Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-year-1-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2016/digital-systems-linear-algebra-introduction-to-formal-proof/2/b/solution

Split the four-bit unsigned inputs into two-bit halves: and . Use four copies of the two-bit binary multiplier to compute , , , and . Then
The extreme terms occupy disjoint output positions: uses positions zero to three and uses positions four to seven. Form by concatenating their four-bit outputs, with in the upper half and in the lower half. This needs wiring alone, so without an adder.
Use the first eight-bit adder to form after zero-extension, and the second to form . Thus four two-bit binary multipliers and two eight-bit adders suffice. The fixed left bit shift is also wiring alone.
The middle sum can reach , so preserve all five of its potentially nonzero bits; retaining only four would be wrong. Its shifted value is at most 72. The final result is at most , so both additions fit in eight bits. Concatenating the disjoint extreme terms is what saves an addition.

New to topics? Read the docs here!