write an algorithm to find the largest of three numbers
Write an algorithm to find the largest of three numbers
Answer: To find the largest of three numbers, you can use a simple comparison algorithm. Here is a step-by-step algorithm to achieve this:
- Input: Three numbers, let’s call them
a
,b
, andc
. - Compare: Use conditional statements to compare these numbers.
- Output: The largest number among the three.
Algorithm Steps:
- Start
- Input three numbers
a
,b
, andc
. - Check if
a
is greater than or equal tob
anda
is greater than or equal toc
.- If true, then
a
is the largest.
- If true, then
- Else if
b
is greater than or equal toa
andb
is greater than or equal toc
.- If true, then
b
is the largest.
- If true, then
- Else
c
is the largest. - Output the largest number.
- End
Pseudocode:
Algorithm FindLargest(a, b, c)
Input: Three numbers a, b, c
Output: The largest number among a, b, and c
Begin
if a >= b and a >= c then
largest = a
else if b >= a and b >= c then
largest = b
else
largest = c
end if
Output "The largest number is: ", largest
End
Example in Python:
To give a concrete example, here’s how you can implement this algorithm in Python:
def find_largest(a, b, c):
if a >= b and a >= c:
return a
elif b >= a and b >= c:
return b
else:
return c
# Example usage:
a = 5
b = 10
c = 7
largest = find_largest(a, b, c)
print(f"The largest number is: {largest}")
Explanation:
- Input: The function
find_largest
takes three parametersa
,b
, andc
. - Comparison:
- The first
if
statement checks ifa
is greater than or equal to bothb
andc
. - If the first condition is false, the second
elif
statement checks ifb
is greater than or equal to botha
andc
. - If both conditions are false, the
else
statement concludes thatc
must be the largest.
- The first
- Output: The function returns the largest number, which is then printed.
This algorithm ensures that you accurately find the largest of the three numbers by systematically comparing them.