Generating Magic Squares Whose Orders Are Multiples of 4
Antonio Pizarro · Mathematics Teacher Learning and Teaching PK-12 · 1989
Magic squares are popular features in recreational magazines. Their importance as teaching devices has been emphasized over and over. Even Benjamin Franklin amused himself with magic squares, and at page 102 of volume 6 of his works (Mygatt 1847) can be seen an order-8 square in which rows and columns add up to 260. However, one diagonal sums to 292 and the other to 228. They are used not only in mathematics classes but also in computer classes, and often one sees assignments a sking students to write programs that print a 3 × 3 magic square (Presley et al. 1980, 7–8).