Question

Which of the following components is most suitable in designing a simple circuit using digital integrated circuits that could serve as a basic memory element?

• A. XOR gate
• B. Flip-flop
• C. NAND gate
• D. Adder

Hint:

Flip-flops remember bits. If it's memory you're after, start with a flip-flop!

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

A flip-flop is a bistable digital electronic component used to store one bit of data. It has two stable states and can retain its state indefinitely until triggered to switch by an input signal. This makes it the fundamental building block of memory elements, registers, counters, and sequential logic circuits.
There are various types of flip-flops like SR, JK, D, and T, each with specific use cases. They are built using logic gates (often NAND or NOR) and are essential in synchronous circuits for storing binary information.
Why the other options are incorrect:

• (A) XOR gate: A combinational logic gate, not suitable for storage or memory.
• (C) NAND gate: While NAND gates can be used to build flip-flops, they themselves are not memory elements.
• (D) Adder: Used in arithmetic operations, not for memory storage.

Hence, the flip-flop is the most appropriate component for designing basic memory elements in digital circuits.