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Magic Squares II
Stage: 4 and 5
Article by Del Hawley
Published September 1998,February 2011.

In the article Magic Squares /1337 we saw how to construct at least one magic square of
any order. We can use some properties of magic squares to transform our manufactured
square into many different magic squares. Some of the properties of magic squares are:
A magic square will remain magic if any number is added to every number of a magic
square.
A magic square will remain magic if any number multiplies every number of a magic
square.
A magic square will remain magic if two rows, or columns, equidistant from the centre are
interchanged.
An even order magic square (n × n where n is even) will remain magic if the diagonally
opposite quadrants are interchanged.
An even order magic square will remain magic if the columns rd
or the rows are exchanged.
st nd th
If the 1 and the 2 columns/rows are exchanged and the 3 and the 4 columns/rows
are exchanged, this is called a 1-2-3-4 exchange.
Ref.: page 83 of "The Joy of Mathematics'' by Theoni Pappas, Wide World
Publishing/Tetra and Mutsumi Suzuki's "Magic Squares'' to be found on the web site
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~eww6n/math/math.html
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~eww6n/math/math.html .

The first two properties would yield an infinite number of magic squares since there are an
infinite number of numbers we could add to every number or multiply every number by to
produce a different magic square. How boring, so let's restrict our search for different
magic squares to just those that use the integers from 1 to n, for an n × n square. Also,
let's not consider squares obtained only by rotation and/or reflection, for they are just a
different view of the same square. That will leave us to first consider property number 3:
3. A magic square will remain magic if two rows, or columns, equidistant from the centre
are interchanged.
Let's consider only even number magic squares at first and see the squares produced.
Below, I have used this property to produce 9 different squares and illustrate how the rows
and columns may be interchanged.
The middle magic square on the middle row is the famous Durer "Melancholia'' with its
date of 1514 on the bottom line. You can see a picture of the engraving at the site:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Durer.html http://www-
groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Durer.html .
We will see this square again.
Now let's consider the fourth transformation property of magic squares:
4. An even order magic square (n × n where n is even) will remain magic if the
quadrants are interchanged.
Again, I have used this property to produce different squares and illustrate the method of
transformation.
Property 5, the 1-2-3-4 exchange, where the columns 1 and 2 are interchanged as are 3
and 4, is illustrated below. This transformation may also be done by a similar interchange
of rows.
The last transformation produces 3 squares and when used with the other transformations
should give 108 different squares. This last number of different squares leaves us far short
of the 880 squares of order four enumerated by Frenicle de Bessy in the seventeenth
century and illustrated in the book: Berlekamp, E.R.; Conway, J.H. and Guy, R.K. "Winning
Ways for Your Mathematical Plays, Vol. 2: Games in Particular'', London Academic Press,
1982. (pp.778-783). The 880 squares are listed on the site:
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~eww6n/math/math.html
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~eww6n/math/math.html .

Perhaps it is possible to transform the squares alternately by property 3, then 4, 3 again,

etc. and produce different magic squares? However, 880 different squares all from one
square transformed is rather a tall order. Perhaps there exists a different square that can
not be transformed from the others? To look at this last possibility, let's consider different
methods of forming a 4 by 4 magic square.

One such method of construction of squares is the "Doubly Even'' method for order
n = 4m , where m ≥ 1 . When m = 1 , we have n = 4: the size of square we are
studying. This method replaces each entry, aij , of a consecutively numbered square's
diagonal by (n2 + 1) − aij , or equivalently, reverses the order of the diagonal entries.
But reversing the order of the diagonal entries would yield the same result as the paired
exchange method used in the first article on magic squares. See below and compare the
results with the 4 by 4 square in the figure in the next section.
Another choice of construction is allowed with the "exchanged pair method'' as described
in the article "Magic Squares" /1337 . Using this method we exchanged pairs on the
diagonals which gives the same results as was already stated. The paired exchange
method is shown again below.

However, we could have made a different choice of numbers to exchange. With the 4 by 4
square, the 2th
and the 14 exchanged stand the th
3 and the 15 exchanged would balance the
st
1 and the 4 rows. Likewise, the 1 and 4 columns would be balanced if the 5 and
the 8 were exchanged and the 9 and the 12 rd
were exchanged. Then exchanging the 6 and
nd
11 and the 7 and 10 balances the 2 and 3 rows and columns. The result is shown
below and looks like a different magic square.

Unfortunately, if this last magic square is rotated by 180∘ we have the Durer
"Melancholia'' magic square which was a transformation of the original paired exchange
method. So, no new magic squares yet.

Perhaps you can find some 4 by 4 magic squares which are not transformations of the
above squares? Do any transformations or combination of transformations lead to the
same magic square? Are there any other transformations I have not mentioned?

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