Thread: Help with fractions magic square!

Hi,
I am new here and am in first year of high school. I am ok with maths but when it comes to puzzles i'm easily bamboozled. This is a fractions puzzle and since most of you are much more experienced with maths than I am, this shouldn't be hard. First off, I can add/subtract/multiply/divide fractions, but I can't solve a magic number square. (In case you don't know, in a magic number square the numbers in every row, column and diagonal line must add up to the same thing, in this case 7 1/2. {7 and a half, i can't make fractions on a forum}) Here is my magic square:

Code:

 _____________
|2 7/8| ?  | ?   |
 _____________
|2 1/4| ?  | ?   |
 _____________
|2 3/8| ?  |2 1/8|
 ______________

I have been trying for ages to get this but I just can't figure it out!
This is homework for tomorrow, so I really need an answer (please!)

Thank you so much for your help.

Originally Posted by Xereeto

Hi,
I am new here and am in first year of graeme high school, falkirk. I am ok with maths but when it comes to puzzles i'm easily bamboozled. This is a fractions puzzle and since most of you are much more experienced with maths than I am, this shouldn't be hard. First off, I can add/subtract/multiply/divide fractions, but I can't solve a magic number square. (In case you don't know, in a magic number square the numbers in every row, column and diagonal line must add up to the same thing, in this case 7 1/2. {7 and a half, i can't make fractions on a forum}) Here is my magic square:

Code:

 _____________
|2 7/8| ?  | ?   |
 _____________
|2 1/4| ?  | ?   |
 _____________
|2 3/8| ?  |2 1/8|
 ______________

I have been trying for ages to get this but I just can't figure it out!
This is homework for tomorrow, so I really need an answer (please!)

Thank you so much for your help,

-Matthew

Hi Matthew! You shouldn't expect other people to do your homework for you, and we don't do that on this forum. But we can give you a few hints. You already have a good start to this problem, because you know that each row, column and diagonal must add up to 7 1/2. So look for a row, column or diagonal where you already know two of the three numbers and there is only one "?". Subtract the two known numbers from 7 1/2 and that will tell you what the "?" should be.

Each time you do that, you will have completed one more number in the magic square, and that should give you a new row, column or diagonal where you already know two of the three numbers. Go on like that until you have found all the "?" numbers.

Sorry about the homework thing, I found this site while searching for "homework help" on google. I solved the puzzle! (YAY!) Thanks for your help!

Rgds,

Matthew