CSC 736 ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF DIGITAL SYSTEM

Lecture Notes 1
(Logic Gates)

Boolean algebra is the category of algebra in which the variable’s values are the
truth values, true and false, ordinarily denoted 1 and 0 respectively. It is used to
analyze and simplify digital circuits or digital gates. It is also called Binary
Algebra or logical Algebra. It has been fundamental in the development of digital
electronics and is provided for in all modern programming languages. It is also
used in set theory and statistics.

The important operations performed in Boolean algebra are – conjunction (∧),

disjunction (∨) and negation (¬). Hence, this algebra is far way different from
elementary algebra where the values of variables are numerical and arithmetic
operations like addition, subtraction is been performed on them.

Boolean Algebra Operations

The basic operations of Boolean algebra are as follows:

• Conjunction or AND operation

• Disjunction or OR operation
• Negation or Not operation
Below is the table defining the symbols for all three basic operations.

Operator Symbol Precedence

NOT ‘ (or) ¬ Highest

AND . (or) ∧ Middle

OR + (or) ∨ Lowest

Suppose A and B are two Boolean variables, then we can define the three
operations as;

• A conjunction B or A AND B, satisfies A ∧ B = True, if A = B = True or else A ∧ B = False.

• A disjunction B or A OR B, satisfies A ∨ B = False, if A = B = False, else A ∨ B = True.
• Negation A or ¬A satisfies ¬A = False, if A = True and ¬A = True if A = False

Boolean Expression
A logical statement that results in a Boolean value, either be True or False, is a
Boolean expression. Sometimes, synonyms are used to express the statement
such as ‘Yes’ for ‘True’ and ‘No’ for ‘False’. Also, 1 and 0 are used for digital circuits
for True and False, respectively.

Boolean expressions are the statements that use logical operators, i.e., AND, OR,
XOR and NOT. Thus, if we write X AND Y = True, then it is a Boolean expression.

Boolean Algebra Terminologies

Now, let us discuss the important terminologies covered in Boolean algebra.
Boolean Algebra: Boolean algebra is the branch of algebra that deals with logical
operations and binary variables.

Boolean Variables: A Boolean variable is defined as a variable or a symbol

defined as a variable or a symbol, generally an alphabet that represents the
logical quantities such as 0 or 1.

Boolean Function: A Boolean function consists of binary variables, logical

operators, constants such as 0 and 1, equal to the operator, and the parenthesis
symbols.

Literal: A literal may be a variable or a complement of a variable.

Complement: The complement is defined as the inverse of a variable, which is

represented by a bar over the variable.

Truth Table: The truth table is a table that gives all the possible values of logical
variables and the combination of the variables. It is possible to convert the
Boolean equation into a truth table. The number of rows in the truth table should
be equal to 2n, where “n” is the number of variables in the equation. For example, if
a Boolean equation consists of 3 variables, then the number of rows in the truth
table is 8. (i.e.,) 23 = 8.

Boolean Algebra Truth Table

Now, if we express the above operations in a truth table, we get;

A B A∧B A∨B

True True True True

True False False True

False True False True

False False False False

A ¬A

True False

False True

Boolean Algebra Rules

Related Links

Truth Table Tautology

Conjunction Mathematical Logic

Laws of Boolean Algebra
There are six types of Boolean algebra laws. They are:

• Commutative law
• Associative law
• Distributive law
• AND law
• OR law
• Inversion law

Those six laws are explained in detail here.

Boolean Algebra Theorems
The two important theorems which are extremely used in Boolean algebra are De
Morgan’s First law and De Morgan’s second law. These two theorems are used to
change the Boolean expression. This theorem basically helps to reduce the given
Boolean expression in the simplified form. These two De Morgan’s laws are used to
change the expression from one form to another form. Now, let us discuss these
two theorems in detail.

De Morgan’s First Law:

De Morgan’s First Law states that (A.B)’ = A’+B’.

The first law states that the complement of the product of the variables is equal to
the sum of their individual complements of a variable.

The truth table that shows the verification of De Morgan’s First law is given as
follows:

A B A’ B’ (A.B)’ A’+B’

0 0 1 1 1 1

0 1 1 0 1 1

1 0 0 1 1 1

1 1 0 0 0 0

The last two columns show that (A.B)’ = A’+B’.

Hence, De Morgan’s First Law is proved.

De Morgan’s Second Law:

De Morgan’s Second law states that (A+B)’ = A’. B’.

The second law states that the complement of the sum of variables is equal to the
product of their individual complements of a variable.
The following truth table shows the proof for De Morgan’s second law.

A B A’ B’ (A+B)’ A’. B’

0 0 1 1 1 1

0 1 1 0 0 0

1 0 0 1 0 0

1 1 0 0 0 0

The last two columns show that (A+B)’ = A’. B’.

Hence, De Morgan’s second law is proved.

The other theorems in Boolean algebra are complementary theorem, duality

theorem, transposition theorem, redundancy theorem and so on. All these
theorems are used to simplify the given Boolean expression. The reduced Boolean
expression should be equivalent to the given Boolean expression.

Solved Examples
Question 2: Draw a truth table for A(B+D).

Solution: Given expression A(B+D).

A B D B+D A(B+D)

0 0 0 0 0

0 0 1 1 0

0 1 0 1 0
 0 1 1 1 0

1 0 0 0 0

1 0 1 1 1

1 1 0 1 1

1 1 1 1 1

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Frequently Asked Questions on Boolean Algebra

Q1

What is meant by Boolean algebra?

In Mathematics, Boolean algebra is called logical algebra consisting of binary
variables that hold the values 0 or 1, and logical operations.
Q2

What are some applications of Boolean algebra?

In electrical and electronic circuits, Boolean algebra is used to simplify and
analyze the logical or digital circuits.
Q3

What are the three main Boolean operators?

The three important Boolean operators are:
AND (Conjunction)
OR (Disjunction)
NOT (Negation)
Q4
Is the value 0 represents true or false?
In Boolean logic, zero (0) represents false and one (1) represents true. In many
applications, zero is interpreted as false and a non-zero value is interpreted as
true.
Q5

Mention the six important laws of Boolean algebra.

The six important laws of Boolean algebra are:
Commutative law
Associative law
Distributive law
Inversion law
AND law
OR law