Question

In a magic square each row, column and diagonal have the same sum. Check which of the following is a magic square.

1)

5	-1	-4
-5	-2	7
0	3	-3

2)

1	-10	0
-4	-3	-2
-6	4	-7

 

Answer 1

It can be observed that in square (1), every row and column add up to give 0. However, the sum of one of its diagonals is not 0.

As − 4 − 2 = −6 ≠ 0,

Therefore, (i) is not a magic square.

Similarly, in square (2), each row, column, and diagonal add up to give −9. Therefore, (2) is a magic square.