Properties of Boolean Algebra

• Difficulty Level : Easy
• Last Updated : 13 Dec, 2019

Switching algebra is also known as Boolean Algebra. It is used to analyze digital gates and circuits It is logic to perform mathematical operation on binary numbers i.e., on ‘0’ and ‘1’. Boolean Algebra contains basic operators like AND, OR and NOT etc. Operations are represented by ‘.’ for AND , ‘+’ for OR . Operations can be performed on variables which are represented using capital letter eg ‘A’ , ‘B’ etc.

Properties of switching algebra –

• Annulment law – a variable ANDed with 0 gives 0, while a variable ORed with 1 gives 1, i.e.,

  A.0 = 0
  A + 1 = 1

• Identity law – in this law variable remain unchanged it is ORed with ‘0’ or ANDed with ‘1’, i.e.,

  A.1 = A
  A + 0 = A

• Idempotent law – a variable remain unchanged when it is ORed or ANDed with itself, i.e.,

  A + A = A
  A.A = A

• Complement law – in this Law if a complement is added to a variable it gives one, if a variable is multiplied with its complement it results in ‘0’, i.e.,

  A + A’ = 1
  A.A’ = 0

• Double negation law – a variable with two negation its symbol gets cancelled out and original variable is obtained, i.e.,

  ((A)’)’=A

• Commutative law – a variable order does not matter in this law, i.e.,

  A + B = B + A
  A.B = B.A

• Associative law – the order of operation does not matter if the priority of variables are same like ‘*’ and ‘/’, i.e.,

  A+(B+C) = (A+B)+C
  A.(B.C) = (A.B).C

• Distributive law – this law governs opening up of brackets, i.e.,

  A.(B+C) = (A.B)+(A.C)
  A+(B.C) = (A+B).(A+C)

• Absorption law –:-This law involved absorbing the similar variables, i.e.,

  A.(A+B) = A
  A + AB = A

• De Morgan law – the operation of an AND or OR logic circuit is unchanged if all inputs are inverted, the operator is changed from AND to OR, the output is inverted, i.e.,

  (A.B)’ = A’ + B’
  (A+B)’ = A’.B’