4:1 mux implementing a 3-variable function — multiplexers and decoders

coreShannon expansion in hardware

Answer

Y column 00011011

Why this example is worth doing

A function of three variables fits a four-input mux if the third variable is allowed to appear on the data inputs, each of which becomes 0, 1, C or C̄. That is Shannon expansion — splitting a function on its variables and handling the cofactors separately — and it halves the part count. The page derives the residues from the truth table and names the theorem, since it is the same decomposition that underlies binary decision diagrams.

Try your own input in the Multiplexers & decoders. Multiplexers from 2:1 to 16:1 and decoders from 2:4 to 4:16, with the selection logic derived.

How the answer is reached

Output table

Output table — columns A, B, C, Y
ABCY
0000
0010
0100
0111
1001
1010
1101
1111

Compare with

Open the Multiplexers & decoders

This input is entered in the tool itself — it is too rich for a link to carry.

Note:

Notation this page assumes

  • Symbols: · is AND, + is OR, ⊕ is XOR, a prime or an overline is NOT. The field also takes ∧ ∨ ¬ ~ ! & | and the words.
  • Operator precedence, tightest first: NOT, then AND (including juxtaposition), then XOR/XNOR, then NAND/NOR, then OR, then IMPLIES, then IFF.
  • Gate symbols follow whichever standard the header toggle is set to: ANSI/IEEE Std 91-1984 distinctive shapes, or IEC 60617-12 rectangles.

Sources

  • ANSI/IEEE Std 91-1984, Graphic Symbols for Logic Functions
  • IEC 60617-12, Graphical Symbols for Diagrams — Binary Logic Elements