Lecture -1b
Boolean Algebra
Boolean Algebra
• Boolean Variable: These are variables which can either take the value 1 or 0.
• Boolean Logic Expression: A Boolean logic expression is an expression constituted of only
Boolean variables. The output of a Boolean logic expression is a Boolean value i.e. either
True/False.
• Boolean Algebra: It is the mathematics of digital logic. Usually Boolean algebra is used to
simplify Boolean expressions or Boolean Function.
Laws of Boolean Algebra
Commutative Law:
• The commutative law for addition can be written as + = +
• The commutative law for multiplication can be written as =
Laws of Boolean Algebra
Associative Law:
• The associative law of addition for three variables is written as +( + )=( + )+
• The associative law of multiplication for three variables is written as ( )=( )
Laws of Boolean Algebra
Distributive Law:
• The distributive law for three variables is written as ( + )= +
Rules of Boolean Algebra
De Morgan’s Theorem
The first theorem is stated as follows:
• The complement of a product of variables is equal to the sum of the complements of
complements of the variable.
• The formula of this theorem for two variables is written as:
= +
De Morgan’s Theorem
The second theorem is stated as follows:
• The complement of a sum of variables is equal to the product of the complements of the
variables.
• The formula of this theorem for two variables is written as:
+ =
Application of De Morgan’s Theorem
Application of De Morgan’s Theorem
Boolean Analysis of Logic Circuit
Boolean algebra provides a concise way to express the operation of a logic circuit formed by
a combination of logic gates so that the output can be determined for various combinations
of input values.
• A logic circuit can be expressed by Boolean expression and Boolean expression can be
implemented by a logic circuit.
• The following Boolean expression can be implemented by the logic circuit below:
( + )
Constructing a Truth-table from a Boolean Expression
• Once we have the Boolean expression
describing a process or a logical circuit, a
truth-table to show the operation for all ( + )
possible combination can be constructed.
• First, we need to determine the number of
inputs in the expression.
• Then, we need to note down all possible
combination of the inputs.
• Lastly, we will evaluation the expression for
all possible combination.
Logic Simplification
• We know that a Boolean expression can be implemented by a logical circuit.
• A large Boolean expression can often be simplified to a simpler and shorter expression.
• This is done by applying the laws and rules of Boolean algebra.
• Simplifying makes implementation simpler and thus requires lesser number of gates.
• Boolean algebra can be used to simplify the following expression:
+ + + +
• The simplified expression is:
+
Logic Simplification
***Applying rules of Boolean algebra and
DeMorgan’s Theorem show that:
i) MN+ + + =
ii) + + + =
References
1. Thomas L. Floyd, “Digital Fundamentals” 11th edition, Prentice Hall – Pearson Education.
