My Rubik's Cube (Part 1)
The Cube
Recently, I decided to buy myself a Rubik's Cube and see how easy or hard solving it would be. In this series of mini-posts, I’ll share my experience and the steps I followed to solve the cube.
The Challenge
When I first held the cube and scrambled it, I realized that solving it was going to be more than just a quick puzzle. It requires a methodical approach and an algorithm. After some research and watching YouTube videos, I found the Beginner's Method to be the best way to start. But first, I needed to understand the notations used when solving the cube.
Understanding Rubik's Cube Notation
When solving a Rubik's Cube, algorithms are often represented using a specific notation. Here’s a quick guide that helped me understand the symbols:
- U (Up): Rotate the top face of the cube clockwise.
- U' (Up Prime): Rotate the top face of the cube counterclockwise.
- U2 (Up Double): Rotate the top face of the cube 180 degrees (two quarter turns).
The same notation applies to other faces:
- R (Right): Rotate the right face of the cube clockwise.
- R' (Right Prime): Rotate the right face counterclockwise.
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R2 (Right Double): Rotate the right face 180 degrees.
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L (Left): Rotate the left face of the cube clockwise.
- L' (Left Prime): Rotate the left face counterclockwise.
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L2 (Left Double): Rotate the left face 180 degrees.
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F (Front): Rotate the front face of the cube clockwise.
- F' (Front Prime): Rotate the front face counterclockwise.
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F2 (Front Double): Rotate the front face 180 degrees.
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B (Back): Rotate the back face of the cube clockwise.
- B' (Back Prime): Rotate the back face counterclockwise.
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B2 (Back Double): Rotate the back face 180 degrees.
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D (Down): Rotate the bottom face of the cube clockwise.
- D' (Down Prime): Rotate the bottom face counterclockwise.
- D2 (Down Double): Rotate the bottom face 180 degrees.
Example Algorithm
An example of an algorithm might look like this:
R U R' U'
In the next post, I will start solving the cube.