(Check to make sure that this topic is in your syllabus)

Flow charts are a diagrammatic representation of a set of instructions which must be followed. Flow charts are made up of different boxes, which give instructions or ask you to make a decision:

The flow chart above says think of a number, add 5 and multiply by 2. Then, if the number is negative, make it positive.
Flow charts are usually equivalent to some function. In the example above, the flow chart is equivalent to the function f(x) = | 2(x + 5) | .
(the vertical lines around 2(x + 5) means take the magnitude of the answer).

Copyright © Matthew Pinkney 2003