Researching Algorithms

I didn't know what an algorithm was, and was confused as to it's purpose. I looked up on google as to find out more about them. I liked the flow diagram from this website http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=19379.msg217582#msg217582, as seen here:For me this diagram showed how a loop worked, for me it was a progression from the loops we had been looking at/learning about in both the lecture and the beginning of the tutorial on Monday. The flow chart, while not an algorithm as I saw in my research, will help to clarify what I want to achieve out of my codes when I am planning them.