To obtain greater operand widths in practice, small adders (for example, 2-bit adders) can be paralleled or cascaded to build wider adders (such as 4-bit, 8-bit, or 16-bit). Evaluate this statement.

Introduction / Context:Digital designers routinely scale arithmetic width by composing small building blocks. Ripple-carry, carry-lookahead, and other schemes all rely on tiling smaller adder slices into larger structures.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Each 2-bit adder provides SUM[1:0] and a carry-out.
• Blocks can be connected with carry chaining.
• Goal is to implement larger word sizes.

Concept / Approach:Connect the carry-out of a less significant slice to the carry-in of the next slice. This cascading produces a ripple-carry adder. For improved speed, carry-lookahead or carry-select techniques compute carries faster, but the modular composition principle remains the same.

Step-by-Step Solution:1) Partition the N-bit addition into groups of 2 bits.2) Instantiate 2-bit adders for each group.3) Chain carry-out of group i to carry-in of group i+1.4) Collect all sum outputs to form the N-bit result.

Verification / Alternative check:Standard texts show 1-bit full adders cascaded into 4/8/16-bit adders; using 2-bit slices is a straightforward variation.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:“Incorrect” denies common practice. “Only for subtractors” is false—subtraction is addition of two’s-complement. “Carries forced to 0” would break correctness beyond the least-significant slice.

Common Pitfalls:Ignoring carry propagation delay; not considering acceleration techniques for high-speed designs.

Final Answer:Correct