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7.2: Flowcharts

  • Page ID
    84477
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    By Carey A. Smith

    A flowchart is a graphical representation of code logic. It is especially helpful to understand the logic of code with for loops and if-else logic.

    An example is given here. More information can be found at:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowchart [en.Wikipedia.org]

    Example \(\PageIndex{1}\) Odd-Even Flow Chart

    Odd_Even_Flowchart

    Try to code this up
    Solution

    The corresponding code is:

    for n = 1:12
        if(mod(n,2) == 0)
            disp([num2str(n),' is even'])
        else
            disp([num2str(n),' is odd'])
        end
    end

    .

    Example \(\PageIndex{2}\) flowchart for primes

    This flowchart and code show an algorithm to determine which numbers between 1 and 48 are prime numbers.

    We already know that 2, 3, and 5 are prime, so the for loop starts at k = 6.

     For each value it tests, it displays a message stating whether or not it is a prime number. It stores the prime numbers it finds in a vector called prime_list.

    for loop primes flowchart

    Try coding this logic.

    Note that the for-loop automatically does the "k = k+1" shown at the bottom of the flowchart; do not code that line.

    (There are more sophisticated and efficient prime-number algorithms; this one is an illustration of moderately complex logic.)

    Solution

    %% "for loop" example with “if-then-elseif” logic:
    % Find the prime numbers between 1 to 48:
    prime_list = [2,3,5] % Initial set of primes
    for k = 6:48
        if( mod(k,2) == 0) % Tests if k is divisible by 2
            disp([num2str(k),' is not prime. It is divisible by 2'])
        elseif (mod(k,3) == 0) % Tests if k is divisible by 3
            disp([num2str(k),' is not prime. It is divisible by 3'])
        elseif( mod(k,5) == 0) % Tests if k is divisible by 5
            disp([num2str(k),' is not prime. It is divisible by 5'])
        else
            disp([num2str(k),' is prime.'])
            % Add k to the list of primes:
            prime_list = [prime_list, k];
        end % end if
    end % for k = 6:48
    % Display the primes found
    prime_list

    This code is the attached file for_loop_primes.m

    .

    Homework:

    1. Watch the following video from Robert Talbert

    Then code the second example in the video about the temperature and rain. The corresponding flowchart is this:

    Flowchart of branching structures video

     Figure \(\PageIndex{i}\): Flowchart for Temperature, Rain, Wearing a Coat.

    Put parentheses around the conditional expressions, even though the video did not do this. Examples:

    if (temp < 50)

    elseif (raining == 1)

    .


    This page titled 7.2: Flowcharts is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Carey Smith.