THE

SQUARES
MAGICAL

(A resource for the classroom)

GERMAN BERNABEU SORIA

MAGIC SQUARES 2 GERMAN BERNABEU
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MAGICAL SQUARES.

The composition of numerical magic squares is a

entertainment that has always been liked by mathematicians (both
formerly as in the present). This entertainment consists of
search for certain numbers that are placed inside the boxes of
a squared grid in such a way that the sums of the rows,
Columns and diagonals always give the same result.

The adjective of magical, pertaining to magic, is not a concept.

actual, since from its origin they have always had an esoteric meaning,
using their use, in many cases, as amulets, crafted in gold
or silver and associates especially, to religion, astrology, and alchemy.
The ancient wizards of Persia, who were simultaneously doctors,
they claimed that those numerical squares, placed on a sick part
of the body had healing powers (more or less like poultices)
from our grandmothers ).
More recently, during the Cambodia war, many women
they drew magic squares on the handkerchiefs tied around their heads
They were drawn on the roofs of the houses, believing that they protected them.
of the bombs.

The first magic square that is known is the one that, according to legend
the Hindu emperor Yu saw drawn on the shell of a sacred turtle
on the Luo river, approximately 1200 years B.C. This square is
known as Luo Shu (Luo River).

Luo Shu

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 From India they went to China, from there to Japan, to Southeast Asia, from
here to Arabia, and thanks to merchants and navigators, they reached the world
Occidental. The Arabs used odd-numbered magic squares with
the 1 in the center, a number that represented Allah.

The first text that shows a magic square is a manuscript.

Arabic of the 8th century and corresponds to the simplest magic square, that of 3.
x 3, whose authorship is attributed to Apollonius of Tyana, who lived in the 1st century.
This square appears later, in the 12th century, in the works
made by the Jewish mathematician Ibn Esra.

6 1 8

7 5 3

2 9 4

It is the magic square of order 3, and the consecutive numbers.

from 1 to 9.
If we add the numbers in their horizontals, verticals, or diagonals
we obtain as a result, in all cases, 15.

The Arabs introduced to Europe, at the end of the 15th century, two
magic squares of order 4 that they had copied from the Hindus. A monk
Greek called Moschopoulos spread them among the people, reaching
achieve such success that they were used at the time as talismans, against
the dangers of the plague

Some historians claim that the first magic square

known in the West, is the one that appears in the painting of Alberto Durero
titled Melancholy I, whose magic number is 34.

Next, we see the engraving, where an angel surrounded by

objects, with physical-mathematical characteristics (compass, sphere, balance, a
strange solid, etc.), is found in a thoughtful attitude. Some scholars
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they say it represents the insufficiency of human knowledge to
to attain wisdom.

Melancholy I

As you can see in the engraving, the magic square is

located in the upper right corner, below the bell and a
a characteristic of it is that the numbers located in the two boxes
Lower centers indicate the year it was recorded 1514.

This square was also found in the ruins of the city of

Khajuraho, dating back to the 11th century.

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 Here we have it in a clearer production format.

16 32 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
4 15 14 1

Many mathematicians have wanted to see in this square and in its

properties with characteristics of mystical meaning.

En él podemos comprobar, como en cualquier cuadrado mágico que

its rows, its columns and its diagonals sum to 34, but,

also their central squares sum to 34

16 32 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
4 15 14 1
and its four corners

16 32 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
4 15 14 1

and its four quadrants

16 32 13
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 5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
4 15 14 1
and its broken diagonals

16 32 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
14a

16 32 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
4 15 14 1

Y ...

16 32 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
P O N A

16 32 13

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 5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
P O N A

Ultimately, as we can see, it is a square.

exceptional magic.

But it is not the only one. Next, we have another magic square.
that like this, it is also diabolical, that's how it is, as it is usually referred to this
type of magic squares.

If you sum their rows, columns, diagonals, corners, central square,

Quadrants and truncated diagonals always add up to the same.

15 10 3 6
4 5 16 9
14 11 2 7

1 8 13 12
But the question is

Is there any way to be able to build them?

And the answer is, without a doubt, affirmative.

Throughout the ages, mathematicians and scholars of the subject have

they have seen attracted by their undeniable influence. Already in a Hindu manuscript
About magic, elKaksaputa, the construction rule of four is found.
magic squares. The square of Albrecht Dürer himself is attributed to his
construction to the astronomer Vaharamihira. In the 14th century, the mathematician

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Hindu Narayama explained the method of constructing the squares of 4n.
through the unique method of the knight's move in chess.
In 1531, the alchemist Agrippa, convicted of witchcraft, publishes
in his book 'Of Occult Philosophy, Three Books', the construction of the
magic squares of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 which were associated with the
seven known planets of their time (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus,
Mercury and Moon.
Subsequently mathematicians of the stature of Fermat, Euler, Lucas, ...
they established many of the properties of magic squares.

Among the many and different ways to build them, we are going to see
some of them. One for odd number squares and another for
squares of even numbers.

For squares of odd numbers.

To construct magic squares of odd-numbered squares (3 x 3,

5 x 5, 7 x 7, 9 x 9, ...), we will proceed as follows.

1. We build the board of the magic square to be created, in this

case of 3 x 3.

2. On the central square of each side we add a new one.

box (associated boxes), which results in a figure of type
checked diamond.

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 3. On the new board we put the numbers from 1 to 9
starting from the associated left cell and diagonally, just as it
indicates in the figure.

3
2 6
1 5 9
4 8
7

We transfer the numbers located in the supplementary boxes.

to the square located in the same place but on the opposite side of the board,
something like if the board, imaginary, folded in half.

2 7 6
9 5 1
4 3 8

5. Y ya tenemos construido el cuadrado mágico.

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 Let's now build one of 5 x 5.

Step 1.

Step 2

Step 3.

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 5
4 10
3 9 15
2 8 14 20
1 7 13 19 25
6 12 18 24
11 17 23
16 22
21

And step 4.

3 16 9 22 15
THUMB
7 25 13 1 19
24 12 5 18 6
11 4 17 10 23

Isn't it that complicated?

Well, from this, through rotations and reflections, we can

build others.

Ah! I forgot to mention that the placement of the numbers, step 3,

you can start from any associated square, above, below, right
to the left, and in ascending or descending order. Check it.

For squares of even number.

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 As I indicated earlier, the magic square of even number.
The most famous is undoubtedly that of Alberto Dürer, known as a consequence.
having been reproduced in the famous engraving, made with a burin, titled
Melancholy I
It is, as we already know, an even-order magic square.
four, that is, it has four squares on each side (4 x 4).

Our goal, recalling the already mentioned Vaharamihira, will be

to build it and for that, the first thing we must do is to build the
board.

The numbers from 1 to 16 are placed in order below.

in the boxes starting from the first on the left

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16

Next, we invert around the center the two diagonals of

the 1 is swapped with the 16, the 6 with the 11, the 4 with the 13 and
the 7 with the 10, remaining in this way.

16 23 13
5 11 10 8

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 9 7 6 12
4 14 15 1

If you check the sum of the rows, columns, and diagonals

you will check if it is a magic square.

Surprisingly, we can swap the rows or the columns.

without the square ceasing to be magical.

16 32 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
4 15 14 1
Other changes to rows or columns can be made and in this way
way to obtain different magic squares.

Another way would be to start placing the numbers by any of

the other corners and, upper or lower, to then carry out the
indicated steps.

Do you think we will obtain other magic squares in these cases?

And if we used other numbers?

Check it.

SOME ACTIVITIES

3 x 3 magic square.

Este es el cuadrado mágico de orden 3 más conocido.

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 6 1 8

7 5 3

2 9 4

From this, they can be obtained through rotations and reflections.

a series of magic squares different from the first in the arrangement of
the numbers. Try to get as many as you can.

In this same 3 x 3 magic square, we can perform

different activities. We will propose some of them, but they can be
many more.

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 a). Write the numbers from 0 to 9 (10 digits) in the nine boxes,
leaving one of them free (first the 1, then the 2, then the 3, …)
Arrange so that each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal sums to 15.

b). Write the numbers from 0 to 9 in the boxes (just like in the previous one)
(case), so that each horizontal and vertical adds up to 14.

c). Write the numbers from 0 to 9 in the boxes so that each

Horizontal and vertical sum to 13.

d). Write in the boxes the numbers from 0 to 9 so that each

horizontal, vertical and diagonal sum to 12.

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 e). Place the numbers from 2 to 10 in the boxes so that each
horizontal, vertical and diagonal sum to 18.

f). Place the first nine even numbers in the boxes so that
each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal sums to 30.

g). Write in the boxes the first nine odd numbers of

so that each row, column, and diagonal sums to 27.

h). With the numbers from 1 to 10 and leaving one of them unplaced, by
first example the 1, then the 2, in the next the 3, ... achieve
different magic squares.

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 The same as before but using from 1 to 20.

j). Complete the following magic squares of natural numbers

7 5 6
2 4 6 5 9
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 8 4

2 12 1
8 8 0
4 3 7

k). Complete the following magic squares of integers

5 -8 7
1 10
10 -3 5 4 -3

-8 -11 -14
0 -7 -6
5 2 0

l). If we add or subtract to each number of a magic square,

if we multiply or divide by a number, the square obtained remains
being magical.

Is it true? Check it out.

+6
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 4

x7

x (-2)

Magic square of 4 x 4

In a 4 x 4 magic square, we can also carry out a multitude

of activities. Here we have some.

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 a). Place the numbers from 0 to 15 in the boxes so that all
the horizontals, verticals, and diagonals add up to 30.

b). Place the numbers from 1 to 16 in the boxes in such a way that
In each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal, they add up to 34.

c). Write the first 16 of the 17 prime numbers in the boxes.

natural numbers, so that each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal sums to 37.

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 d). Write in the boxes 16 of the first 17 numbers (the same as
in the previous one), so that in each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal they sum
36.

e). Place in the boxes 16 of the first 17 numbers in such a way

que la suma de cada horizontal y vertical sea 35.

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 f). Write in the boxes the first 16 even numbers so that
In each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal, they sum to 68.

g) Write in the boxes 16 of the first 17 numbers in form

that in each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal sum to 64.

h) Write a number from 1 to 4 in each box, repeating them four times.

sometimes, so that each horizontal, vertical and diagonal sums to 10.

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 Complete the following magic squares

11 8 6 5 11 8
9 2 13 12 3
3 0 13 9 7
4 1 10 1 0 15

6 1 6 11 9
9 4 3 7 8 5
0 12 1 0 15
5 2 8 13 3 2

6 3 13 3 6
4 10 7 2 5
11 5 10 14
12 15 7

4 3 15 1 6
5 9 14 2 5
11 12 7 11
10 13 1 15 43

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 If the numbers of a magic square are added, subtracted,
multiply or divide by a number, the result is another magic square.
Is it true? Check it in several cases.

+n

-n

Xn

:n

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 It is also said that if we add, subtract, or multiply 2
magic squares (cell with cell), the result is also a
magic square ¿…?

+ =

- =

x =

: =

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 Build a magic square of order 5 different from the
presented example.

Build a magic square of order 6.

And finally, it constructs another of order 7.

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 In case it seems too complicated, here is one.
resolved. Check that it is a magic square, and if it is
Thus, based on it, build other different ones.

15 30 45 11 26 41 7

27 42 16 1 31 46 12

32 47 13 28 36 17 2

37 3 18 33 48 14 22

49 8 23 38 4 19 34

5 20 35 43 9 24 39

10 25 40 6 21 29 44

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