Digital Electronics Don't do this

3 K-Map Mistakes That Cost You Marks

3 K-map mistakes that cost marks. Which one have you made?

Lesson notes

Minimise 3- and 4-variable functions with K-maps, including don't-care conditions

Key points

Binary order, not Gray: Labelling columns 00, 01, 10, 11 breaks adjacency; use Gray code 00, 01, 11, 10.
Groups of three or six: Groups must hold 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 cells; split odd shapes into power-of-two groups.
Ignoring wrap and…: Edges and four corners are adjacent, and don't-cares 10 to 15 in BCD can enlarge groups.

Takeaway: Gray code labels, power-of-two groups, wrap edges, use don't-cares.

Quick check: What sizes can a valid K-map group of adjacent 1s have?

Any size up to 8
Only powers of two
Only even numbers

Each group must cover 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 cells to remove whole variables.

Gray code orderingprime implicantdon't-care

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