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Robert Davies

Mrs. Watts

ENG 101 -3

23 November 2020

Process of solving a Rubik’s

The Ways of The Cube

The Magic Cube, a 3-Dimensional mechanical puzzle known to be nearly impossible to

solve. “Hungarian Ernõ Rubik invented a mechanical puzzle known as the “Magic Cube”, later

renamed as the Rubik’s Cube” (McAleer, para 1-2). A Rubik’s Cube has 6 faces made up of 9

pieces, creating a 3x3 cube. Each face consists of three layers, each layer has two corner pieces

with one edge piece in between. When solved each face of the cube has a different solid color

(traditionally red, blue, white, orange, yellow, and green). The cube contains a pivot mechanism

allowing each face to rotate independently. The purpose of the puzzle is to rotate the faces,

scrambling the cube and proceeding to solve the cube, returning it to its original state.

Although solving a Rubik’s Cube is often seen as an aggravating feat, it proves itself to be an

intelligible accomplishment.

Overview

When understanding the process of solving a Rubik’s cube, the objective is to return the

cube to its original state. The process may sound intricate but in hindsight, it breaks down to 5

steps to solve the Rubik’s Cube.

Special Terms
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In order to begin the process of solving a Rubik’s Cube, you must understand the basic

notation of algorithm terms. This refers to the side of the cube as well as whether it rotates

clockwise or counterclockwise.

1. U- Up face (yellow in image 1)

2. D- Down face, moves opposite of the Up face (on the bottom of the cube)

3. R- Right face

4. L- Left face, moves opposite of the Right face

5. B- Back face, move opposite to the Front face

6. F- Front face (facing towards the user)

7. A letter on its own - Clockwise rotation

8. A letter followed by an apostrophe - Counterclockwise rotation

Sequence of steps

In order to solve a Rubik’s Cube, the beginning steps are the most essential. Failure in

the beginning step being completed correctly will cause future steps to become impossible to

complete successfully. First, One must solve the white cross ( Image 2) to set up for future

steps. According to the article, “SOLVE THE RUBIK’S CUBE”, “ Start by holding the Rubik's Cube

with the white center piece on the top face. Then try to make a white cross” (Boy Scouts of

America, para 3). Next white corner pieces must be inserted into their corresponding positions

allowing each corner piece to match all three adjacent colors. By successfully solving the cross

and corners the first layer will be completely solved thus setting up for the solving of the middle

layer. Step three is to solve the middle layer. “Hold the cube so that the white layer is on the

bottom. Now, try to make the middle layer's colors match” (Boy Scouts of America, para 4).
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Matching the colors using the algorithms to complete the majority of the cube (Image 3) and

move on to the final steps. When completely corrected two-thirds of the cube should be solved

allowing one to move on to the next step. Step four is to solve the top of the third and final

layer. One should use the listed algorithms below to do so. When the algorithms are done

successfully the top yellow face should be solved allowing passage to the final step. The final

step is to solve the final layer. With the top yellow face solved, one must seek for any patterns

in the remaining mismatched colors. Once found one must use the corresponding algorithm to

solve the cube.

Examples

Image 1: Image 2: Image 3:

A clear cut example of how to solve a Rubik’s cube is Lucas Etter’s world record solve in

2014. Geoff Smith wrote, “14-year-old Lucas Etter set a new world record for solving the classic

Rubik’s cube in Clarksville, Maryland, in the US, solving the scrambled cube in an astonishing

4.904 seconds” (Smith, para 1). Lucas had practiced solving cubes for so long he had nearly

perfected the skill. Lucas’ world record solve shows his utilization of each step. He combines the

first three steps into a single step called “F2L”. “The first two layers (F2L) of the Rubik's Cube

are solved simultaneously rather than individually, reducing the solve time considerably”

(Ruwix, para 1). The use of this method allowed Lucas to dramatically cut the number of moves

required thus, cutting off the time considerably as well. Lucas minimized the number of moves
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required in each step as well as combined steps to reduce it to only 2 steps. This allowed him to

set the world record to solve time.

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Step four algorithms:

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Ruwix. Pure OLL Algorithms. 24 Jan. 2020.

Step five algorithms:

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Results

The results of this process are going from a scrambled up Rubik’s cube to a fully solved

cube. Occasionally, step four will result in a solved cube. Accurately spotting out specific

milestones and patterns throughout the process of solving is a key factor to the results. Another

key factor is one’s capability of memorizing algorithms as well as identifying when to use them.

Once the process is completed successfully it may be done again. Allowing the practice of speed

and techniques. One’s ability to quickly identify and use specific algorithms and capability to

steadily progress through each step will decrease solve time. Once done, this results in one

being capable of solving a Rubik’s cube but also cable of solving one efficiently.
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Although solving a Rubik’s cube may seem like a difficult task to complete, it proves to

be a very understandable process. Throughout the process of solving the white cross. The

corners, the second layer, the top layer, and the remaining pieces are used to solve the cube.

One will use their vision of the cube to identify patterns allowing the use of algorithms. The

algorithms allow access to the next step in the process as well as a new set of algorithms. The

process is followed until the cube is solved. When his process is fully understood and complete,

one can officially state their capability to complete such an insatiable task.

Works Cited

Agostinelli, F., McAleer, S., Shmakov, A. et al. Solving the Rubik’s cube with deep
reinforcement learning and search. Nat Mach Intell 1, 356–363 (2019).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-019-0070-z

Grochowski, Piotr. “A Collection of Algorithms.” Speed Solving , 31 May 2016,

www.speedsolving.com/threads/a-collection-of-algorithms.708/page-100.

Nuruddin, Jabari. “Pure OLL Algorithms.” Cube Root, 24 Jan. 2020,

www.cuberoot.me/pure-oll/.

Smith, G 2015, 'How to solve a Rubik’s cube in five seconds' The Conversation.

<https://theconversation.com/how-to-solve-a-rubiks-cube-in-five-seconds-51359>
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“Solve the Rubik’s Cube.” Boys’ Life, vol. 108, no. 9, Sept. 2018, pp. 56–57. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=131140210&site=ehost-live.