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Year 10
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Truth tables

I can construct a truth table to represent a Boolean expression or circuit.

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New
New
Year 10
OCR

Truth tables

I can construct a truth table to represent a Boolean expression or circuit.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Link copied to clipboard

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A truth table is a way of summarising and checking the logic of a circuit.
  2. The table shows all possible combinations of inputs and, for each combination, the output the circuit will produce.

Keywords

  • Truth table - a table showing the outputs for all possible combinations of inputs to a logic gate or logic circuit

  • Boolean expression - an expression that evaluates to either True or False

Common misconception

A truth table can only have the column headings of single inputs like A, B, or X.

A truth table can have column headings that calculate the value of the expression, for example (A OR B).


To help you plan your year 10 computer science lesson on: Truth tables, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The process of constructing a truth table is modelled in the lesson. Encourage pupils to start by identifying the column headings and then all the possible combinations of input.
Teacher tip

Equipment

No specific equipment is required for this lesson.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the order of precedence for Boolean operators?
OR, AND, NOT
Correct answer: NOT, AND, OR
AND, OR, NOT
NOT, OR, AND
Q2.
Which logic gate outputs True only when both inputs are True?
Correct answer: AND
OR
NOT
Q3.
A circuit diagram is used to ...
represent a logical expression as letters.
identify why a circuit isn't working and debug it.
Correct answer: represent a logic circuit as a picture.
Q4.
A logic circuit uses two or more components to implement a more complex logical statement.
Correct Answer: logic gate, logic gates
Q5.
Identify the input or inputs for this sentence: "I will go to the park if my friend is not busy, and it is sunny".
park
Correct answer: busy
Correct answer: sunny
Q6.
Put the steps to write a logic statement in order.
1 - Identify and label the inputs and the outcome.
2 - Identify the logical operators.
3 - Remove the rest of the words.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A truth table is a table showing the outputs for all possible combinations of the to a logic gate or logic circuit.
Correct Answer: inputs, input
Q2.
What is the output of the Boolean expression NOT (True AND False)?
Correct answer: True
False
Q3.
Which Boolean expression represents the following scenario: "I will go to the park if it is sunny OR it is NOT raining."
NOT sunny AND raining
Correct answer: sunny OR NOT raining
sunny AND NOT raining
NOT sunny OR raining
Q4.
What is the output of the Boolean expression (True AND False) OR True?
Correct answer: True
False
Q5.
A truth table with three inputs will have how many rows?
4
6
Correct answer: 8
12
Q6.
In a truth table for the expression A AND (B OR C), which columns would you include?
A, B, C, A AND B, A AND (B OR C)
Correct answer: A, B, C, B OR C, A AND (B OR C)
A, B, C, A OR C, A AND (B OR C)
A, B, C, A AND C, A AND (B OR C)