Fill in the digits 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the square below so that every row, every column and every diagonal has the same sum.
Note: No digit should get repeated. So, if 2 gets filled in the center square then no other square can have 2.
Difficulty rating:
Easy. 2.5/10
Solution:
One method of solving this is to try every possible value. So, we first will put 2 below 1 and see if we are able to get the desired solution. If not then we put 3 in that slot..if that also doesn't work then 4 and so on.
But here's an easier method. Note that each column has to have the same sum. Since, 1+2…9 = 45, it means that sum of numbers in column 1= 15, sum of numbers in column 2 = 15 and sum of numbers in column 3 = 15.
Therefore, if this problem has a solution then the only possibility is 6 below 8 and 1. And indeed, 6 below 8 and 1 does give us the desired solution. Here's the final solution:
