10/22/21, 4:49 PM CISC 211: Computer Organization and Assembly Language home

1.1 Electronics and digital systems

Voltage and current

©zyBooks
Electrical systems are ubiquitous, in appliances, computers, cars, etc. 10/22/21 system
An electrical 16:48 1048321

involves
Michael Relly

movement of charged electrons through wires. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Voltage is the potential for charge to move. Voltage is measured in Volts.

Current is the amount of charge flow. Current is measured in Amps.
Resistance is a wire's opposition to flow. Resistance is measured in Ohms.

An example electrical system is a lamp that passes current through a glowing resistor in a light bulb.
The more current, the brighter the glow.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.1:
Voltage and current.

Animation captions:

1. Without current, the bulb doesn't glow.

2. Voltage causes current, so the bulb glows.
3. Higher voltage causes more current, so a brighter glow.

Above, the zigzag line represents a resistor.

Voltage is like the water pressure in a faucet for a garden hose. Current is like the amount of water
actually flowing through the hose. Resistance is like a thin hose more-strongly resisting flow than a
thick hose.
Current flows from a higher-voltage point to a lower-voltage point on a wire. 0 V is commonly called
ground and drawn as three line segments, as above.
Voltage (V), current (I), and resistance (R) are related as V = IR, called Ohm's Law.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.2:
Terminology: Electrical systems. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Resistance V = IR Amps Current Volts Voltage Ohms

Potential for charge to move

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Amount of charge flow

Opposition to flow

Units of voltage

Units of current ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Units of resistance

Ohm's Law

Reset

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.3:
Voltage, current, and resistance.

1) Increasing voltage does what to

current?
Increases
Decreases
Doesn't change

2) Decreasing resistance does what to

current.
Increases
Decreases
Doesn't change

3) If V is 6 V and R is 2 Ohms, I = ?
12
6
3 ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

4) If V is 6 V and R is 1 Ohm, I = ? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

12
6
3

5) If V is 6 V and R is 0 Ohms, I = ?

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6
3
Infinity

6) If V is 6 V and R is infinite, I = ?
0
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3 Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Infinity

The voltage on a wire with no resistance is the same everywhere on the wire. But voltage drops across
a resistor as V = IR.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.4:
V = IR.

1) What is the current I?

A

Check Show answer

2) What is the voltage at X?

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V Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Check Show answer

3) What is the voltage at Y?

V

Check Show answer

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4) What is the voltage at Z?

V

Check Show answer

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Note: Nearly every wire has some tiny resistance (with the exception of superconductors),
Michael Relly
but that
resistance is commonly ignored. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Note: Convention is to show current flowing from higher voltage to lower voltage, even though actual
flow is in the other direction, due to electrons having negative charge. But the net effect is the same.

Switches

A switch is an electronic device that acts like a wire (a.k.a. "conducts") between two terminals if the
switch is configured to on. A light-switch is an example.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.5:
Switches can be configured to conduct.

Animation captions:

1. A light switch can be configured to conduct current.

2. In the on position, the switch conducts, so the bulb glows.
3. In the off position, the switch does not conduct, so bulb does not glow.

An electronically-controlled switch has another input terminal whose voltage can turn the switch
on. The terminal that controls an electronically-controlled switch is known as the control input.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.6:
An electronically-controlled switch is controlled by a control input.

Animation captions:

1. An electronically-controlled switch has a control input that turns the switch on or off.
2. A positive voltage on the control input turns the switch on. ©zyBooks Michael
10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Relly

3. 0 V on the control input turns the switch off. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Figure 1.1.1: Switches: Relay, vacuum tube,

discrete transistor, and integrated circuit
(having millions of switches inside).
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Switches in the early 1900s were large, each being several inches long. A transistor is a smaller
simpler switch with no mechanical parts, invented in 1947.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.7:
Switches. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
1) A basic _____ either conducts or
doesn't.

Check Show answer

2) An _____-controlled switch has

another input whose voltage turns
the switch on or off.

Check Show answer

3) A _____ is a small switch with no

mechanical parts.

Check Show answer

CMOS technology

CMOS technology uses pMOS and nMOS transistors to implement digital circuits. An nMOS
transistor conducts when its control input is 1. A pMOS transistor conducts when its control input is
0.
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PARTICIPATION Michael Relly

ACTIVITY 1.1.8:
CMOS transistors.
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Animation captions:

1. nMOS conducts when control input is 1.

2. pMOS conducts when control input is 0.
3. The "C" in CMOS refers to nMOS and pMOS being complementary.
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PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.9:
pMOS and nMOS transistors.

1) Does a pMOS conduct if the control

input is 0?
Yes ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

No SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

2) Does an nMOS conduct if the control

input is 0?
Yes
No

3) Does a pMOS conduct if the control

input is 1?
Yes
No

4) Does an nMOS conduct if the control

input is 1?
Yes
No

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.10:
A simple circuit of pMOS and nMOS transistors.

1) What is y when a is 0?
1
0

2) What is y when a is 1?
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1
Michael Relly

0 SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Digital systems

A circuit is a path through which electrical current can flow. In a circuit of switches, some wires have
a high voltage, some have low voltage. High is labeled 1, low 0. (High is usually not 1 V; high could be
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1.3 V, for example). A digital circuit has voltages that are treated as either high or low, and is typically
built as a connection of switches. In contrast, an analog system has voltages that are treated as
having infinite values like 0.15, 0.2, 0.333, etc. Digital circuits form the basis of useful systems like
smartphones, computers, medical devices, and more.
The word "system" means a set of connected things forming a complex whole. Thus, digital circuits
are often referred to more generally as digital systems

This material focuses on digital design: Creating digital circuits to©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

achieve Michael
desired digital system
Relly

behavior that converts digital inputs into desired digital outputs. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.11:
Digital systems.

Animation captions:

1. An analog system treats voltages as continuous. This analog circuit takes an input and
generates an output with amplified voltage, perhaps to increase a TV's volume.
2. A digital system treats voltages as being one of two values: high or low. This digital circuit
takes an input signal and generates an output signal that is the inverse.

Why the name 'digital'?

The term "digit" literally means finger (or toe) (see Oxford dictionary definition).
Because people have a finite number of fingers, and digital circuits have a finite
number of voltages (usually just two: high and low), the term "digital" is used. (Digit is
also used to refer to a place in a number, such as 97 having two digits; that use of digit
stems from people counting with their fingers).

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.1.12:
Digital circuits.

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1) A _____ is a path through which Michael Relly

electrical current can flow. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

2) An _____ system's voltages can

assume infinite values.
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Check Show answer

3) A _____ system's values can

assume just two values, labeled 1
and 0.
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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Check Show answer

Exploring further:

Transistor (Wikipedia)
CMOS (Wikipedia)

1.2 Gates
Building complex circuits from transistors is hard. In 1938, Claude Shannon described how transistor
circuits could implement logic functions. Common logic functions include AND, OR, and NOT.
A logic gate (or just gate) is a transistor circuit that implements a logic function. The usefulness of
gates will be seen later.

NOT gate (inverter)

A NOT gate outputs 1 if the gate's input is 0, and outputs 0 if the input is 1. A NOT gate is also called
an inverter. The following circuit with a pMOS and an nMOS transistor implements a NOT gate.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.1:
NOT gate built from CMOS transistors.
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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Animation content:

undefined

Animation captions:

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1. An input of 0 causes the pMOS transistor to conduct, and the nMOS transistor to not conduct.
Thus, y becomes 1.
2. An input of 1 causes the nMOS transistor to conduct, and the pMOS transistor to not conduct.
Thus, y becomes 0.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.2:
NOT gate.
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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

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send feedback to zyBooks support

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.3:
NOT gate.

1) If the input is 1, a NOT gate outputs

_____ .
0
1

2) If the input is 0, a NOT gate outputs

_____ .
0
1

3) A NOT gate is also called an _____ .

oppositer
inverter
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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
AND gate

An AND gate outputs 1 only if both the gate's inputs are 1's. The following transistor circuit
implements an AND gate.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.4:
AND gate built from CMOS transistors.
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Animation captions:

1. An AND gate is built by inverting the output of a NAND gate.

2. Input 0, 0 yield an output of 0.
3. Inputs 0, 1 yield an output of 0.
4. Inputs 1, 0 yield an output of 0. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

5. Inputs 1, 1 yield an output of 1. An AND gate's output is 1 only when Michael

the gate's first
Relly
AND
second inputs are 1's. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

One might ask why the AND circuit isn't implemented more simply, with 0 at the top and 1 at the
bottom, omitting the NOT gate. The answer is that pMOS is a poor conductor of 0's, and nMOS a poor
conductor of 1's, for physics reasons beyond our scope.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.5:
CMOS AND gate.

1) If a = 0, b = 0, does h conduct?
Yes
No

2) If a = 0, b = 0, does i conduct?
Yes
No

3) If a = 0, b = 0, then j is ?
0
1

4) If a = 0, b = 0, then k is ?
0
1
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

5) If a = 1, b = 0, then j is ? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

0
1

6) If a = 1, b = 0, then k is ?
0
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7) If a = 1, b = 1, then k is ?
0
1

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

PARTICIPATION
1.2.6:
AND gate with two inputs. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ACTIVITY

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OR gate

An OR gate outputs 1 if either, or both, of the gate's inputs is a 1. The following transistor circuit
implements an OR gate.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.7:
OR gate built from CMOS transistors.

Animation captions:

1. An OR gate is built by inverting the output of a NOR gate.

2. Inputs 0, 0 yields an output of 0.
3. Inputs 0, 1 yields an output of 1.
4. Inputs 1, 0 yields an output of 1.
5. Inputs 1, 1 yields an output of 1.
6. Only one input needs to be 1 for the output to be 1. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.8:
OR gate.

Refer to above OR gate animation.

1) If a = 0, b = 0, what is t (the output of

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the "NOR" circuit)?

1
0

2) If a = 0, b = 0, what does the OR gate

output?
1 ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

0 SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

3) If a = 0, b = 1, what is t (the output of

the "NOR" circuit)?
1
0

4) If a = 0, b = 1, what does the OR gate

output?
1
0

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.9:
OR gate with two inputs.

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Logic gates summary

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

The following figure summarizes the NOT, AND, and OR gates. Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Note: OR and AND gates may have more than two inputs. OR outputs 1 if at least one input is 1. AND
outputs 1 only if all inputs are 1's.

Figure 1.2.1: Logic gates and truth tables: NOT,

AND, and OR.

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PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.10:
Logic gates: NOT, AND, and OR.

1)
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0 Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
1

2)
0
1

3)
0
1

4)
0
1

5)
0
1

6)
0
1

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.2.11:
Example systems implemented using one logic gate.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Indicate which one logic gate is best suited to implement the desired system functionality.

1)

If either of two windows is open, an

alarm should sound. The input signal is
1 when the window is open.

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NOT
OR
AND

2)

A plane enables its engines (output e =

1) as long as both pilots are seated ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

(input s = 1, input t = 1). Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
NOT
OR
AND

3)

A sensor detects sunlight (s = 0 means

no sunlight, s = 1 means sunlight).
Based on that sensor, a lamp should
turn on (lamp = 1) only at night.
NOT
OR
AND

4)

Disneyland's Little Mermaid ride

automatically outputs a stop signal (s =
1) if a person is detected on any of
numerous pressure-sensitive mats
next to the ride's cars.
OR
AND

5)

A car has pressure sensors in each tire.

If a tire's pressure is low, a warning
light should illuminate. The input signal
is 1 when the tire pressure is low. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

OR SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

AND

6)

An office has four space heaters.

However, the office's electrical system
can only support three being on at one
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time. An alarm sounds if all four are

turned on. If the heater is on, the input
signal is 1.
OR
AND

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

CHALLENGE Michael Relly

ACTIVITY 1.2.1:
Gates. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

1.3 Boolean algebra and equations

Boolean algebra

In 1847, mathematician George Boole developed an algebra to capture human logic as

mathematical equations. A later section will show how Boolean algebra became, without Boole's
knowledge, the foundation of digital circuit design.
In algebra, a variable is a symbol that represents a value. Boolean algebra is an algebra whose only
values are true or false, and whose operators are AND, OR, and NOT. AND, OR, and NOT are known as
logic operators.

Table 1.3.1: Logic operators.

Operator Description

AND AND outputs true only if both inputs are true.

OR OR outputs true if either, or both, inputs are true.

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NOT NOT outputs true if the input is false. NOT outputs false if the input
Michael Rellyis
true.
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.3.1:
Boolean algebra can capture human logic as math equations.

Animation captions:
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1. Use a variable for each Boolean item.

2. The math equation captures the human logic.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.3.2:
Capturing human logic as a Boolean equation.

Inputs: h indicates a baby is hungry, s indicates sleepy, m indicates a mother

©zyBooks is holding
10/22/21 16:48the
1048321

baby.
Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Output: c indicates the baby will cry.

Match the equation to the human logic.

c = h OR s c = h AND s c = true c=h c = s AND NOT(m)

A baby will cry only if hungry

A baby will cry if hungry or sleepy

A baby will cry only if sleepy and not

being held by a mother

A baby will cry only if both hungry and

sleepy

A baby will always cry

Reset

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.3.3:
Boolean algebra.

Inputs: b means the battery works, g means there's enough gas.

Output: c means a car will start.

Indicate whether the equation matches the human logic. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

1) The car will start only if the battery SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

works and there's enough gas.

c = b OR g
Yes
No

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2) The car will never start.

c = false
Yes
No

3) The car will start if there's enough gas; ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

the battery doesn't matter.

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
c=g
Yes
No

4) The car will not start if there's not

enough gas.

c = NOT(g)
Yes
No

A Boolean expression is evaluated by evaluating parts and combining. NOT is evaluated first. AND is
evaluated before OR.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.3.4:
Evaluating Boolean expressions.

Animation captions:

1. Boolean equations can be evaluated for different input combinations.

2. Replace variables with true/false.
3. Evaluate each part.
4. Combine.
5. Changing the input values may change the output value.
6. Evaluate parts and combine.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

PARTICIPATION SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ACTIVITY 1.3.5:
Evaluating Boolean expressions.

Evaluate. Assume:

    a = false

    b = true

Type answers as: true or false

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1) a AND b

Check Show answer

2) a OR b
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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Check Show answer

3) a AND NOT(b)

Check Show answer

4) NOT(a) AND NOT(b)

Check Show answer

5)    (a AND b) OR NOT(a)

= (false) OR ?

Type only the ? part

Check Show answer

6)    (a AND b) AND NOT(a)

= (?) AND true

Type only the ? part

Check Show answer

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

7) (a AND b) OR NOT(a) SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

S b l
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Symbols

Note: Mathematicians use symbols like ∧, ∨, and ¬ for AND, OR, and NOT, respectively.
This section uses the words for simple understanding; later sections use common
digital-designer shorthand notation.

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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Boolean equations

Boolean algebra was developed in the 1800s for purposes unrelated to digital circuits. In 1938, Claude
Shannon applied Boolean algebra to the design of digital circuits. Previously, designing circuits directly
as switches was hard and error-prone. Shannon showed that building and using logic gates
(AND/OR/NOT) allowed use of Boolean algebra's properties to more-easily and correctly design
complex circuits.

In digital circuits, 1 (the high voltage value) is Boolean algebra's true, and 0 is false.

A Boolean equation has a Boolean variable (left), an equal sign, and a Boolean expression (right),
defining the left variable's value based on the right variables' values. A Boolean equation can describe
a digital circuit, with the output on the left and the inputs on the right.

PARTICIPATION 1.3.6:
A Boolean equation can describe digital circuit behavior: Microwave
ACTIVITY
door example.

Animation captions:

1. A digital system has inputs, outputs, and goal behavior. This microwave should open the door
(d) if button (b) is pressed and motor (m) is not running.
2. The behavior can be captured as the equation: d = b AND NOT(m).

Digital designers commonly use a shorthand notation for Boolean operators, shown below.

Table 1.3.2: Digital-designer shorthand notation for Boolean operators.

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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Operation Shorthand Notes

a AND b ab Intentionally looks like multiplication. Known as abutment.

a OR b a+b Intentionally looks like addition.

NOT(a) a' a' is also called the complement of a.

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Example: a AND NOT(b) becomes ab'.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.3.7:
Digital-designer shorthand notation for Boolean operators.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Directly translate each to an expression using digital-designer shorthand notation.

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Note: This material's activities require straightforward answers. Ex: For a AND b, type ab.
All variations like ba or (ab) cannot be accounted for.

1) a OR b

Check Show answer

2) (a AND b) OR c

Check Show answer

3) NOT(a)

Check Show answer

4) NOT(a) AND b

Check Show answer

5) NOT(a) AND NOT(b)

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Check Show answer Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

6) NOT(ab)

Check Show answer

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7) NOT(a OR b)

Check Show answer

PARTICIPATION ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

ACTIVITY 1.3.8:
Boolean equations for digital circuits.
Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
A digital system has the following inputs and outputs:

Inputs: d: door is open, w: window is open, e: alarm is enabled, n: time-of-day is night

Output: s: sounds alarm

Select the Boolean equation that describes the indicated goal.

1) Goal: Sound alarm only if door is open

and alarm is enabled.
e = sd
s=e+d
s = ed

2) Goal: Sound alarm if alarm is enabled,

and also the window is open or the
door is open.
s = ewd
s = e(w + d)
s=e+w+d

3) Goal: Sound alarm if alarm is enabled

and window is open at night.
s = ewn
s = e(w + n)
s=e+w+n
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Logic circuits

Digital circuits are sometimes called logic circuits due to the roots in Boolean
algebra's logic operations of AND, OR, and NOT.

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Boolean functions

In Boolean algebra, a function is a relation of inputs' values to an output's values. A function can be
described in various ways:

As English: When inputs a, b are both 1's, the output y is 1. Else, y is 0. 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

©zyBooks
As an equation: y = ab Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
As a table:
a b y

0 0 0

0 1 0

1 0 0

1 1 1

As a circuit, as a drawing, a K-map (introduced later), etc.

Distinguishing the words "expression", "equation", and "function" will be useful.

Table 1.3.3: Expressions, equations, and functions.

Item Notation Notes

Expression ab An expression lacks an equal sign, and involves input variables.

An equation has an =, with expressions of input variables on the

right, and an output variable on the left. (In general math, both
Equation y = ab
sides of an equation can be expressions, but in this material, the
left side is usually just an output variable.)

A relation of input values to output values. Can be represented in

Function Various ©zyBooks
various ways: equation, table, circuit, etc. 10/22/21
A function may 16:48
have 1048321

Michael Relly

more than one input, but has only oneSDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

output.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.3.9:
Expressions, equations, and functions.

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c, d are inputs, y is an output.

1) Is c + d a function?
Yes
No

2) Is y = c + d a function? ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Yes SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
No

3) Is y = c + d an equation?
Yes
No

4) Does this table represent a function?

c d y

0 0 0

0 1 1

1 0 1

1 1 1

Yes
No

5) Is the following a function?

y is 1 if either or both of c, d is 1. Else, y

is 0.
Yes
No
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

6) Is the following a function?

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Output y is 1 if both inputs are 0's,

otherwise y is 0. Also, if both inputs are
1's, y is 1.
Yes
No
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7) Is the following a function?

Output y is 1 if both inputs are 0's.

Yes
No

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

1.4 Digital circuit simulator

This material uses a simple browser-based digital circuit simulator.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.4.1:
Digital circuit simulator.

Experiment with the simulator:

Click the inputs until the output becomes 1.

Next, replace the AND gate by an OR gate (delete the AND, add the OR, connect wires).
Finally, try adding another input, an inverter, and another output.

Adding an item, like a gate, to a circuit is called instantiating an item. An instantiated circuit item, like
a specific AND gate, is called an instance.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.4.2:
Digital circuit simulator.

1) Setting an input value to 0 or 1 is done

by clicking on the input box.
True
False

2) Instantiating a new gate is done by

clicking on a right-side gate symbol. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

True SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
False

3) Deleting a gate is done by dragging the

gate to a garbage can.
True
False
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4) Wires cannot be deleted.

True
False

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.4.3:
Digital circuit simulator with export.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
The simulator will sometimes appear with an "Export" button. To save your circuit, click
Export, then copy-paste the exported circuit text into any text file (or email message). To load
a previously-saved circuit, paste the circuit text into box, and click Import.

Modify the shown circuit, then click Export, and copy-paste the circuit text into a text
file.
Reload this page, then return to here. Paste the previous circuit text into the box, and
press Import to restore the circuit.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.4.4:
Digital circuit simulator with export.

1) The digital circuit simulator always

appears with an Export button.
True
False

2) Clicking Export saves the circuit text

into a file.
True
False

1.5 Timing diagrams ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
A timing diagram graphically shows a circuit's output values for given input values that change over
time. Each signal (input or output) name is listed on the left. Time proceeds to the right. Each signal is
drawn as a high line (1) or a low line (0).

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.5.1:
Timing diagram for an AND gate.

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Animation captions:

1. If a = 0 and b = 0, then y = 0.
2. If a = 1 and b = 0, then y = 0.
3. If a = 0 and b = 1, then y = 0.
4. If a = 1 and b = 1, then y = 1.

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

PARTICIPATION
1.5.2:
Timing diagram. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ACTIVITY

Complete the timing diagram.

1) (a)
0
1

2) (b)
0
1

3) (c)
0
1

CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.5.1:
Timing diagram.

Indicate y's value over time. Click on the y's waveform to adjust it.

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
1.6 Equations to/from circuits

Equations to circuits

An equation is one way to represent a Boolean function. Another way is using a circuit.
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An equation can be converted to a circuit by converting each operation to a gate. Conversion is done
first for items within parentheses. In a term like cd', NOT is converted before AND or OR. Converting
behavior (like an equation) to a circuit is called design.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.6.1:
Convert equation to circuit.

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Animation captions: Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
1. Convert inside parentheses first.
2. Convert NOT before converting AND (or OR).
3. Convert AND.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.6.2:
Converting an equation to a circuit.

Use the figure above to determine the missing value.

Original equation: y = ij + mn'

1) (a)
AND
OR
NOT

2) (b)
m
n
mn'
i

3) (c)
m
n ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

mn' SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
i

4) (d)
AND
OR

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NOT

5) (e)
AND
OR
NOT
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Example: Airbag enabler SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Figure 1.6.1: Airbags deployed.

Cars have airbags that deploy during an accident to reduce injuries to occupants. Airbags can harm
kids, and aren't needed for non-human objects. Thus, cars have sensors to help detect whether an
airbag should be enabled by a large enough human being seated. In one car, a seat back sensor
detects a heartbeat (h = 1). A seat bottom sensor indicates if over 60 pounds is detected (w = 1). A
switch can be used to manually disable the airbags (d = 1). An output e indicates that the airbag is
enabled (e = 1).

A designer specifies the system as: e = hwd' (heartbeat detected, and enabled if weight over 60, and
not manually disabled).

Figure 1.6.2: Airbag enabler system.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.6.3:
Airbag example.

1) What is h if a heartbeat is
detected?
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Check Show answer

2) What is w if the sensed weight is

30 pounds?

Ch k Sh
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Check Show answer

3) What is e if h = 1, w = 1, and d = 1?

Check Show answer

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

4) e becomes an input to another Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
system, the airbag deployment
system. That system has another
input to detect a hard front-end
collision (c = 1). That system's
output a should be 1 if a hard
collision is detected and the airbag
is enabled. Write the equation for a.

Check Show answer

5) Write an equation to deploy the

airbag (a = 1) only if a collision is
detected (c = 1) and the airbag is
enabled. Use input variables h, w, d,
c only (do not use e). Order input
variables alphabetically. Do not use
parentheses.

Check Show answer

6) A light illuminates if the airbag is

disabled. Which is the appropriate
equation to turn on the light (o =
1)?

o = h'w'd
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

o = (hwd')' Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
(Note: Answer by re-typing one of
the equations provided)

Check Show answer

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Example: Aircraft lavatory sign

Airplanes typically have a lighted sign to let passengers know if at least one of several lavatories
(bathrooms) is available, so that passengers can choose to stay seated until a bathroom becomes
available. A designer may think about the logic as follows: If all doors are locked, the sign should be
off, otherwise the sign should be on. From that thought, the designer may create an equation.

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

PARTICIPATION
1.6.4:
Aircraft lavatory sign. Michael Relly

ACTIVITY
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Animation captions:

1. An airplane has a "Lavatory available" sign that should light if at least one of three lavatories is
available. Each lavatory door has a locked signal (1 when locked).
2. A designer thinks: If all three doors are locked (AND), sign should be off. Otherwise (NOT), sign
should be on. The designer creates Boolean equation y = (abc)'.
3. The equation is easily converted to a circuit.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.6.5:
Lavatory sign example.

1) If a, b, c are all 1's, should the sign

illuminate?
Yes
No

2) The designer created the equation y =

(abc)', and then a circuit consisting of
AND followed by ___.
NOT
OR

Circuits to equations
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

A circuit can be converted to an equation. Starting from the inputs, the process replaces
Michael Relly
gates by
terms while moving towards the output, labeling gate outputs along the way. Converting a circuit to
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
behavior (like an equation) is called analysis.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.6.6:
Circuit to equation.

Animation captions:
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10/22/21, 4:50 PM CISC 211: Computer Organization and Assembly Language home

1. Start from inputs, replace gate by term.

2. Still at inputs, replace gate by term.
3. Moving towards output, convert gate to term, involving earlier terms.
4. Write final equation.

A circuit whose output value is determined solely by the present combination of input values is called
a combinational circuit. A combinational circuit is also called combinational logic.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

A circuit whose output values may depend on the past sequenceSDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

of input values, and not just the
present input values, is called a sequential circuit. This material discusses sequential circuits later.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.6.7:
Combinational vs. sequential circuits.

Indicate whether each description would involve a combinational or sequential circuit.

1) If one or more people are in a room,

turn on the lights.
Combinational
Sequential

2) If the weight in an elevator exceeds

1500 pounds, sound an alarm.
Combinational
Sequential

3) If the sleep mode button is pressed

and released, turn phone ringer off until
the sleep mode button is pressed
again.
Combinational
Sequential

4) Turn faucet on while motion is

detected.
Combinational ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Sequential SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

5) If the garage door button is pressed,

turn motor on until garage door is fully
opened.
Combinational
Sequential
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CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.6.1:
Convert the equation to a circuit.

Convert the equation provided to a circuit.

Add gate to workspace: Click the gate image in the bottom-right.

Create wire: Drag from a pin. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Toggle input between 0 and 1: Click on input. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Delete gate or wire: Select item then click "Delete selected item(s)".

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1.7 Basic circuit drawing conventions

Designers follow several conventions when drawing digital circuits.

Figure 1.7.1: Circuit drawing conventions.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.7.1:
Drawing circuits.

1) Wires connect.

True
False

2) Wires connect.

True ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

False SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

3) The gate's output is _____.

jk'
j'k

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4) The wiring is OK.

True
False

5) The wiring is OK.

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

True
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
False

6) The label y is normally used for a gate

output.

True
False

1.8 Basic properties of Boolean algebra

Some first properties

The benefit of building circuits from logic gates, rather than directly from transistors, becomes clear
after learning some basic properties of Boolean algebra.

Table 1.8.1: A few basic properties of Boolean algebra.

Property Name Description

a(b + c) = ab + ac Distributive (for AND) Same as multiplication in regular algebra

Clearly one of a, a' must be 1

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

a + a' = 1 Complement 1+0=1 Michael Relly

0+1=1 SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Result of a · 1 is always a's value

a·1=a Identity 0·1=0

1·1=1

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PARTICIPATION 1.8.1:
The properties of Boolean algebra are useful to simplify an equation,
ACTIVITY
yielding a simpler circuit: Out-of-bed alarm system.

Animation captions:

1. Goal behavior.
2. Captured equation. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

3. Circuit for equation. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

4. Applying properties of Boolean algebra to equation.
5. A simpler circuit results (so simple, just a wire).

Applying Boolean algebra properties led to a simpler expression and thus a simpler circuit. Simplifying
expressions is a common use of Boolean algebra.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.8.2:
Simplifying an expression using Boolean algebra.

Original expression: (d')(e + f)(d + d')

(d')(e + f)(d + d') d'e + d'f (d')(e + f) (d')(e + f)(1)

Original expression

Complement

Identity

Distributive

Reset

More properties ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Below are more properties of Boolean algebra. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Table 1.8.2: More properties.

Property Name Description

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ab = ba Commutative (for AND) Same as multiplication for regular algebra

a+b=b+a Commutative (for OR) Same as addition for regular algebra

OR only needs one 1 to evaluate to 1

a+1=1 Null elements a = 0     0 + 1 = 1

a = 1     1 + 1 = 1
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

a+a=a
0 + 0 = 0      1 + 1 = 1
Michael Relly

Idempotent
aa = a 0 · 0 = 0       1SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
·1=1

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.8.3:
Simplifying an expression using more Boolean algebra properties.

Original expression: (e + 1)(e'f + fe' + d')

(e + 1)(e'f + fe' + d') e'f + d' (1)(e'f + fe' + d') e'f + fe' + d' e'f + e'f + d'

Original expression

Null elements

Identity

Commutative (for AND)

Idempotent

Reset

CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.8.1:
Simplify the equation using Boolean algebra properties.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Need help with this tool? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

Example: Motion-sensing light equation

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A designer may initially write an equation that matches his/her natural thinking of desired behavior, as
below. The designer can then apply Boolean algebra properties to obtain a simpler equation (and thus
a simpler eventual circuit).

PARTICIPATION 1.8.4:
Simplifying an equation using Boolean algebra properties: Motion-
ACTIVITY
sensing light.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Animation captions: Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

1. Inputs are m (motion) and t (test). Output is i (illuminate). Goal: Illuminate if motion and not
test, or if test and no motion, or if test and motion.
2. The goal behavior can be directly captured as an equation: i = mt' + tm' + tm.
3. The equation can be simplified using Boolean algebra properties. To begin, commutative (for
AND) yields i = mt' + m't + mt.
4. Next, idempotent yields i = mt' + m't + mt + mt. This equation looks longer, but will enable
simplifications.
5. Commutative yields i = mt' + mt + m't + mt.
Then distributive (twice) yields i = m(t' + t) + (m' +
m)t.
6. Complement (twice) yields i = m(1) + (1)t.
Commutative (for AND) yields i = m(1) + t(1).
7. Finally, identity (twice) yields i = m + t. A circuit derived from that equation will be simpler than
for original equation of i = mt' + tm' + tm.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.8.5:
Motion-sensing light example.

Consider the above motion-sensing light example.

1) The designer captured the desired

behavior little-by-little as an equation,
resulting in _____ terms on the right
side.
1
2
3
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2) The first modification (commutative) Michael Relly

just _____ literals within terms. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

rearranged
eliminated

3) The next modification (idempotent)

_____ the number of terms.

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decreased
did not change
increased

4) Subsequent modifications resulted in a

final equation having _____ terms on
the right side. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

2
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
3

Summary of common Boolean algebra properties

The following table summarizes commonly-used basic properties of Boolean algebra.

Table 1.8.3: Commonly-used basic properties of Boolean algebra.

Property Name Description

a(b + c) = ab + ac
(AND) Same as multiplication in regular
Distributive (AND)

a + (bc) = (a + b)(a + algebra

Distributive (OR)
c) (OR) Different from regular algebra

ab = ba
Variable order does not matter. Good
Commutative
a+b=b+a practice is to sort variables alphabetically.

(ab)c = a(bc)

(a + b) + c = a + (b + Associative Same as regular algebra

c)

(AND) Clearly one of a, a' must be 0    1 · 0 =

aa' = 0
Complement (AND)
0·1=0

a + a' = 1 Complement (OR)

(OR) Clearly one of a, a' must be 1   1 + 0 =
0+1=1

(AND) Result of ©zyBooks 10/22/21

a · 1 is always 16:48 1048321

a's value    0
Michael Relly

a·1=a Identity (AND)

· 1 = 0   1 · 1 = 1

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
a+0=a Identity (OR) (OR) Result of a + 0 is always a's value   0 +
0 = 0     1 + 0 = 1

a·0=0
Null elements Result doesn't depend on the value of a.
a+1=1

a·a=a Idempotent Duplicate values can be removed.

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a+a=a

(0')' = (1)' = 0

(a')' = a Involution
(1')' = (0)' = 1

(ab)' = a' + b'

DeMorgan's Law Discussed in another section

(a + b)' = a'b'
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.8.6:
Basic properties of Boolean algebra.

1) Which property allows one to change

zxy into xyz?
Associative
Commutative
Identity

2) Which property allows one to change a

+ a into just a?
Identity
Idempotent
Complement

3) Which property allows transforming xy

+ xy' into x(y + y')
Complement
Distributive

4) Which property allows transforming x(y

+ y') into x(1)?
Complement
Identity
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

5) Which property allows transforming Michael Relly

x(1) into x? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Complement
Identity

CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.8.2:
Simplify the equation using Boolean algebra properties.

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Need help with this tool?

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

1.9 Sum-of-products form ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Sum-of-products

Circuits are commonly designed by creating a simplified expression in sum-of-products form, then
converting to a simple circuit.
A product term is an ANDing of (one or more) variables, like ab'c. A product term is sometimes called
just a product or just a term. An expression in sum-of-products form consists solely of an ORing of
product terms, like ab'c + ab.
Due to similarities with regular algebra, convention uses the word "product" for AND and "sum" for OR;
hence the name "sum-of-products". But AND is not really multiplication (product), and OR is not really
addition (sum).

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.9.1:
Products.

Choose Yes if the item is a product term.

1) abc
Yes
No

2) a'b'cd
Yes
No

3) a + bc ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Yes SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
No

4) a
Yes
No

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PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.9.2:
Sum-of-products form.

Choose Yes if the expression is in sum-of-products form.

1) abc' + abc + ab'c

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Yes Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
No

2) abc' + c
Yes
No

3) a + c
Yes
No

4) ab
Yes
No

5) a
Yes
No

6) a(b + c)
Yes
No

7) (a + b)(b' + c)
Yes ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

No SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Converting sum-of-products to a circuit

A sum-of-products equation can be easily converted to a circuit, consisting of a column of AND gates
(one gate per product term), followed by an OR gate, which is known as a two-level circuit. (The NOT

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gates preceding the AND gates aren't considered a level).

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.9.3:
Converting a sum-of-products equation into a two-level circuit.

(a) (b) (c) (d) ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

y = fg + e'

y = efg + e'f

y = e'f' + ef

y=f+g

Reset

Converting to sum-of-products before creating a circuit

Circuits are commonly created by multiplying out an initial expression into sum-of-products form, then
creating a two-level circuit.

PARTICIPATION 1.9.4:
Multiplying out an expression to sum-of-products, before creating a
ACTIVITY
circuit.

Animation captions:

1. Goal: Sound alarm (y = 1) if enabled (e = 1) and (door open (d = 1) or window open (c = 1). A
designer first captures the equation y = e(d + c).
2. The designer then multiplies the right side expression into sum-of-products form: y = e(d + c)
= ed + ec.
3. The designer then converts the sum-of-products equation into a two-level
©zyBooks circuit:
10/22/21 16:48AND gates
1048321

for ed and ec, whose outputs are ORed to yield output y. Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.9.5:
Multiplying out expressions to convert to sum-of-products form.

Transform to sum-of-products form. Simplify when possible.

Type only the ? part.

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1) y = a(b + b'c)

y = ab + ?

Check Show answer

2) y = c(a + b)
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y = ac + ? Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

3) y = ab(c + d)

y = abc + ?

Check Show answer

4) y = ac(b + a)

y = abc + ?

Check Show answer

5) y = a + c(b + ab')

y = ? + bc + ab'c

Check Show answer

6) y = a'(b + b'c)

y = a'b + ?

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Check Show answer Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

7) y = (a' + b)(c + d)

y = a'c + a'd + ?

Check Show answer

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Example: Interrupt logic component

A processor executes computer programs. Various devices (like keyboards or USB ports) surrounding
a processor may request the processor to execute a sub-program on behalf of that device, a request
known as an interrupt. Devices may be in two categories, low-priority and high-priority, and the
processor may disable either category or both. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Low-priority: keyboard (k = 1), mouse (m = 1), USB port (u = 1). Disable all: p = 1.
High-priority: network interface (n = 1), battery backup (b = 1). Disable all: q = 1.

An interrupt logic component determines whether interrupt requests from devices result in an actual
interrupt to the processor (r = 1).

PARTICIPATION 1.9.6:
Multiplying out an expression into sum-of-products form before
ACTIVITY
creating a circuit: An interrupt logic example.

Animation captions:

1. This processor can be interrupted by any of multiple devices: a keyboard, mouse, USB port,
interface controller, or battery backup. The latter two have high priority.
2. The processor can disable all the low-priority devices by setting p = 1.
The processor can
disable all the high-priority devices by setting q = 1.
3. Interrupt logic controls whether the processor is interrupted. A designer captures the desired
behavior as equation: r = (k + m + u)p' + (n + b)q'.
4. The designer converts to sum-of-products form, r = kp' + mp' + up' + nq' + bq', and then
creates a two-level circuit, consisting of 5 AND gates and an OR gate.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.9.7:
Interrupt logic example.

Consider the above interrupt logic example.

1) How many inputs does the

interrupt logic component have?
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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Check Show answer

2) How many outputs does the

interrupt logic component have?

Ch k Sh
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Check Show answer

3) Did the designer originally capture

the interrupt logic's behavior as a
sum-of-products equation? Type
yes or no.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Check Show answer SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

4) How many product terms are in

the sum-of-products form of the
interrupt logic's equation?

Check Show answer

5) How many AND gates are in the

interrupt logic's circuit?

Check Show answer

CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.9.1:
Convert to sum-of-products form.

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

1.10 Sum-of-minterms form

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Sum-of-minterms Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Different equations may represent the same function. Ex: y = a + b, and y = a + a'b, represent the same
function. The sameness is not obvious, so a standard equation form is desirable.

A canonical form of a Boolean equation is a standard equation form for a function.

Sum-of-minterms form is a canonical form of a Boolean equation where the right-side
expression is a sum-of-products with each product a unique minterm.

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A minterm is a product term having exactly one literal for every function variable.
A literal is a variable appearance, in true or complemented form, in an expression, such as b, or
b'.

For a function of variables a and b, y = ab + a'b + a'b' is in sum-of-minterms form, but y = ab + a' is not
because the second product term is missing variable b.

PARTICIPATION ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

ACTIVITY 1.10.1:
Minterms. Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Given a function of a, b, c.

1) Does abc have 3 literals?

Yes
No

2) Does ab'c have 4 literals?

Yes
No

3) Is bc' a product term?

Yes
No

4) Is bc' a minterm?
Yes
No

5) Is ab'c a minterm?
Yes
No

6) Is a(b + c') a minterm?

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Yes Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
No

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.10.2:
Sum-of-minterms form.

Given a function of a, b, c, indicate if the equation is in sum-of-minterms form.

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10/22/21, 4:50 PM CISC 211: Computer Organization and Assembly Language home

1) y = abc + a'b'c'
Yes
No

2) y = ab + abc
Yes
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

No Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

3) y = a(b + c)
Yes
No

4) y = abc
Yes
No

5) y = ac
Yes
No

6) y = abc + cb'a
Yes
No

7) y = abc + abc
Yes
No

Transforming to sum-of-minterms
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

A sum-of-products equation can be transformed to sum-of-minterms by multiplying each

product
Michael Relly
term by (v + v') for any missing variable v to create minterm (removing redundant minterms). v + v' is
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
1, so multiplying a term by (v + v') doesn't change a product term's functionality. Ex:

y = ab + a' sum-of-products, but not sum-of-minterms

y = ab + a'(b + b')

y = ab + a'b + a'b' sum-of-minterms

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An equation not initially in sum-of-products form can first be multiplied out. Thus, transforming an
equation to sum-of-minterms is done by:

Initially multiplying out to sum-of-products

Transform each product term to a minterm
Remove redundant minterms
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

PARTICIPATION SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ACTIVITY 1.10.3:
Transforming to sum-of-minterms.

Animation captions:

1. Given y = a(b + bc'), the first step is to multiply out into sum-of-products form (if not already in
sum-of-products form), yielding y = ab + abc'.
2. The next step is to transform each term into a minterm. For ab, the identity property can be
used to obtain ab(1).
3. The complement property can be used to transform ab(1) to ab(c + c').
4. ab(c + c') can be multiplied out to become abc + abc', both of which are minterms.
5. Duplicate terms should be removed. So y = abc + abc' + abc' becomes y = abc + abc'. The
equation is now in sum-of-minterms form.

PARTICIPATION 1.10.4:
Transforming an equation already in sum-of-products form to sum-
ACTIVITY
of-minterms.

Given variables a, b. Order the steps to transform y = ab + a' to sum of minterms.

y = ab + a'b + a'b' y = ab + a'(1) y = ab + a'(b + b') y = ab + a'

Original equation

(1)
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

(2) Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

(3)

Reset

PARTICIPATION
1 10 5 T f i l i
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ACTIVITY 1.10.5:
Transforming a general equation to sum-of-minterms form.

Given variables a, b, c. Order the steps to transform y = (a + c)b to sum-of-minterms.

y = a'bc + abc' + abc y = ab(c + c') + bc(a + a') y = ab(1) + bc(1) y = (a + c)b

y = abc + abc' + abc + a'bc y = ab + bc ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Original equation

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Reset

Note: Transforming directly from ab to ab(c + c') is a common shortcut. The intermediate step, ab to
ab(1), is often omitted.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.10.6:
Transforming to sum-of-minterms form.

Given variables a, b, c. Transform each equation to sum-of-minterms form. Type only the ?
part

1) y = a'b

y = a'b(1)

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

y = a'b(c + c')
Michael Relly

y = a'bc + ? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

2) y = ac

y = ac(1)
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y = ac(b + ?)

Check Show answer

3) y = a'c'

y = a'c'(b + ?) ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

Example: Determining if two equations represent the same function

Because sum-of-minterms is canonical, one can determine whether two equations represent the
same function by transforming each to sum-of-minterms equations and checking if the equations are
the same.

PARTICIPATION 1.10.7:
Transforming to sum-of-minterms to check if equations represent
ACTIVITY
same function: Person-waiting example.

Animation captions:

1. A person-waiting bell rings (y = 1) if a sensor detects a person (a = 1), or no person but a

button is pressed (b = 1). Two designers create two equations. Are they the same?
2. The first equation, y = a + a'b is transformed into sum-of-minterms form, yielding y = a'b + ab'
+ ab. (Note: minterms are arranged in "increasing" order).
3. Likewise, the second equation, y = a + b, is transformed to sum-of-minterms, yielding y = a'b +
ab' + ab.
4. The two sum-of-minterm equations are identical. Thus, the original two equations both
represent the same function.

Compact function notation: Minterm numbers

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

A compact function notation represents each minterm by a number. Given that ab'c is 1 if a/b/c are
Michael Relly

1/0/1, that minterm is represented as m5 because 101 in binary is 5 in decimal. A 3-variable function
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
thus has minterms numbered 0 to 7. Ex: f(a,b,c) = a'b'c' + ab'c + abc can be written compactly as
f(a,b,c) = m0 + m5 + m7. An alternative notation is f(a,b,c) = ∑(0, 5, 7).

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.10.8:
Numbered minterms.

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Match the minterms.

m6 m1 m2 m5 m0

a'bc'
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

a'b'c' SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

a'b'c

ab'c

abc'

Reset

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.10.9:
Compact function notation.

1) Given f(a, b, c) = a'bc + abc, the

compact notation is: f(abc) = ?
m3 + m7
m4 + m0
Cannot determine

2) Given f(a, b, c) = ab, the compact

notation is: f(abc) = ?
m3
m6 + m7
Cannot determine

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

The compact form makes comparing equations for equivalence especially easy.
Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.10.1:
Transform the equation to a sum-of-minterms.

Steps to expand:

1. Select the a in the Identity property a * 1 ≡ a, so that a * 1 ← a.

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2. Select the entire term.

3. Click Apply property.
4. Select the 1 in the Complement property a+a'≡ 1 , so that a+a' ← 1.
5. Select the 1 in the equation.
6. Select the appropriate complement to apply.
7. Select the a(b + c) in the Distributive property ab+ac ≡ a(b + c).
8. Use the guided steps to complete the expansion.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7 Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.10.2:
Convert to sum-of-minterms form.

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

1.11 Binary and counting

Decimal and binary numbers

Humans have ten fingers so humans use a base ten number system. Ex: 452 means 4·102 + 5·101 +
2·100. Digital systems have two-valued signals (high, low) so digital systems use a base two number
system. Ex: 1101 means 1·23 + 1·22 + 0·21 + 1·20. A number in base ten is called a decimal number
(from Latin "decem" meaning ten).
Base ten has ten symbols for a digit: 0, 1, ..., 9. When counting up and reaching 9, the digit resets to 0
and a 1 carries to the next digit. Ex: 008, 009, 010, 011, or 098, 099, 100, 101. Base two has only two
symbols for a digit: 0 and 1. So counting up results in frequent carries. Ex: 000, 001, 010, 011, 100,
101, 110, 111. A number in base two is called a binary number (from Latin "bini" meaning two
together).

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.11.1:
Counting up.

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Animation captions: Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
1. Quantities can be shown directly, like *, **, ***, ..., **********.
2. In base ten, the first digit goes up to 9, then that digit is reset to 0 and a 1 carries to the next
digit. So 9 is followed by 10.
3. If the carry is to a digit that is already 9, then that digit is also reset to 0 and a 1 carries to the
next digit. So 99 is followed by100.

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4. In base two, the first digit goes up to 1, then the digit is reset to 0, and a 1 carries to next digit.
So 1 is followed by 10.
5. If a carry is to a digit that is already 1, then that digit is also reset to 0 and a 1 carries to next
digit. So 11 is followed by 100.
6. In binary, resets and carries happen every other count: 101, 110 (reset, carry), 111, 1000 (reset,
carry and reset, carry and reset, carry), 1001, 1010 (reset, carry), 1011, etc.

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

PARTICIPATION
1.11.2:
Counting in binary. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ACTIVITY

What binary number comes next? In explanations, "first digit" is the rightmost digit.

1) 000
001
100

2) 001
011
010

3) 011
010
100

4) 100
101
001

5) 101
110
111

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

CHALLENGE SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ACTIVITY 1.11.1:
Counting up with 3 bits.

Can you count from 000 to 111 in binary in 20 seconds?

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

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Converting binary to decimal

Digital designers benefit from being able to quickly convert between binary and decimal numbers.
Given a binary number, each digit's weight is summed to form a decimal number. Ex: 1101 = 1·23 +
1·22 + 0·21 + 1·20 = 8 + 4 + 0 + 1 = 13.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.11.3:
Binary to decimal conversion tool. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

0 0 0 0
0
8 4 2 1 (decimal value)
23 22 21 20

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.11.4:
Binary to decimal.

Convert from binary to decimal. Type answer without any leading 0's. Four-bit binary digit
weights: 8, 4, 2, 1.

1) 0001

Check Show answer

2) 0010

Check Show answer

3) 0111

Check Show answer

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

4) 1001 SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

5) 1111

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Check Show answer

Converting decimal to binary

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Given a decimal number, starting from the leftmost binary digit (greater thanMichael
the decimal
Relly
number), a 1
is placed in each digit as long as the resulting binary number doesn't exceed the decimal number.
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Figure 1.11.1: Converting decimal to binary.

Converting 9 to 4-bit binary

1... 8 is less

11.. 12 is too much, so use 10..

101. 10 (ten) is too much, so use 100.

1001 9 is equal

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.11.5:
Decimal to four-bit binary.

Convert from decimal to binary. Type a four-bit answer: 0101, not 101. Four-bit binary digit
weights: 8, 4, 2, 1.

1) 3

Check Show answer

2) 4 ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

3) 5

Check Show answer

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Check Show answer

4) 13

Check Show answer

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Seen on a t-shirt

There are 10 kinds of people in this world:

Those who get binary, and those who don't.

1.12 Truth tables

Truth table basics

A Boolean function can be represented in various ways, like an equation, a circuit, or a truth table. A
truth table lists all possible variable value combinations on the left, and lists the function's value for
each combination on the right. Each row corresponds to a possible minterm. Generating all
combinations is done by counting up in binary.

Note: Minterms are sometimes written as m0, m1, ..., indicating their row's decimal equivalent: a'b'c' is
000 or m0, a'b'c is 001 or m1, etc..
A function with N variables will have a truth table with 2N rows:

2 variables yields 2 2 = 4 rows

3 variables yields 2 3 = 8 rows ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

4 variables yields 2 4 = 16 rows SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

(And so on)

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.1:
Truth table basics.

Animation captions:

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10/22/21, 4:50 PM CISC 211: Computer Organization and Assembly Language home

1. A truth table lists on the left all possible variable value combinations (meaning all possible
minterms). For a, b, possible combinations are 00, 01, 10, 11.
2. Note that the combinations are obtained by counting up in binary. Each row corresponds to a
minterm.
3. For a given function, a truth table lists on the right for which rows (variable value
combinations) that the output should be 1. Other rows get 0's.
4. A 3-input function's truth table will have 2 3 or 8 rows. A 4-input would have 2 4 or 16 rows. And
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

so on. Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.2:
2-input truth table.

Consider the following incomplete truth table.

1) What should J be?

1
0

2) What should K be?

1
0

3) What should L be?

1
0

4) Row 00 corresponds to what possible

minterm?
a'b'
ab

5) Row 10 corresponds to what possible

minterm? ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

a'b Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ab'

6) Function f(a, b) = ab' is to be

represented on the above table. What
value should be written for N?
1

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7) Function f(a, b) = ab' is to be

represented on the above table. What
value should be written for M?
1
0 ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

8) A function f(a, b, c, d, e) has 5 variables. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

How many rows will the function's truth
table have?
5
32

Converting a truth table to an equation

A function captured as a truth table can be transformed to a sum-of-minterms equation by summing

the minterms in rows having a 1. That equation can then be converted to a circuit.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.3:
Converting a truth table to an equation, and then a circuit.

Animation captions:

1. A function may be captured as a truth table. Here, f is 1 for a'bc or abc'.

2. A truth table can be converted to an equation by summing the minterms for each row having a
1.
3. The equation can easily be converted to a two-level circuit.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.4:
Converting a truth table to an equation.

Consider the following truth table:

1) Type the minterm corresponding to ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

row (a). SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

2) Type the minterm corresponding to

row (b).
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Check Show answer

3) y = ?

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Check Show answer Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.5:
Converting a truth table to an equation and then circuit.

Consider the following truth table. An equation will be y = ___ + ___.

ab y

00 0

01 1

10 1

11 0

1) Which is one of the minterms in the

equation?
a'b'
a'b

2) Which is one of the minterms in the

equation?
ab'
ab

3) Considering y's equation, how many

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

AND gates will exist in a circuit derived Michael Relly

directly from that equation? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

1
2
3

4) Considering y's truth table, how many

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AND gates will exist in a circuit derived

directly from the equation derived from
that table?
2
4

5) A 3-input function's truth table has 5 ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

1's. How many AND gates will exist in a Michael Relly

circuit derived directly from the SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

equation derived from that table?
3
5
8

Capturing behavior as a truth table

Some functions are more easily captured as a truth table, others as an equation.

PARTICIPATION 1.12.6:
Some functions are more easily captured as a truth table, others as
ACTIVITY
an equation.

Animation captions:

1. Three parking spaces exist (a, b, c). A parked car causes the space's variable to be 1.
2. The function "y is 1 if two cars are parked adjacently" is easily captured as a truth table. The
designer looks for rows with two adjacent 1's, setting y to 1. Other rows get 0.
3. An equation can be derived by summing the minterms for the rows with 1's. y = a'bc + abc' +
abc
4. In contrast, the function "z is 1 if a car is parked on an edge" is more easily captured as an
equation: z = a + c.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.7:
Capturing behavior as a truth table or equation.
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Michael Relly

Consider the above parking space example. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

1) Function y could have been captured

directly as an equation.
True
False

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2) Converting a truth table to a sum-of-

minterms equation involves much
thought and tradeoffs.
True
False

3) A function has 12 inputs. Which is a ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

designer more likely to try first when Michael Relly

capturing the function's behavior? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Truth table
Equation

4) Function z could have been captured

directly as a truth table.
True
False

5) If function z was captured as a truth

table, how many rows would have an
output 1 for z?
2
6

Example: Windows-open detector

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.8:
Windows-open detector: A truth table easily captures the behavior.

Animation captions:

1. Example: 3 windows, each with sensors: a, b, c. 1 means window is open, 0 closed.

2. A designer may draw a truth table with a, b, c as inputs, and 8 rows (000, 001, ..., 111).
3. The designer places a 1 in any row having two or more input 1's, meaning rows 011, 101, 110,
111. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

4. The designer has captured the function. The designer then converts Michael
to sum-of-minterms
Relly
by
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
including any minterm for a row with a 1: y = a'bc + ab'c + abc' + abc.
5. During operation, y will be 1 if two or more windows are open, corresponding to a table row
with a 1 and to a minterm in the equation. Fewer open corresponds to a 0 row.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.12.9:
Windows-open example.

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Consider the above windows-open example.

1) Could the behavior have been captured

directly as an equation?
Yes
No
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

2) How many truth table rows have 1's in Michael Relly

the output column? SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

4
8

3) The equation also includes specific

minterms for truth table rows with
outputs of 0.
True
False

4) The functionality of y differs depending

on whether the designer captured
behavior using a truth table or
equation.
True
False

Converting an equation to a truth table

Sometimes a designer wants to convert an equation to a truth table. Such conversion

can be achieved by first transforming the equation to sum-of-minterms (discussed in
an earlier section). Then, the designer can simply place a 1 in each minterm's row in
the truth table.
Like sum-of-minterms form, a truth table is a canonical representation (discussed
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

earlier) of a function. Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.12.1:
Convert the table to a sum-of-minterms.

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

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1.13 Product-of-sums form and maxterms

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Product-of-sums form Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
A sum term is an ORing of (one or more) variables, like (a + b' + c'). A sum term is sometimes called
just a term. An expression in product-of-sums (POS) form consists solely of an ANDing of sum
terms, like (a + b' + c)(a + b).

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.13.1:
Sum terms and product-of-sum.

Given a function with variables a, b, and c.

1) Is (abc) a sum term?

Yes
No

2) Is (a + b') a sum term?

Yes
No

3) Is (a'b' + c) a sum term?

Yes
No

4) Is (a + b')(a' + c') in product-of-sum

form?
Yes
No ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

5) Is (a + c)(a' + b' + c') in product-of-sum SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

form?
Yes
No

6) Is (ab) + (a'c') in product-of-sum form?

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Yes
No

Product-of-maxterms

A maxterm is a sum term that has all of the function variables exactly once in either true or
complemented form. Product-of-maxterms form is a canonical form ©zyBooks 10/22/21 equation
of a Boolean 16:48 1048321

where
Michael Relly

the right-side expression is a product-of-sum with each sum consisting only of maxterms.
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.13.2:
Truth table to product-of-maxterms.

Animation content:

undefined

Animation captions:

1. Each row of the truth table corresponds to a maxterm. A maxterm is denoted by M.

2. A maxterm ORs inputs, where an input that is 0 appears in true form and an input that is 1
appears in complemented form.
3. A truth table can be converted to a product-of-maxterms equation by ANDing the maxterms
for each truth table row where f = 0.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.13.3:
Maxterms and product of maxterms.

Given a function of a, b, c.

1) Is (a' + b' + c) a maxterm?

Yes
No

2) Is a(b + c) a maxterm?
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Yes Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
No

3) Is y = (a + b + c)(a' + b' + c') in product-

of-maxterms form?
Yes
No
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4) Is y = (a' + b')(a' + b' + c') in product-of-

maxterms form?
Yes
No

5) Is y = (a' + b' + c') in product-of-

maxterms form? ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

Yes
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
No

Converting from product-of-sums form to sum-of-products form

An equation in product-of-sums form can be converted to sum-of-products form using Boolean

algebra.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.13.4:
Converting from POS to SOP form.

Animation content:

undefined

Animation captions:

1. Boolean algebra can be used to convert an equation in product-of-sums form to sum-of-

products form.
2. First, the distributive property is applied yielding y = a(a' + b') + b(a' + b').
Then, distributive
property is applied (twice) yielding y = aa' + ab' + a'b + bb'.
3. Next, complement (for AND) yields a 0 for aa' and bb'.
The other terms are retained as-is.
4. Finally, identity (OR) yields y = ab' + a'b, which is in sum-of-products form.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.13.5:
POS to SOP conversion.

Convert the equations from POS to SOP form. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
1) y = (a' + b)(a + c)
a' + bc
a+b+c
a'c + ab + bc

2) y = (a' + b)(a + b')

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a'b' + ab
ab' + a'b
a' + b + a + b'

3) y = (a' + c')(a + c)
1
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

a'c + ac' Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
ac + a'c'

CHALLENGE
ACTIVITY 1.13.1:
Product-of-maxterms form.

350504.2096642.qx3zqy7

1.14 Top-down design + examples

Top-down design: Capture, convert

Designers commonly follow a two-step design process:

1. Capture: The task of precisely describing a circuit's desired behavior.

2. Convert (aka implement): The task of translating captured behavior into a circuit, possibly
involving simplification.

Capture: For combinational circuits, designers commonly capture behavior as truth tables or
equations.
Convert: A truth table can be converted to an equation first by ORing the minterms of each table row
having an output 1. An equation can be converted to a circuit by multiplying out to product terms (if
not already), with each term becoming an AND gate, followed by one OR gate.
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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.14.1:
Top-down design: Capture, convert.

Consider a designer who wishes to design a circuit. Order the steps.

Capture as truth table Convert: Truth table to equation

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Convert: Equation to circuit Use the circuit

(A)

(B) ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

(C) SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

(D)

Reset

Example: Medical radiation therapy device

A particular medical device delivers radiation to a patient to treat cancer. The device has two radiation
strength levels, low (s = 0) and high (s = 1). The device has two radiation durations: short (d = 0) and
long (d = 1). The device normally is used to deliver high strength for short duration, or low strength for
long duration. A hardware safety component can be enabled (e = 1) that detects high strength for long
duration and automatically turns off the device after a minute, but on rare occasion a radiation
therapist may disable that component. To prevent accidents, a designer wishes to sound an alarm if
the device is ever configured to high strength for long duration with the safety off.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.14.2:
Medical radiation therapy device: Warning system.

Animation captions:

1. A therapist can configure a radiation delivery device for high strength (s = 1) or low, and for
long duration (d = 1) or short. A hardware safety component can be enabled (e = 1).
2. The designer wishes to sound the alarm if strength is high, duration is long,
and the safety is
off.
3. Capture: For this system, the designer decides that an equation most easily captures the
behavior: y = sde' ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

4. Convert: The designer can then convert the equation to a circuit. Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.14.3:
Radiation delivery device.

Consider the radiation delivery device above.

1)
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For the warning system, how many

inputs exist?

Check Show answer

2) A truth table would have had how ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

many rows? Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Check Show answer

3) The designer captured the desired

behavior using what equation?

Check Show answer

4) The equation converted to how

many AND and OR gates total?

Check Show answer

Exploring further:

Therac-25 : A well-known radiation therapy device with a bug that caused patient
injury/death. (Source: Wikipedia)

Example: Weight threshold

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

A car's seat weight sensor provides three values a, b, c, to a system, indicating an object's
Michael Relly
relative
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
weight in binary, ranging from 000 to 111 (heaviest). A designer wishes to design a "weight threshold"
system that activates an airbag system (y = 1) if the weight is 101 (5) or more. For this system, the
designer chooses to capture desired behavior with a truth table, then converts to a circuit.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.14.4:
Weight threshold system.

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Animation captions:

1. A car seat's weight sensor outputs weights in binary ranging from 000 (nobody seated) to 111
(heavy person seated), on signals a, b, c.
2. A designer wishes to design a system that sets y = 1 only if the weight is 5 (101) or more.
3. For this behavior, the Capture task is best done using a truth table. The designer puts a 1 in
the y column for rows 101 (5) and higher. The other rows get 0.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

4. The Convert task begins by translating to an equation, and then to a Michael

circuit. Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.14.5:
Weight threshold system.

Consider the weight threshold system above.

1) To capture the system's behavior, the

designer used _____ .
a truth table
an equation

2) To convert the captured behavior to a

circuit, the designer first _____ .
simplified
converted to an equation

3) To continue converting, the designer

converted an equation to _____ .
gates
a truth table

Example: Majority voter circuit

Some systems are more prone to errors due to complexity or noise. And, some systems cannot
tolerate errors. Ex: Spacecraft have complex control systems, are prone to errors due to
noise/vibrations/heat, and may crash or explode if digital circuit outputs are erroneous. Such systems
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

often have three independent calculations of output, and then use a circuit to take aRelly
Michael majority

vote, an
arrangement known as triple modular redundancy. SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.14.6:
Majority voter circuit.

Animation captions:

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1. Some systems like spacecraft may be prone to errors due to complexity and electrical noise.
And, errors may have disastrous results.
2. Thus, designers may build three versions of the same component, such as one that
opens/closes a fuel valve. Ideally all three always output the same value, but sometimes they
don't.
3. A majority voter circuit outputs the value that occurs most. A designer decides to capture as a
truth table. Three 0's yields 0. Two 0's and a 1 yields 0. Likewise for the rest.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

4. The designer converts the truth table to an equation and then gates.Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.14.7:
Majority voter circuit.

Consider the example above.

1) The gray boxes on the left each _____ .

are majority voter circuits
carry out different functions
carry out the same function

2) The majority voter circuit has three

inputs. What other number of inputs
would be most reasonable?
One
Five
Twenty nine

3) If the inputs to the majority voter circuit

are 1 0 1, the output should be _____ .
0
1
Error

4) The inputs to the voter circuit are _____

.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

always the same Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
always different
usually the same

5) The voter circuit _____ correct output.

helps yield
guarantees
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Exploring further:

Triple modular redundancy (Source: Wikipedia)

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Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

1.15 Why study digital design

Studying digital design gives professionals, like computer scientists, or electrical and computer
engineers, a deeper understanding of how computers work "under the hood." Even if going on to do
other tasks, like writing software, assembling systems, etc., such understanding can lead to more
professional accomplishment of those tasks—akin to drivers knowing how a car engine works being
better professional drivers, or to skin experts knowing how all the human body works being better
dermatologists. And some computing professionals will go on to directly use digital design to build
computers.

Figure 1.15.1: Digital design is needed to understand how computing

systems work.

Studying digital design is also important for professionals who may build embedded systems, like
computer scientists, electrical and computer engineers, mechanical engineers, biomedical engineers,
physicists, and more. An embedded system is a computing system embedded within another device
like an automobile, an electronic book reader or music player, a robot, a medical device, a home
security system, and much more. Hundreds of times more embedded systems exist than traditional
computers. As digital circuit chips continue to shrink, become more powerful, and reduce in cost,
previously-unimaginable exciting embedded system inventions continue to be unveiled, like
eyeglasses that a user can talk to and get instant information displayed in the lenses, like self-driving
cars, or like ingestible computerized pills that deliver time-released medicines or that measure internal
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

body data—all of which exist today. To meet tight constraints on size, performance, power, or cost,
Michael Relly

embedded systems often use various combinations of microprocessors and custom digital circuits.
SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Figure 1.15.2: Embedded systems: Smart pill, automobiles, and more!

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PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.15.1:
Why digital design.

Which of the following are likely to be true, based on the above discussion?

1) The VP of Engineering at a billion-dollar

hard-drive maker complained that
computer science graduates who "don't ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

understand resources" end up writing

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
grossly inefficient software.
True
False

2) Knowing what computer parts do, like

memory or clock, can help in
purchasing computers.
True
False

3) A computer software update involved

updating the flash memory of a
hardware component. The update
failed. A phone technician said the
component required replacement, but
based on knowledge of how flash
memory worked, the user suggested
manually downloading the software,
which worked.
True
False

4) The inventor of the most widely-used

programming language (as of 2014)
says that the trend of hiding under-the-
hood details from computing
graduates is "a disaster waiting to ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

happen." Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
True
False

5) Each function of an embedded system

is inherently either a microprocessor

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program or a custom digital circuit, but

can't be both.
True
False

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Michael Relly

1.16 Multiple outputs SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

Multiple output circuits

Many combinational circuits have multiple outputs for the same inputs. Each output can be treated as
a unique function. For a truth table, each output becomes a new column. For equations, each output
is a unique equation.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.16.1:
Multiple outputs: This circuit has three inputs and two outputs.

Animation content:

undefined

Animation captions:

1. Given three inputs a, b, c, this circuit should output the number of 1's. Ex: 000 has zero 1's. 010
has one 1, as does 100. 110 has two 1's.
2. The number of 1's can be represented in binary using two variables y, z.
3. A designer treats y as a unique function of inputs a, b, c, so derives an equation for y. Likewise,
the designer derives an equation for z.
4. The designer then designs a circuit for each output. Each output has 4 AND gates and 1 OR
gate.

PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.16.2:
Multiple output circuits. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
Consider the example above.

1) The truth table has 3 inputs, 8 rows,

and _____ outputs.
1
2
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2) Output y is 1 for how many input

combinations?
1
2
4 ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

3) When filling in 1's in the columns for y, SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

z, a designer likely considers y, z _____
together
separately

4) When creating the equations, a

designer considers y, z _____.
together
separately

5) When creating the circuit, the designer

kept the circuits _____.
intermingled
separate

6) For a different truth table with two

outputs w, x, if three 1's exist in w's
column, then ___ 1's exist in x's column.
one
three
an unknown number of

Example: 7-segment display

A 7-segment display is a common display device having 7 light segments that can be lit in different
patterns to represent numbers 0-9 and some letters too. ©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
PARTICIPATION 1.16.3:
7-segment display, and use for displaying a 2-bit binary number as a
ACTIVITY
decimal number.

Animation captions:

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1. A 7-segment display has 7 independently-lit light segments.

Each segment is controlled by an
input named, a, b, c, d, e, f, or g.
2. A number can be displayed by setting specific inputs with 1's, others with 0's. Here, a 3 is
displayed by setting a, b, c, d, g with 1's, and e, f with 0's.
3. A system has a 2-bit binary number on inputs i, j, and should display 0, 1, 2, or 3 on the 7-
segment display. A designer fills a truth table for each number.
4. Each output is a function. A designer can create a separate equation for each output.
©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021
PARTICIPATION
ACTIVITY 1.16.4:
7-segment display.

1) What is abcdefg to display a 2?

Type as: 0000000

Check Show answer

2) What is abcdefg to display an 8?

Type as: 0000000

Check Show answer

3) If inputs ij are 00, what are outputs

abcdefg?

Check Show answer

4) Is b an input or output of the circuit

being designed? Type input or
output.

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Check Show answer

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

5) The designer created equation c =

i'j' + i'j + ij. That equation can be
simplified to c = i'j' + _____? Type
one literal. Hint: i'j + ij = ?

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Check Show answer

6) The designer created equation b =

i'j' + i'j + ij' + ij. That equation can be
simplified to b = ?

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Check Show answer Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

7) A designer decides to display a 3-

bit binary number (0-7). The circuit
will have three inputs ijk. How
many outputs will the circuit have?

Check Show answer

©zyBooks 10/22/21 16:48 1048321

Michael Relly

SDMIRAMARCISC211MoezziFall2021

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