1

DIGITAL LOGIC:
CHAPTER 4

Boolean Algebra and Logic Simplification

 Boolean Operations & Expressions
2
 Variable (Pembolehubah)
 A symbol that represents a logical quantity
 Usually italic uppercase (A, B, C, D)
 A single variable can have a 1 or 0 value

 Complement (Pelengkap)
 The inverse of a variable
 Indicated by an overbar (Ā) or prime (A’)
 If A = 1 , then Ā = 0

 Literal = both variable and its complement in a term.

 Ā + B + C  3 literals
 Laws & Rules of Boolean Algebra
3

 Basic laws of BA
 Commutative Laws (Hukum Tukar Tertib)
 For addition and multiplication
 Associative Laws (Hukum Sekutuan)
 For addition and multiplication
 Distributive Laws (Hukum Taburan)
Commutative Laws
(Hukum Tukar Tertib)
 A+B=B+A
A B
A+B B+A
B A

Commutative law of addition

 AB = BA
A B
AB BA
B A

Commutative law of multiplication

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Associative Laws (Hukum Sekutuan)
 A + (B + C) = (A + B) + C
A A
A+B
A + (B + C)
B
B
(A + B) + C
B+C
C C
Associative law of addition

 A(BC) = (AB)C
A A
A(BC)
B

B
(AB)C
BC
C C

Associative law of multiplication

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Distributive Law (Hukum Taburan)

 A(B + C) = AB + AC

B A
B+C
C B
AB + AC
A(B + C)
A
A
C

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 Rules of Boolean Algebra
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1 A+0=A
2 A+1=1
3 A 0=0
4 A 1=A
5 A+A=A
6 A+A=1
7 A A=A
8 A A=0
9 A=A
10 A + AB = A
11 A + AB = A + B
12 (A + B)(A + C) = A + BC
 Rules of Boolean Algebra: Proof
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Rule 1:
A= 1 A= 0
X=1 X=0
0 0

X=A+0=A

Rule 2:
A= 1 A= 0
X=1 X=1
1 1

X=A+1=1
Rule 3:
A= 1 A= 0
X=0 X=0
0 0

X=A 0=0
Rule 4:
A= 0 A= 1
X=0 X=1
1 1

X=A 1=A

Rule 5:
A= 0 A= 1
X=0 X=1
A= 0 A= 1

X=A+A=A
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Rule 6:
A= 0 A= 1
X=1 X=1
A= 1 A= 0

X=A+A=1

Rule 7:
A= 0 A= 1
X=0 X=1
A= 0 A= 1

X=A A=A

Rule 8:
A= 1 A= 0
X=0 X=0
A=0 A=1

X=A A=0
Rule 9:
A =0
A =1
A= 1 A=1
A= 0 A=0

A=A
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 Rules 10, 11 and 12 can be proven using BA laws.
Rule 10:
A + AB = A(1 + B) Factoring (distributive law) Refer proof -
=A.1 Rule 2: (1 + B) = 1 next slide
=A Rule 4: A . 1 = A

Rule 11:
A + AB = (A + AB) + AB Rule 10: A = A + AB
= (AA + AB) + AB Rule 7: A = AA
= AA + AB + AA + AB Rule 8: adding AA = 0
= (A + A)(A + B) Factoring
= 1 . (A + B) Rule 6: A + A = 1
=A+B Rule 4: drop the 1

Rule 12:
(A + B)(A + C) = AA + AC + AB + BC Distributive law
= A + AC + AB + BC Rule 7: AA = A
= A(1 + C) + AB + BC Factoring (distributive law)
= A . 1 + AB + BC Rule 2: 1 + C = 1
= A(1 + B) + BC Factoring (distributive law)
= A . 1 + BC Rule 2: 1 + B = 1
= A + BC Rule 4: A . 1 = A
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 Proof can also be shown by a truth table.

Rule 10
A B AB A + AB
0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
1 0 0 1
1 1 1 1

equal

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DeMorgan’s Theorems
 Provides mathematical verification for:
 NAND ≡ negative-OR

 NOR ≡ negative-AND

X X
XY X+Y
Y Y
NAND Negative-OR

X X
X+Y XY
Y Y

NOR Negative-AND

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 DM theorem 1:
1
 The complement of a product of variables is equal to the
sum of the complements of the variables

XY = X + Y
 DM theorem 2:
2
 The complement of a sum of variables is equal to the
product of the complements of the variables

X + Y = XY

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 DeMorgan’s Theorem Application
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DeMorgan's Theorems I

XYZ = X + Y + Z

WXYZ = W + X + Y + Z

DeMorgan's Theorem II

X + Y + Z = XYZ
** Note:
W + X + Y + Z = WXYZ
X = AB + C
Y = A + BC
 Examples for DeMorgan’s Theorems
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(AB +C)(A + BC) = (AB + C) + (A + BC)

(AB + C) + (A + BC) = (AB)C + A(BC)

(AB)C + A(BC) = (A + B)C + A(B + C)

Boolean expression for a Logic Circuit
 To derive the Boolean expression for a given circuit, follow
left-2-right rule.
 Begin from the left-most inputs and work towards the last.

1
4
C CD
Z Z(A(B + CD))
D 2
B + CD
B A(B + CD)
A 3

1 2 3 4

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 Constructing a Truth Table for a Logic
Circuit
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 A truth table shows the output for all possible input

values.
 From a Boolean expression, a truth table can be
developed.
 x = number of input variables
 Possible combinations of values, n = 2x
 E.g. A(B + CD)  x = 4; n = 24=16
 Steps in constructing a truth table
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 Step 1: Identify x and n from the Boolean exp.

 Step 2: Find the values of the variables that make the
expression equal to 1.(Hint: use the rules for Boolean
addition and multiplication)
 Step 3: List in a table
 all the n combinations of 1s and 0s (input)
 The values of variables from step 2 (output)
 All the other output values will be 0
 Example A(B + CD)
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 Step 1: x = 4 ; n = 2x = 24 = 16
 Step 2:
 A(B + CD) = 1 • 1 = 1  A = 1
 What makes B + CD = 1?
 B + CD = 1 + 0 = 1
 B + CD = 0 + 1 = 1
 B + CD = 1 + 1 = 1  B = 1 or 0
 What makes CD = 1?
 CD = 1 . 1 = 1  C = 1; D = 1
 So for A(B + CD) = 1
 A = 1, B = 1, C = 0/1, D = 1/0
 A = 1, B = 1/0 , C = 1, D = 1
 Step 3 : Fill in the grid and results from Step 2
INPUTS OUTPUT
A B C D A(B + CD)

0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0
0 0 1 1 0
0 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 0
0 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 1 0
1 0 1 0 0
1 0 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 1
1 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1
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 Tips on ‘table-making’:
 For n possible combinations, the input part of the table
will register the binary value of 0 to n-1. (e.g. n = 16;
0 to 15)

 Remember the sequence

24 22 21 20
8 4 2 1
0 0 0 0 (0)
0 0 0 1 (1)
0 0 1 0 (2)
0 0 1 1 (3)

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23
Simplification using Boolean Algebra
 Simplification:
 To reduce an expression to its simplest form
 To change a form to a more convenient one for
efficient implementation
 We use:- basic laws, rules, theorems of Boolean
algebra
 Practice makes perfect
Simplify this expression
AB + A(B + C) + B(B + C)

AB + A(B + C) + B(B + C)
Step 1: Apply distributive law to the red terms
AB + AB + AC + BB + BC
Step 2: Apply rule 7 (BB = B) to the green term

AB + AB + AC + B + BC
Step 3: Apply rule 5 (AB + AB = AB) to the red terms

AB + AC + B + BC
Step 4: Apply rule 10 (B + BC = B) to the green terms

AB + AC + B
Step 5: Apply rule 10 (B + AB = B) to the red terms

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AC + B
 Simplify this expression
ABC + ABC + ABC + ABC + ABC
ABC + ABC + ABC + ABC + ABC
Step 1: Factor BC for the red terms

BC(A + A) + ABC + ABC + ABC

Step 2: Apply rule 6 to the green term and factor the blue
term
BC . 1 + AB(C + C) + ABC
Step 3: Apply rule 4 to the red term and rule 6 to the blue
term
BC + AB . 1 + ABC
Step 4: Apply rule 4 to the green term
BC + AB + ABC
Step 5: Factor the red terms
BC + B(A + AC)
Step 6: Apply rule 11 to the blue term
BC + B(A + AC)
Step 7: Use the distributive and commutative laws to
get the following expression

BC + AB + BC
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 Standard Form of Boolean Expressions
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 Boolean expression can be converted into one of 2

standards forms:
 The sum-of-products (SOP) form
 The product-of-sums (POS) form
 Standardization makes the evaluation, simplification,
and implementation of Boolean expressions more
systematic and easier
 Product term = a term with the product (Boolean
multiplication) of literals
 Sum term = a term with the sum (Boolean addition) of
literals
The Sum-of-Products (SOP) Form
 SOP = when 2 or more product terms are summed
 e.g ABP1 + ABCP2
ABCP1 + CDEP2 + BCDP3
 SOP can also contain a single variable term
 In SOP a single overbar cannot extend over more
than 1 variable, but more than 1 variable can have
an overbar.

ABC  ABC 

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 Domain = a set of variables contained in an
expression
 E.g. AB + ABC  domain = A, B, C
 ABC + CDE + BCD  domain = A, B, C, D, E

 Implementation of the SOP expression AB + BCD +

AC
A
B
B
C X = AB + BCD + AC
D
A
C 28
 A logic expression can be changed to SOP form using Boolean
algebra techniques.
 A(B + CD) = AB + ACD
 AB + B(CD + EF) = AB + BCD + BEF

 Standard SOP form = where all the variables in the domain

appear in each product term in the expression.
A BCD  A BC D  ABC D

 To convert product terms to standard SOP

 Multiply each of the nonstandard term with the missing term using
Boolean algebra rule 6 ( A  A ).1
 Repeat until all variables appear in each product term.

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 Convert this Boolean expression to standard SOP form:
A BC  A B  ABC D
 Domain = A, B, C, D.
 What is missing?
 Term 1: missing D or D’
 Term 2: missing (C/C’) and (D/D’)
 Complete these terms by applying Boolean rule 6
Term 1: ABC  ABC ( D  D)  ABCD  ABC D

Term 2 : AB  ABC  ABC

 ABC ( D  D)  ABC ( D  D)  ABCD  ABC D  ABC D  ABC D
 Now we have

A BC  A B  ABC D
 A BCD  A BC D  A BCD  A BC D  A BC D  A BC D  ABC D

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Binary representation of a standard product
term
 A product = 1 only if ALL
variables in the term is equal
to 1. SOP

 Remember: product =
multiplication  1.1 = 1 Product1 Product2 Product3
 A sum = 1 when one or all
of the variables in the term Var1 Var1 Var1

is equal to 1.
 Remember: sum = addition 
1 + 0 = 1; 0 + 1 = 1; 1 + 1 = 1

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 Determine the binary value for which the following standard SOP
32 expression is equal to 1:

ABCD + ABCD + ABCD

The term ABCD is equal to 1 when A = 1, B = 1, C = 1, and D = 1

ABCD = 1.1.1.1 = 1
The term ABCD is equal to 1 when A = 1, B = 0, C = 0, and D = 1
ABCD = 1.0.0.1 = 1.1.1.1 = 1
The term ABCD is equal to 1 when A = 0, B = 0, C = 0, and D = 0
ABCD = 0.0.0.0 = 1.1.1.1 = 1
The SOP expression equals 1 when any or all of the three product
terms is 1.
Product-of-Sums (POS) Form
 POS = when 2 or more sum terms are multiplied.
 (A + B)S1(A + B + C)S2
 (A + B + C)S1(C + D + E)S2(B + C + D)S3
 Like SOP, POS
 can also contain a single variable term
 a single overbar cannot extend over more than 1 variable,
but more than 1 variable can have an overbar.

A BC  A BC 
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 Domain = a set of variables contained in an
expression
 (A + B + C)(A + B + D)(A + B + C + D)  domain = A, B,
C, D

 Implementation of the POS expression (A +

B)(B + C + D)(A + C)
A
B
B
C X = (A + B)(B + C + D)(A + C)
D
A
C
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 Standard POS form = where all the variables in the
domain appear in each sum term in the expression.
 To convert product terms to standard POS
 Multiply each of the nonstandard term with the missing
term using Boolean algebra rule 8:

 Apply A  A12: A
rule 0 + BC = (A + B)(A + C)

 Repeat A  BC
until  ( A  appear
all variables B )( A inCeach
) sum term.

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 Convert this Boolean expression to standard POS form
( A  B  C )( B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)
 Domain = A, B, C, D.
 What is missing?
 Term 1: missing D or D’
 Term 2: missing A or A’
 Apply rules 8 and 12
Term 1 : A  B  C  A  B  C  D D  ( A  B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)
Term 2 : B  C  D  B  C  D  A A
 ( A  B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)
 Now we have
( A  B  C )( B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)
 ( A  B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)( A  B  C  D)
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Binary representation of a standard sum term

 A product = 0 only if one or

more of the sum term is
equal to 0. POS

 Remember: product =
multiplication  1.1 = 1 Sum1 Sum2 Sum3
 A sum = 1 when one or all
of the variables in the term Var1 Var1 Var1

is equal to 1.
 Remember: sum = addition 
1 + 0 = 1; 0 + 1 = 1; 1 + 1 = 1

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Converting
Standard SOP to Standard POS
 Binary values in a
standard SOP
expression are not
present in the equivalent Standard Standard
standard POS SOP POS
Then x is
expression Binary
If x is here
not here
values (x) If x is not Then x is
here here

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 Steps to follow : SOP to POS
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 Step 1: Evaluate each product term in the SOP

expression  i.e. determine the binary numbers of
the product terms.
 Step 2: Determine all the binary numbers not
included in Step 1.
 Step 3: Write equivalent sum term for each binary
number from Step 2 and express in POS form.
 ** Using a similar procedure, to go from POS to SOP
 Convert this SOP exp. to an equivalent POS exp.

A B C + A B C + A BC + AB C + A B C
 Domain = A, B, C = 3. So, 23 = 8 possible
combinations.

A B C + A B C + A BC + A B C + A B C
000 010 011 101 111
 The SOP have 5 of 8, so POS have the other 3 (001,
100, 110)  These 3 make sum term = 0

(A + B + C)(A + B + C)(A + B +C)

0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0

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 Boolean Expressions and
41
Truth Tables
 Step 1: determine domain and combinations of binary
values  input
 Step 2: convert expression to Standard SOP/POS.
 Step 3: find the binary values that make the product =
1 (SOP) or sum = 0 (POS)
 Step 4: the remaining combination will be
 Equal to 0 (SOP)
 Equal to 1 (POS)
 Fill in the truth table
 Develop a truth table for the standard SOP expression
 Domain = A, B,ABC
C. combinations
+ ABC + ABC = 23 = 8
 What binary value makes the product term = 1?

ABC
001 =111=1
ABC INPUTS OUTPUT PRODUCT
100 =111=1 TERM
A B C X
ABC
111 =111=1
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 ABC
 Fill the truth table 0 1 0 0
0 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 ABC
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0
1 1 1 1 ABC
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 Develop a truth table for the standard POS expression
 Domain = A, B, C. combinations = 23 =+8B + C)(A + B +C)
(A + B + C)(A + B + C)(A + B +C)(A

 What binary value makes the sum term = 0?

(A + B + C)(A + B + C)(A + B +C)(A + B + C)(A + B +C)

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
 Fill the truth table INPUTS OUTPUT PRODUCT
TERM
A B C X
0 0 0 0 (A + B + C)
0 0 1 1
0 1 0 0 (A + B + C)
0 1 1 0 (A + B + C)
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 0 (A + B + C)
1 1 0 0 (A + B + C)
1 1 1 1
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Determining Standard expressions from a
truth table
 Replace each binary number with its corresponding
variable.
 SOP = 1→ var. & 0 → var. complement
 POS = 0→ var. & 1 → var. complement

SOP POS
1010 ABCD 1001 A+B+C+D
ABCD = 1 0 1 0 A+B+C+D= 1+0+0+1
=1111=1 =0+0+0+0=0

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 Karnaugh Map (K-Map)
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 K-Map is similar to the truth table, but it presents all of the
possible values of input and output.
 This is shown in an array of cells.
 K-Maps can be used for expressions with 2,3,4 or 5 variables.
 The number of cells in a K-Map = total number of possible
input variable combinations  3 = 23 = 8
 Cells that differ by only one variable are adjacent (bersebelahan)
 Cell 010 is adjacent to 000, 011 and 110
 Physically, cells that share their walls are adjacent
 In a K-map with 4-variable or more, the top-most & bottom-
most cells of a column (and row) are adjacent.
 C C
0 1 0 1
46 AB AB
00 00 ABC ABC

01 01 ABC ABC
3-Variable Karnaugh Map
11 11 ABC ABC

10 10 ABC ABC

CD CD
00 01 11 10 00 01 11 10
AB AB
00 00 ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD

01 01 ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD

11 11 ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD

10 10 ABCD ABCD ABCD ABCD

4-Variable Karnaugh Map

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K-Map SOP Minimization
 K-Map is used to simplify Boolean expressions to their
minimum form.
 A minimized SOP expression has the fewest possible term
with each term having fewest possible variables.
 A minimized SOP expression needs fewer logic gates than
standard expression.
 To map an SOP expression to a map:
 Step 1: determine the binary value of each product term
 Step 2: Place a 1 in a cell that have the same value as the product term
 Example: Mapping SOP expression
48

ABC + ABC + ABC + ABC

C ABC + ABC + ABC + ABC

AB
0 1 000 001 110 100
00 1 1

01

11 1

10 1
 Map the following expression
ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD

ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD + ABCD

0011 0100 1101 1111 1100 0001 1010
ABCD
CD
AB 00 01 11 10
00 1 1 ABCD

01 1
ABCD
11 1 1 1

ABCD 10 1 ABCD

ABCD ABCD
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 To use K-maps, expressions must be in standard form.
 For expressions that are not standard, it must be
converted to a standard form.
 Recall: AB + ABC
 AB(C/C’)  11(1/0)  ABC + ABC’
 So: ABC + ABC’ + ABC
C
 Map the following expression on a K-map:
AB 0 1
00 1 1
A + AB + ABC
000 100 110 01 1 1
001 101
11 1
010
011 10 1 1

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 K-Map Simplification of SOP
51
Expressions
 There are 3 steps to obtain a minimum SOP
expression from a K-map.
1. Grouping the 1s
2. Determine product term for each group
3. Summing the resulting product terms
 Grouping the 1s
52

 Group must contain cells in 2x combination (i.e. 1,2,4,8,16

 Each cell must be adjacent to at least 1 other cell in the
group, but all cells in a group need not be adjacent
 Try to have the biggest possible group of 1s
 Each 1 must be in at least one group.
 The 1s already in a group may be included in another group
so long as the overlapping group includes non-common 1s
 Here are some examples:
 (a) (b) (c) (d)
C C CD CD
AB 0 1 AB 0 1 00 01 11 10 AB 00 01 11 10
AB
00 1 00 1 1 00 1 1 00 1 1
01 1 01 1 01 1 1 1 1 01 1 1 1
11 1 1 11 1 11 11 1 1 1
10 10 1 1 10 1 1 10 1 1 1

C C
AB 0 1 0 1 CD CD
AB AB 00 01 11 10 AB 00 01 11 10
00 1 00 1 1
00 1 1 00 1 1
01 1 01 1 01 1 1 1
01 1 1 1 1
11 1 1 11 1 11 1 1 1
11
10 10 1 1 10 1 1 1
10 1 1

(a) (b) (c) (d)

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