Unit 15, Week 3 – Student Booklet Page 1 of 8

Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps

Unit 15, Week 3

Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps
Student Booklet

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Class:
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Week 3 Learning objectives

• State and apply the basic laws of Boolean algebra.
• Apply De Morgan’s laws to complement expressions.
• Use Boolean algebra laws to simplify expressions.
• Draw K-maps for 2 and 3 variables.
• Group 1s to find the simplest sum-of-products expression.

Key Concepts (Week 3)

• Boolean algebra is a form of algebra where variables have only two values
(TRUE/FALSE, 1/0). It is used to simplify logic circuits.
• Laws of Boolean algebra include Identity, Null, Idempotent, Complement, Commutative,
Associative, Distributive, Absorption, and De Morgan’s laws.
• De Morgan’s laws state:
– The complement of a product is the sum of the complements: A . B= A+ B
– The complement of a sum is the product of the complements: ( A+ B)= A . B
• A Karnaugh map (K-map) is a graphical method for simplifying Boolean expressions.
Adjacent cells differ by only one variable.
• Grouping in K-maps must be in powers of 2 (1, 2, 4, 8…). Larger groups yield simpler
terms.
• Sum-of-Products (SOP): a Boolean expression written as the OR of several AND terms
(minterms). Starting point for K-map simplification.
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Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps

Session 1: Boolean Algebra Laws

Learning objectives
• State and apply the basic laws of Boolean algebra.
• Apply De Morgan’s laws to complement expressions.

Key Points – Boolean Algebra Laws

Law AND form (·) OR form (+)

Identity A · 1= A A+0= A
Null A ∙ 0=0 A+1=1
Idempotent A ∙ A= A A+ A= A
Complement A ∙ A=0 A+ A=1
Commutative A·B=B·A A+B=B+A
Associative (A · B) · C = A · (B · C) (A + B) + C = A + (B + C)
Distributive A · (B + C) = A · B + A · C A + B · C = (A + B) · (A + C)
Absorption A · (A + B) = A A+A·B=A
De Morgan A . B= A+ B ( A+ B)= A . B

Note: The symbol ‘·’ can be omitted (AB means A·B). Overline (Ā) means NOT A.

In-class activity – pairs 10 min • 4 marks

1. State the identity law for the OR operation. [1 mark]

2. Apply De Morgan’s law to the expression: ( A . B) [2 marks] [1 mark for rewriting complement, 1 mark for correct
form]

3. Simplify: A+ A . B (name the law used). [1 mark]

Extended homework – graded 2 marks

Write down the two forms of De Morgan’s laws (AND form and OR form).
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Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps
Unit 15, Week 3 – Student Booklet Page 4 of 8
Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps

Session 2: Simplifying Boolean Expressions & Sum-of-Products (SOP)

Learning objectives
• Use Boolean algebra laws to simplify expressions.
• Write a Sum-of-Products (SOP) expression from a truth table.
• Recognise when an expression is fully simplified.

Key Points – Simplification Steps

1. Remove brackets using distributive laws.

2. Apply complement laws (e.g., A·Ā = 0, A+Ā = 1).
3. Use identity and null laws to eliminate redundant terms.
4. Use absorption law to remove terms that are already included.

Worked Example
Simplify: X =A . B+ A . B
or, X =A . ( B+ B ) [Factorizing]
or, X =A .(1) [Complement: ( B+ B )=1]
or, X =A [Identity: A .1= A ]
Therefore: X = A

Key Points – Sum-of-Products (SOP)

A Boolean expression is in Sum-of-Products (SOP) form when written as the OR of several AND terms.
Each AND term (minterm) includes every input variable exactly once (complemented or uncomplemented).
To write SOP from a truth table:
1. Look at rows where the output is 1.
2. For each such row, write an AND term: variable as A if it is 1, or Ā if it is 0.
3. OR all those AND terms together.

Example:

A B C X

0 0 1 1

1 0 0 1

Row 1 (A=0, B=0, C=1) → term: A.B.C

Row 2 (A=1, B=0, C=0) → term: A.B.C
SOP expression: X = Ā·ƀ·C + A·ƀ·Ć

In-class activity – pairs 10 min • 6 marks

Part A – Boolean algebra simplification 6 marks

1. Simplify: Y = A . B .C + A . B . C [3 marks]
[1 mark for factoring, 1 mark for complement, 1 mark for final answer]
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Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps

2. Simplify: Z=( A + B ) .( A+ B) [3 marks]

[1 mark for distributive, 1 mark for complement, 1 mark for final answer]

Part B – Write SOP from truth table 2 marks

A B C X

0 0 0 1

0 1 1 1

1 0 0 0

1 1 1 1

Write the SOP expression for X. [2 marks]

Extended homework – graded 4 marks

Simplify: W =A . B+ A . B .C + A . B . C . Show all steps and name the laws used.

2. Write the SOP expression for the truth table below. [2]

A B C Y

0 0 1 1

0 1 0 1

1 0 0 0

1 1 1 1
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Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps

Session 3: Karnaugh Maps (K-maps)

Learning objectives
• Draw K-maps for 2 and 3 variables.
• Group 1s to find the simplest sum-of-products expression.

Key Points – K-maps

• A K-map is a grid of cells; each cell represents a minterm.

• Adjacent cells differ by only one variable (Gray code order).
• Groups must be powers of 2 (1, 2, 4, 8…).
• Groups should be as large as possible.
• Each group corresponds to a product term where variables that change across the group are eliminated.

2-variable K-map (4 cells)

B B̅

A̅

3-variable K-map (8 cells)

A \ BC 00 01 11 10

Worked Example
Simplify: X =A ∙ B ∙C + A ∙ B ∙ C+ A ∙ B ∙ C+ A ∙ B ∙C
Step 1 – Place 1s in cells: (A=0, BC=00), (A=0, BC=10), (A=1, BC=10), (A=1, BC=00).

Therefore: X =
Step 2 – Group: vertical group of four 1s – C̅ appears in all four cells.
C

In-class activity – individual 10 min • 8 marks

1. Draw a 3-variable K-map and label the axes with Gray code. [2 marks]
[1 mark for correct grid, 1 mark for correct labels]
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Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps

Draw your labelled 3-variable K-map here

2. Plot the minterms for: Y = A ∙ B ∙C + A ∙ B ∙C + A ∙ B ∙ C+ A ∙ B ∙ C on the K-map above. [2 marks]

[1 mark for correct placement of all 1s]

3. Group the 1s and write the simplified sum-of-products expression. [4 marks]

[2 marks for grouping, 2 marks for final expression]
Y=

Extended homework – graded 6 marks

Use a K-map to simplify Z = Ā·ƀ·Ć + Ā·B·Ć + A·B·Ć + A·ƀ·Ć. Show the K-map, the grouping, and the final simplified
expression. Also draw the simplified logic circuit using AND–OR gates.

K-map and grouping diagram

Simplified expression: Z =
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Boolean Algebra & Karnaugh Maps

Logic circuit diagram (AND–OR gates)