Maths Fun » Magic Squares

Magic Squares

Did you know that as long as 2600 years ago that ancient children were playing math games? They played their version of the popular Sudoku game that you are all playing today, but back then they were called “Magic Squares”. The objective of the game is that all rows and columns add up to the same total.

Maths Magic square shows you how to get the magic square solution easily and with no use of a calculator. The Magic Square Formula is very easy and going through this lesson shows you that the mathematics magic square is much more like a fun game than a math chore. Your friends will be amazed at how quickly you are able to complete the magic squares with very little effort. You will start doing a lot better in math and your math grades will soon improve – much to your parent’s and teacher’s delight.

Magic Squares are mathematical tricks that have long been played by the Chinese. It is said that these tricks were enjoyed in as early as 650 BC.

So what are magic squares? These are squares of order n with n2 numbers situated within the square’s n by n matrix. Here, when numbers are added horizontally, vertically or diagonally, the answer will be the same. This is what you will get with an order =3 magic square.

When you add the columns, rows and diagonals – the answer will be 15. This magic square is considered special, as it is the only magic square for order n=3. You can try all you want, but this is the only possible arrangement for n=3.

However, there are more magic squares options for numbers more than 3. There is said to be a trivial magic square for n=1, but there is no magic square for n=2. Magic constant is defined as the number resulting from the addition of columns, diagonals and rows. This the formula for the magic constant:

For n=3, the magic constant (Cm) is 15.  For n=4, Cm = 34.  For n=5, Cm = 65, and so forth.

Simply, there are numerous solutions for magic squares n>3. It is said that 880 combinations exist for n=4. As for n=3, you can come up with 275305224 combinations. For the n=6, mathematicians say there is more than 1.7745 x 1019.