All about algorithms | Year 3 Computing PDF Download

Understanding Algorithms

• An algorithm is a series of steps or a set of guidelines followed to accomplish a task or solve a problem.
• Algorithms are beneficial in many different scenarios.
• They can assist us in learning how to do something new, such as playing a new computer game, solving a puzzle, or crafting a model boat from paper.
• The algorithm may consist of text, pictures, symbols, and numbers.

Clear instructions

• When creating an algorithm, you need to include precise, step-by-step instructions. This requires breaking down the task or problem into smaller steps.
• This process is called decomposition, and it is crucial for determining the steps in an algorithm.
• The instructions must be clear and in the correct sequence.
• We want to learn how to say "Hello, good morning!" in British Sign Language.
• The instructor has decomposed the process into an algorithm with three steps, each following the previous one in sequence:
  • Wave your hand near the side of your head.
  • Make a short forward movement with a closed hand and thumb up.
  • With your right hand bent towards you, tap the far side of your chest with your fingertips, then the near side of your chest.
• Even though the steps are in the correct order, it can sometimes be challenging to understand what each action looks like.
• An algorithm is a specific set of ordered rules or instructions that can be followed by either a person or a computer to achieve a particular task or solve a problem. Essentially, it is a sequence of steps that outlines how to accomplish an objective.

Solving a problem

• To help solve a problem, we can break it down, or decompose it, into steps. These steps can then be arranged into a sequence called an algorithm.
• When playing a computer game, we often encounter challenging problems that need to be solved as we progress through the game.
• In this game, we must guide the Bitesize Bot through the shape maze to find her way home. Along the way, she needs to collect two battery power-ups.

Speaking a computer's language

• Even though you've worked hard to make your algorithm clear and accurate, computers won't be able to understand it as they use a different language.
• The algorithm needs to be translated into code, which is a language that the computer understands. An algorithm translated into code is called a computer program.
• Sometimes, code is referred to as a programming language.