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Function:IsThisNumberPrime
Start

No Istheinput
numberaninteger?

|Yes

Istheinput
Yes number<or=
12

Primenumbersare
No
integers>1

1=2

ReturnNo

Yes Isi>or=
inputnumber?

Theinputnumber
No
isaprimenumber

Dividetheinputnumberbyi
ReturnYes

No Istherea
remainder?

Theinputnumber
Yes
wasevenlydividedbyi
soitisnotaprime
i=i+1

Theinputnumber
isnotaprimenumber

ReturnNo

Flowcharts for Finding

Prime Numbers

Description
Prime numbers are positive integers that
can only be divided evenly by 1 or
themselves. By definition, negative
integers, 0, and 1 are not considered
prime numbers. The list of the first few
prime numbers looks like:

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, ...

For example, 5 is a prime number

because you can divide 5 by 1 evenly
and divide 5 by 5 without a remainder,
but if you divide 5 by any other integer,
you get a remainder.

5/1 = 5
5/2 = 2 plus a remainder
5/3 = 1 plus a remainder
5/4 = 1 plus a remainder
5/5 = 1
5/6 = 0 plus a remainder
... = 0 plus a remainder

Now look at the number 4 which is not a

prime.

4/1 = 4
4/2 = 2
4/3 = 1 plus a remainder
4/4 = 1
4/5 = 0 plus a remainder
... = 0 plus a remainder

The number 4 can be divided by 2

evenly, so it is not a prime.

The flowchart shown above describes a

function that is given a number i and
returns whether it is prime or not. The
name of the function is
"IsThisNumberPrime." First it checks to
make sure the input number is an
integer. Then it checks to make sure the
input number is not negative, 0 , or 1.
Negative integers, 0, and 1 are not
considered prime by definition.

Next the function tries to divide the input

number by i, where i = 2, 3, 4, 5, and so
forth, to see if it divides any of them
evenly, that is, without a remainder. If
the input number is divided evenly, it is
not a prime. The check stops when i is
equal to the input number.

You give the function a number and the

output is "Yes" if the number is prime, or
"No" if it is not.

Now suppose you want to calculate the

first 100 prime numbers. A flowchart to
show that process is shown below.

The flowchart above starts with the

number 2 and checks each number 3, 4,
5, and so forth. Each time it finds a
prime it prints the number and
increments a counter. When the counter
hits 100, it stops the process. To
determine whether a number is prime, it
calls the function "IsThisNumberPrime"
which is shown at the top of this page.

The first few primes are quickly

calculated, but as the primes get further
apart the computation time increases.
Finding large primes is a task for super
computers.

Drawing Instructions
If you haven't already done so, first
download the free trial version of RFFlow.
It will allow you to open any chart and
make modifications.

Once RFFlow is installed, you can open

the above charts in RFFlow. Click on
prime-numbers.flo for the top flow chart
or finding-prime-numbers.flo for the
bottom flow chart. From there you can
zoom in, edit, and print these sample
charts. It is often easier to modify an
existing chart than to draw it from
scratch.

To draw this flow chart without

downloading it, run RFFlow, click on the
More Shapes button ,
scroll and open the Flowcharting folder,
click the Physical Flowcharting stencil
and click the Add Stencil button.

Next

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