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Hi! I'm Srivani, a sophomore at PES University. I hope this article is well-written enough for teachers to share with their students and engaging enough to hold their attention [hence the slightly informal tone :P]. I tried my best to keep it short, concise and beginner-friendly with basic intros. (●'◡'●)

PS: All the images you see here are mine [drawn using excalidraw] unless stated otherwise. I wanted to go for a more sloppy, hand-drawn vibe, hence I chose excalidraw.

PPS: If there are any mistakes or suggestions to improve this, please comment or suggest edits.

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The Secret Math of the Rubik's Cube

We’ve all held one. That mesmerizing, six-coloured puzzle. You twist it a few times, and suddenly, what was once in perfect order dissolves into chaos. But what if I told you that chaos has rules? Deep, elegant mathematical rules.

The Rubik’s Cube isn’t just a toy… it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the Rubik’s cube a physical manifestation of abstract algebra, a playground for combinatorics, and a classic problem in computer science. Time to dive right in!

A Teeny Tiny Intro To The Cube™

[the trademark is for funsies, don’t sue me please]

The Rubik's cube is made up of 26 smaller pieces called cubies that move around a central core which holds everything together and allows rotation. There are three types of pieces:

• Centre pieces (6 pieces): One per face, fixed to the core, each showing one colour. They provide the reference colour for each face and do not move relative to each other but rotate around the core.
• Edge pieces (12 pieces): Located between the corners, these pieces have two coloured stickers and can rotate and move around the cube edges.
• Corner pieces (8 pieces): Positioned at the cube corners, each has three coloured stickers and can rotate independently as they move around the cube.

Basic Cube Notation

To describe moves on the cube, we use letters representing each face:

• R (Right): Turn the right face clockwise
• L (Left): Turn the left face clockwise
• U (Up): Turn the top face clockwise
• D (Down): Turn the bottom face clockwise
• F (Front): Turn the front face clockwise
• B (Back): Turn the back face clockwise

A letter by itself means a 90° clockwise turn of that face when looking directly at it.