain of a general Boolean expression is the
set of variables contained in the expression in
either complemented or un-complemented form.
• An SOP expression can be implemented with
one OR and two or more ANDs
• e.g
– AB + BCD + AC.
 Conversion of a General Expression to SOP Form

• Convert each of the following Boolean

expressions to SOP form:
(a) AB + B(CD + EF) (b) (A + B)(B + C + D)
(c ) (d) +(A+)(B++A)
• Soln
(a) AB + B(CD + EF) = AB + BCD + BEF
• (b) (A + B)(B + C + D) = AB + AC + AD + BB +
BC + BD
 The Standard SOP Form

• A standard SOP expression is one in which all the variables in the domain appear
in each product term in the expression.

• Any nonstandard SOP expression (referred to simply as SOP) can be converted to

the standard form using Boolean algebra.

 Converting Product Terms to Standard SOP

• Step 1. Multiply each nonstandard product term by a term made up
of the sum of a missing variable and its complement. i.e A +
This results in two product terms.

• Step 2. Repeat Step I until all resulting product terms contain all
variables in the domain in either complemented or un-
complemented form.

• In converting a product term to standard form, the number of product terms is

doubled for each missing variable,
 The Standard SOP Form
• Example -Convert the following Boolean
expression into standard SOP form:
Binary Representation of a Standard Product term
• An SOP expression is equal to 1 only if one or
more of the product terms in the expression is
equal to 1.
• Determine the binary values for which the
following standard SOP expression is equal to
1 ABCD + A
 The Product-of-Sums (POS) Form

• When two or more sum terms are multiplied, the

resulting expression is a product-of-sums (POS).
Example

• A POS expression can contain a single-variable

term, as in +D)

• In a POS expression, a single overbar cannot extend

over more than one variable;
– however, more than one variable in a term can have an
overbar.
• Implementation of a POS Expression
– Implementing a POS expression simply requires
ANDing the outputs of two or more OR gates.
• Example (A + B)(B + C + D)(A + C).
 The Standard POS Form

• A standard POS expression is one in which all

the variables in the domain appear in each sum
term in the expression.

not standard

standard
• Converting a Sum Term to Standard POS

Step 1. Add to each nonstandard product term a term made up

of the product of the missing variable and its complement. i.e A.=0
This results in two sum terms.
As you know, you can add 0 to anything without
changing its value.

Step 2. Apply rule 12 A + BC = (A + B)(A + C)

Step 3. Repeat Step 1 until all resulting sum terms contain all
variables in the domain in either complemented or un-
complemented form.

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• Example

• Convert the expression (A + )(B + C) to standard

POS form.
 Binary Representation of a Standard Sum
Term
• A POS expression is equal to 0 only if one or
more of the sum terms in the expression is
equal to O.
 BOOLEAN EXPRESSIONS AND TRUTH TABLES

• All standard Boolean expressions can be easily

converted into truth table format using binary
values for each term in the expression.

• The truth table is a common way of presenting, in

a concise format, the logical operation of a circuit.

• Also, standard SOP or POS expressions can be

determined from a truth table.
 Converting SOP Expressions to Truth Table Format

• A truth table is simply a list of the possible combinations

of input variable values and the corresponding output
values (1 or 0).
• The first step in constructing a truth table is to list all
possible combinations of binary values of the variables
in the expression.
• Next, convert the SOP expression to standard form if it is
not already.
• Finally, place a 1 in the output column (X) for each
binary value that makes the standard SOP expression a 1
and place a 0 for all the remaining binary values.
 Converting SOP Expressions to Truth Table Format

• Example ;Develop a truth table for the standard SOP

expression C + A + ABC.
• There are three variables in the domain, so there are
eight possible combinations of binary values of the
variables
• The binary values that make the product terms in the
expressions equal to 1 are
– C: 001; A: 100; and ABC: 111.
– For each of these binary values, place a 1 in the output
column
– For each of the remaining binary combinations, place a 0
in the output column.
• .
 Converting POS Expressions to Truth Table Format

• NB :a POS expression is equal to 0 only if at least one

of the sum terms is equal to O.
• To construct a truth table from a POS expression, list
all the possible combinations of binary values of the
variables just as was done for the SOP expression.
• Next, convert the POS expression to standard form if
it is not already.
• Finally, place a 0 in the output column (X) for each
binary value that makes the expression a 0 and place
a 1 for all the remaining binary values.
 Converting POS Expressions to Truth Table Format…

• Determine the truth table for the following

standard POS expression:
• The binary values that make the sum terms in
expression equal to 0 are
– A+B+C: 000; A++C: 010;
– A++: 011; + B+ :101; and ++C:110
• For each of these binary values, place a 0 in the
output column as shown in the table.
• For each of the remaining binary combinations,
place a 1 in the output column.
• .
 Determining Standard Expressions from a Truth Table

• To determine the standard SOP expression

represented by a truth table,
 list the binary values of the input variables for
which the output is 1.
Convert each binary value to the
corresponding product term by replacing each
1 with the corresponding variable and each 0
with the corresponding variable complement.
 Example 1010 AC
 Determining Standard Expressions from a
Truth Table…
• To determine the standard POS expression
represented by a truth table,
 list the binary values for which the output is O.
 Convert each binary value to the corresponding sum
term by replacing each 1 with the corresponding
variable complement and each 0 with the
corresponding variable.
 Example 1001+B+C+
 Determining Standard Expressions from a
Truth Table…
• From the truth table below determine the
standard SOP expression and the equivalent
standard POS expression.
 Determining Standard Expressions from a
Truth Table…
• solution
 Try
• For each of the truth table derive a standard
SOP and POS expression.

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 • END
• Have a good day