A NOR table becomes readable when the parallel pull-down branches are scanned row by row. Exact arithmetic here means exact results for the stated model inputs; measured inputs still carry uncertainty and significant-figure limits.
highlighted = computed this step
NOR asks whether any parallel branch is closed
A NOR pull-down has parallel branches. The all-low row leaves every branch open, but any HIGH input closes a branch to ground.
any closed branch⇒Y=0
Four rows show the first closed branch
The scan separates the all-open case from the three rows with at least one closed branch. That is the topology reason NOR differs from NAND.