Magic Square Generator/Solver 3x3, 4x4, 5x5… Online Calculator (2024)

  1. Games and Solvers
  2. Number Games
  3. Magic Square

Magic Square Generator

Magic Square Solver

Answers to Questions (FAQ)

What is a magic square? (Definition)

A magic square is a grid of numbers arranged so that the sum of each row, each column and its diagonals are all equal to the same value, called the magic sum (or magic constant).

Magic squares are popular for their simplicity and mathematical properties.

How to create a magic square?

A magic square arranges numbers so that their placement follows construction rules that ensure that the sums of rows, columns, and diagonals equal the magic sum.

Construction methods vary depending on the order of the square (number of rows/columns).

How to create a magic square of odd order?

The creation of magic squares of size (3,5,7 etc.) is possible by several methods, the simplest is the so-called Loubère method (staircase method):

Place 1 in the center of the first line, then the following numbers in the box located diagonally at the top left. If the box is outside the square, imagine that the square wraps around itself and continue on the other end (as if the left column were to the right of the right column, and the bottom line, at the above the top line). If the target square is occupied, then continue directly below the last filled square.

Example: Staircase method generating a magic square of order 3:

816
357
492

Example: Staircase method generating a magic square of order 5 :

17241815
23571416
46132022
101219213
11182529

How to create a magic square of even order?

Creating magic squares of even order (4,6,8, etc.) is more complicated and the methods are not universal.

Symmetry method for squares of size 4:

— Place the numbers naturally from 1 at the top left to 16 at the bottom right.

— Replace the numbers on the sides (2, 3, 5 and 9) by their central symmetry (relative to the center of the square).

Example:

1234
5678
9101112
13141516
becomes
115144
12679
810115
133216

Other methods generally rely on creating odd subsquares.

How to solve a magic square?

The magic way to solve magic squares is to set the equations that govern each row and column, with unknowns. The constraints being that the unknowns are all different positive integers (distinct including numbers already placed).

Example: The magic square of magic value $ X $

abc
def
ghi

translates into equations: $ a+b+c = X \\ d+e+f = X \\ g+h+i = X \\ a+d+g = X \\ b+e+h = X \\ c+f+i = X \\ a+e+i = X \\ c+e+g = X $

The equations obtained sometimes have several solutions.

What are the minimal possible sums (magic values)?

The constant values $ M $ of the sums of the magic squares have a minimum value (for non-zero integer positive values).

$$ M = n(n^2+1)/2 $$

For a size 3x3, the minimum constant is 15, for 4x4 it is 34, for 5x5 it is 65, 6x6 it is 111, then 175, 260, …

Any lower sum will force the use of either negative numbers or fractions (not whole numbers) to solve the magic square.

What are the maximal possible sums (magic values)?

The values can be as large as you want, so the maximum magic sum/value is infinity.

What is a panmagic square?

A panmagic square, also called a pandiagonal square, is a special type of magic square. Unlike traditional magic squares, where only rows, columns, and major diagonals have equal sums, a panmagic square has an additional property: the sums of the numbers along all its diagonals (including minor diagonals) are equal. also equal to the magic sum.

Is there a Magic Square in 3D (Magic Cube)?

Yes, there are magic cubes, their magic value is $$ M = n(n^3+1)/2 $$ (which may or may not have magic diagonals)

Example:

19176
52116
18420
15126
25143
22713
82410
12723
22119

What is the Franklin Square?

Franklin's square, published in 1769 by Benjamin Franklin, is a semi-panmagic square with a magic constant of 260.

Example:

526141320293645
143625146353019
536051221283744
116595443382722
555871023263942
98575641402524
506321518313447
161644948333217

What is the Lo-Shu Magic Square?

This is a 3x3 magic square used in Feng Shui which is represented as well

4
Wealth
9
Fame
2
Relationship
3
Family
5
Health
7
Children
8
Wiseness
1
Career
6
Help/Friends

What is the Kaldor Magic Square?

Kaldor's magic square is a square used in economics, which has nothing to do with digits or numbers of mathematics but rather with concepts from economic policy.

Source code

dCode retains ownership of the "Magic Square" source code. Except explicit open source licence (indicated Creative Commons / free), the "Magic Square" algorithm, the applet or snippet (converter, solver, encryption / decryption, encoding / decoding, ciphering / deciphering, breaker, translator), or the "Magic Square" functions (calculate, convert, solve, decrypt / encrypt, decipher / cipher, decode / encode, translate) written in any informatic language (Python, Java, PHP, C#, Javascript, Matlab, etc.) and all data download, script, or API access for "Magic Square" are not public, same for offline use on PC, mobile, tablet, iPhone or Android app!
Reminder : dCode is free to use.

Cite dCode

The copy-paste of the page "Magic Square" or any of its results, is allowed (even for commercial purposes) as long as you credit dCode!
Exporting results as a .csv or .txt file is free by clicking on the export icon
Cite as source (bibliography):
Magic Square on dCode.fr [online website], retrieved on 2024-06-17, https://www.dcode.fr/magic-square

Magic Square Generator/Solver 3x3, 4x4, 5x5… Online Calculator (2024)

FAQs

What is the answer to the magic square 5x5? ›

A 5 x 5 magic square would have a sum of 65 (lowest number plus highest number; halve it; multiply by row length; that's 1 + 25 = 26; 26/2 = 13; 13 x 5 = 65).

What is the trick to solve magic square? ›

Solve each quadrant using a one-up, one-right pattern.

If you go above the top row of the quadrant, then move to the bottom row instead. When you go past the rightmost column, add the number to the leftmost column. If there's already a number in the next square, put the next number directly below the last one.

What is the formula for solving magic squares? ›

How to Solve Magic square. As mentioned above, the formula of the magic square sum is n(n2 + 1)/2. For a magic square of order 3, we need to substitute n = 3 to know the magic sum so that we can easily form the magic square 3×3.

How to solve number puzzle 5x5? ›

Solving the puzzle involves 3 different phases you alternate between: Solve the top row (move the pieces for columns 1 - N-2 into place, then move the piece for column N-1 to column N, the piece for column N to colum N, but one row below, finish the row)

What is the algorithm for magic square? ›

A magic square A = [ a i j ] of degree is called symmetrical if the sum of each pair of two opposite entries a i j , a i j ∗ = a n + 1 − i , n + 1 − j with respect to the center is 2 ‖ A ‖ n , that is, a i j + a n + 1 − i , n + 1 − j = 2 ‖ A ‖ n .

What is the perfect square trick? ›

How to Find Perfect Square? To find a perfect square, we need to multiply the whole number by itself. The first 20 perfect square numbers are 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144, 169, 196, 225, 256, 289, 324, 361, and 400.

What is the formula for the birthday magic square? ›

Ramanujan created the following birthday magic square from his date of birth (in DD MM YYYY format) where all four rows, four columns and two diagonals sum up to 139. e.g. sum of all rows equals to 139. 22 + 87 + 19 + 11 =139; 17 + 09 + 24 + 89 =139; That seems like magic and hence the name — magic square.

How do you solve odd magic squares? ›

Odd Magic Squares Question

The trick with making such a square is to place the number 1 in the first row and middle column. To find where to place the next number, move diagonally upwards to the right (i.e., one row up, one column across).

What is the formula for the magic square 5x5? ›

Magic Square 5×5

In order to make a 5×5 magic square, the first step is to find the magic constant using the same formula: M=n(n2+1)2\(. So, the sum of all the numbers in each row, column, and main diagonal of a 5×5 magic square is 65.

Is a 3x3 magic square always 15? ›

The pattern was a 3x3 grid of nine squares, each containing one of the numbers between 1 and 9. No matter which way the 3 numbers in each row, each column and both diagonals of the square were added, the sum was always 15. This arrangement is what we now know as the 3x3 magic square.

What is the formula for calculating squares? ›

What Is the Squaring Formula in Math? In math, the square formula calculates the square of any number, square of a = a2 = a × a, such as the square of 5 is 5 × 5 = 25. We can clearly see that the square and the square root of any number are inverse operations.

What is the answer of 5 squares? ›

Answer. 5^2 (or 5*5) is equal to 25.

What is the total of the magic square 5x5? ›

All 5x5 Pan-Magic Squares have a similar underlying structure. By changing the order of the numbers in these two sets of numbers, 144 distinct squares are possible. Reflecting, rotating, and translocating, each square multiplies this by 200 to give a grand total of 28,800 different 5x5 pan-magic squares.

What is the magic square of order? ›

A magic square of order n is an arrangement of n^2 numbers, usually distinct integers, in a square, such that the n numbers in all rows, all columns, and both diagonals sum to the same constant.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Tyson Zemlak

Last Updated:

Views: 6290

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (43 voted)

Reviews: 90% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tyson Zemlak

Birthday: 1992-03-17

Address: Apt. 662 96191 Quigley Dam, Kubview, MA 42013

Phone: +441678032891

Job: Community-Services Orchestrator

Hobby: Coffee roasting, Calligraphy, Metalworking, Fashion, Vehicle restoration, Shopping, Photography

Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.