Problem Solving Flowcharts

Flowcharts Introduction  Flowcharts allow us to create a visual representation of a solution to a problem DRAW  With flowcharts, we can DRAW a solution to a problem

The Symbols - Terminator start end  The Terminator indicates the start or end of the process (the solution to the problem) oval  The symbol for a terminator is an oval and either has the word ‘start’ or ‘end’ STARTEND

The Symbols – Input/Output  The Input/Output symbol is used to gather input from the user or display output to the user parallelogram  The symbol for a input/output is a parallelogram

The Symbols – Process  The process symbol is used when something needs to be done rectangle  The symbol for a process is a rectangle

The Symbols – Decision  The decision symbol is used when a decision needs to be made diamond  The symbol for a decision is a diamond

The Symbols – Flow  The flow arrow indicates the direction of flow in the chart (where are we going?)  The symbol for flow is an arrow

More Later  We’ll talk more about the rules of flowcharts soon  Now let’s see an example

An Example  Scenario:  You get the temperature  If it is hot, you open the window  Otherwise, do nothing

An Example START Temperature Hot? Open Window yes End no

 Scenario 1: You listen to the weather report If it is raining you will get a drive to school If it is not raining you will take the bus  Scenario 2: (3 marks) You check the traffic news. If there is a lot of traffic, you take the subway. Otherwise, you take the car