Final answer:
To design a sum-of-products circuit for producing 6 A at 3 V (18 W), arrange 12 solar cell cards with 3 cards in series for each of the 4 parallel groups.
Step-by-step explanation:
To design the simplest sum-of-products circuit that implements the function of producing an output of 6 A at 3 V (18 W), we need to arrange solar cell cards in series and/or parallel. Each card represents a solar cell with an output of 0.5 V and a current of 2 A under bright light. To achieve the desired output, we can arrange 12 cards in parallel, with each parallel group consisting of 3 cards in series. This will result in a total of 4 parallel groups, each producing 6 A at 3 V, resulting in an output of 18 W.
If we were told that we need only 18 W without any required voltage, we would still need the same number of cards arranged in the same way, as the total power output remains the same.