A Rubik's Fantasy

Authors

  • Kaylee Huber University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/pur.2025.88

Keywords:

Rubik's Cube, Permutations, Algorithms

Abstract

The Rubik’s Cube is a 3-dimensional puzzle that contains 6 sides known as a face) and nine facets per face. There are 54! possible combinations of rearranging the facets, however, not all rearrangements are types of movements of a Rubik’s cube. The total number of possible movements in the Rubik’s cube is over 43 quintillion [2]. Due to the cube’s nature, many individuals find it challenging to solve. In this paper, we use a 3x3 Rubik’s cube to describe and introduce the concept of permutations. Although permutations are a topic of abstract algebra (or an advanced level of mathematics), they are described in a way accessible to everyone regardless of their mathematical background.

References

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Rubik's Cube

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Published

2025-04-29

How to Cite

Huber, K. (2025). A Rubik’s Fantasy. Pittsburgh Undergraduate Review, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/pur.2025.88

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025): Fall/Winter 2024-25

Section

Research

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Kaylee Huber

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