Which statement accurately describes a merge node?

Which statement accurately describes a merge node?

• A. Marks the end of alternative sequences in an activity
• B. Marks the start of concurrent sequences in an activity
• C. Represents a single instance participating in an interaction
• D. Indicates a decision

Answer: (A)

In an activity diagram, a merge node brings together multiple alternative flows into one path after a decision has branched the process. It sits where the different paths produced by a decision (or guarded choices) converge, and then the workflow continues along a single outgoing edge. It’s not about starting parallel paths—that role belongs to a fork node that splits a flow into concurrent sequences. It isn’t about representing a single instance in an interaction, which would be depicted differently in other diagram contexts. And it doesn’t indicate a decision—that’s the job of a decision node. So the statement that describes a merge node as marking the end of alternative sequences in an activity best captures its function.

In an activity diagram, a merge node brings together multiple alternative flows into one path after a decision has branched the process. It sits where the different paths produced by a decision (or guarded choices) converge, and then the workflow continues along a single outgoing edge. It’s not about starting parallel paths—that role belongs to a fork node that splits a flow into concurrent sequences. It isn’t about representing a single instance in an interaction, which would be depicted differently in other diagram contexts. And it doesn’t indicate a decision—that’s the job of a decision node. So the statement that describes a merge node as marking the end of alternative sequences in an activity best captures its function.