Magic Squares in Excel

This is a technology lesson you can use to create a table using autosum. It is meant for intermediate Excel users.

The first sheet shows you three different magic squares that have already been created. If you click inside of the empty cells in the table, you should see the formula I used in the formula bar. This sheet also has simple directions for students for trying to solve the magic square.

The second sheet shows you one way to complete each magic square correctly.

I would have students start with a blank file (or one with the tables already created but no formulas) and I would step by step help them to create those formulas using autosum. Remember, because there are no numbers on your sheet yet, you will have to help autosum highlight the cells you want it to add.

This lesson typically took students about twenty minutes to create, then another fifteen to work on filling in the magic squares.