Drawing a decision inside a loop in a flowchart

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A decision diamond is drawn inside a loop. How often is it asked?

A Only on the first pass

B On every pass through the loop

2. In a flowchart, a decision diamond is inside a loop. What should happen to its Yes and No paths?

A Both rejoin into one arrow before the loop test

B Each one goes to its own End shape

3. Which drawing is correct for a loop with a decision inside?

A Loop test, Yes, decision, then a joined arrow back to the loop test

B Loop test, decision, then the Yes arrow back to the loop test and the No arrow stops

4. In a higher or lower game flowchart, the loop test is 'Guess correct?' and the decision is 'Guess too high?'. Where does the 'Guess too high?' diamond go?

A On the loop path, after the guess is entered

B Outside the loop, after the game ends

5. A counter 'guesses = guesses + 1' is added to the higher or lower flowchart. Where is it best drawn?

A Only on the Yes path

B After the decision, once Yes and No have rejoined

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Diamond: Is guess = secret?		AThe counter update is on one branch only, so it does not run on every pass.
2Yes path and No path both join, then arrow back to loop test		BOnly one path returns to the loop. The paths must both rejoin and then go back to the loop test together.
3In a higher or lower game, the counter goes up after the decision, once both paths have rejoined		CDiamond: guess <> secret? -> Yes: Ask for guess, decision, join, back to this diamond
4The loop test asks if the game should keep going, and the arrow from the end of the loop body returns to it		DIs guess too high? -> Yes: Show Lower / No: Show Higher -> join -> count <- count + 1
5Yes path of the decision loops back to the loop test, but the No path ends the flowchart		EA decision diamond inside the loop body that is asked again on every pass through the loop
6Count <- count + 1 is placed on the Yes path only, so it is skipped when the answer is No		FBoth branches rejoin at one point before the flow returns to the loop condition

Definitions

decision inside a loop

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

A decision in a flowchart is a _______

Guess too high? Yes: Say Lower Guess too high? __: Say Higher

Say Lower or Say Higher _____ ← count + 1 Arrow back to the loop test

Both paths ______ before the arrow back

The diamond is asked on _____ loop pass

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A L{n < 5?} -->|Yes| D{high?}

B D --> H[Say lower]

C D -->|No| W[Say higher]

D H --> C[n = n + 1]

E W --> C

F C --> L

Question 2

A L{go < 5?} -->|Yes| D[high?]

B D -->|Yes| H[Say lower]

C D -->|No| W[Say higher]

D H --> C[go = go + 1]

E W --> C

F C --> L

Question 3

A L{q < 5?} -->|No| D{right?}

B D -->|Yes| S[pts = pts + 1]

C D -->|No| X[Show answer]

D S --> N[q = q + 1]

E X --> N

F N --> L

Question 4

A L{n < 5?} -->|Yes| D{g > 7?}

B D -->|Yes| H[Say lower]

C D -->|No| W[Say higher]

D H --> L

E W --> C

F C --> L

Question 5

A L{n < 5?} -->|Yes| D{even?}

B D -->|Yes| E{sum = sum + n}

C E --> C[n = n + 1]

D D -->|No| C

E C --> L

Answer Key

Drawing a decision inside a loop in a flowchart

Section A: Quick Questions

B — On every pass through the loop

A — Both rejoin into one arrow before the loop test

A — Loop test, Yes, decision, then a joined arrow back to the loop test

A — On the loop path, after the guess is entered

B — After the decision, once Yes and No have rejoined

Section B: Match the Pairs

Diamond: Is guess = secret? → A decision diamond inside the loop body that is asked again on every pass through the loop

Yes path and No path both join, then arrow back to loop test → Both branches rejoin at one point before the flow returns to the loop condition

In a higher or lower game, the counter goes up after the decision, once both paths have rejoined → Is guess too high? -> Yes: Show Lower / No: Show Higher -> join -> count <- count + 1

The loop test asks if the game should keep going, and the arrow from the end of the loop body returns to it → Diamond: guess <> secret? -> Yes: Ask for guess, decision, join, back to this diamond

Yes path of the decision loops back to the loop test, but the No path ends the flowchart → Only one path returns to the loop. The paths must both rejoin and then go back to the loop test together.

Count <- count + 1 is placed on the Yes path only, so it is skipped when the answer is No → The counter update is on one branch only, so it does not run on every pass.

Section C: Definitions

decision inside a loop — A decision diamond on the loop path is asked on every pass. Its Yes and No paths both rejoin before the arrow returns to the loop test.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

A decision in a flowchart is a diamond

Guess too high? Yes: Say Lower
Guess too high? No: Say Higher

Say Lower or Say Higher
count ← count + 1
Arrow back to the loop test

Both paths rejoin before the arrow back

The diamond is asked on every loop pass

Section E: Spot the Error

B — Every arrow leaving a decision diamond needs a Yes or No label. Line 2 should be D -->|Yes| H[Say lower].

A — A decision must be drawn as a diamond, which is { } in Mermaid. D[high?] makes a plain step box. It should be D{high?}.

A — The Yes exit of the loop test leads into the loop body, where the decision is asked. No leaves the loop. It should be -->|Yes| D{right?}.

D — The Yes path skips the counter update, so the two paths do not rejoin. Both paths must meet at C[n = n + 1] before returning to the loop test. It should be H --> C[n = n + 1].

B — Adding to sum is a step, so it needs a rectangle, not a diamond. Only questions get a diamond. It should be E[sum = sum + n].