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Lecture What is a Karnaugh Map

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8 views

Lecture What is a Karnaugh Map

Uploaded by

fariha1117
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is a Karnaugh map (K-map)?

A Karnaugh map (K-map) is a visual method used to simplify the


algebraic expressions in Boolean functions.
In many digital circuits and practical problems we need to find
expression with minimum variables. We can minimize Boolean
expressions of 3, 4 variables very easily using K-map without using
any Boolean algebra theorems. K-map can take two forms Sum of
Product (SOP) and Product of Sum (POS) according to the need of
problem. K-map is table like representation but it gives more
information than TRUTH TABLE. We fill grid of K-map with 0’s and
1’s then solve it by making groups.

K-map Rules
The complex Boolean expressions can be simplified by following the
K-map rules as given below.
• Based on the number of variables present in the given Boolean
expression, select the corresponding K-map. That is, it might be
either 2 variable k-map or 3 variable K-map or 4 variable k-map
or 5 variable k-map.
• Determine the type of given Boolean expression. It might be in
the form of SOP (minterms) or POS (max terms).
• If the given equation is in SOP form, then the cells of the
respective k-map minterms are placed with binary value ‘1’.
• If the given equation is in POS form, then the cells of the
respective K-map max terms are placed with binary value ‘0’.
• Now, the grouping of the maximum number of variables is done
with the power of 2 like 2, 4, 8, etc. Grouping of variables could
be horizontal and vertical, but not in diagonal. Grouping if
variables can overlap to obtain the simplified equation.
• From the obtained groups, the minimized Boolean expression is
determined. That means product terms are found and added up
to convert them into SOP form.

The Karnaugh map uses the following rules for the simplification
of expressions by grouping together adjacent cells containing ones
• Groups may not include any cell containing a zero

• Groups may be horizontal or vertical, but not diagonal.

• Groups must contain 1, 2, 4, 8, or in general 2n cells. That is


if n = 1, a group will contain two 1's since 21 = 2. If n = 2, a
group will contain four 1's since 22 = 4.

• Each group should be as large as possible.

• Each cell containing a one must be in at least one group.


• Groups may overlap.

• Groups may wrap around the table. The leftmost cell in a


row may be grouped with the rightmost cell and the top cell
in a column may be grouped with the bottom cell.
• There should be as few groups as possible, as long as this
does not contradict any of the previous rules.

Summmary:
1. No zeros allowed.
2. No diagonals.
3. Only power of 2 number of cells in each group.
4. Groups should be as large as possible.
5. Every one must be in at least one group.
6. Overlapping allowed.
7. Wrap around allowed.
8. Fewest number of groups possible.

What is a Karnaugh map example?


The best way to understand how a K-map works is to see one in
action, and the place to start is with a Boolean function. The following
function defines a basic Boolean expression that incorporates the
function's four variables:
f(A, B, C, D) = A̅BC̅D + ABC̅D̅ + ABC̅D + ABCD + ABCD̅ + AB̅CD
+ AB̅CD̅
After you've calculated the equation for each group, you can put them
all together to create the final -- and abbreviated -- expression:

f = AB + AC + BC̅D

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