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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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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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Share activities with pupils
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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.
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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)