How to solve a rubik’s cube

By: Shaib Hassan Alvi

Grade: 10
School: Australian International School
Word Count:2,104
Contents:
● Criterion A (Investigating)
● A1, A2, A3,
● Criterion B (Planning)
● B1, B2, B3
● Criterion C (Taking Action)
● C1, C2, C3
● Criterion D (Reflecting)
● D1, D2, D3

Criterion A (Investigating):
A1:
People have found out a lot of ways to solve a Rubik's cube, to the point that people
could say that almost every way to solve it has been done since it was invented in 1974.
My goal is to create my way to solve a Rubik's cube and make a tutorial on it. See
appendix 1 and 2 for further information. I will use Personal and cultural expression as
my global context. I can relate to this global context because while I go through this
journey, I will explore various ideas to solve it and I will express them by solving it
differently. At the end of this journey when I reflect I can relate again by expressing my
feelings and beliefs while I was going through the journey of solving the Rubik's cube.

A2:
As for my prior knowledge, I have almost every little to none knowledge of the Rubik's
cube as I used to have one when I was a child but I didn't understand what it was back
then. In grade 10, I saw a friend of mine solve a Rubik's under 5 minutes. After
becoming curious I researched a little and learned a bit about the Rubik's cube and I
knew how to hold a Rubik's cube.

A3:
Before creating my own way to solve the rubik’s cube, I wanted to find the benefits of
solving a rubik's cube. Thus, i Edsys. 2020. Rubik's Cube Can Make Your Children Smarter. Know
How?. [online] Available at: <https://www.edsys.in/rubiks-cube-make-children-smarter/> [Accessed 22

May 2020].went into a blog post and found out that solving a rubik's cube boosted a
person's confidence. It also increases a person's problem solving abilities and it also
keeps boredom at bay

After seeing two videos (WIRED, 0:00–24:11, 2020),(J Perm, 0:00–10:02,2020) about
how to solve a rubik’s cube I am getting a detailed and descriptive understanding about
the rubik’s cube works and how i can create my own way. Check appendix 3 for more
info.

Criterion B (Planning)
 B1:
Band Levels 1-2 Limited 3-4 Adequate 5-6 Substantial 7-8 Rigorous

Content An incomplete tutorial A complete tutorial A complete tutorial A excellent tutorial

with a lot of unanswered with some with no unanswered and really easy to
questions and hard to unanswered questions understand with no
understand questions unanswered
questions

Preparation There was very little The story could The preparation has The hard work and
preparation resulting in a have used some been done fairly well, extensive
poor final product. more preparation, but the explaining preparation are
but it was barely could use some more evident in the draft
understandable work. and in the final
product.

Purpose The tutorial contained The tutorial was The tutorial is written The tutorial
little or no focus. performed with with some direction contained a focus
minimal direction and focus. that really motivated
and did not shine. people to try
creating more ways
like me..

Audience Anyone Child to adult that Young adult and up Young adult and up
are trying to get that have solving a that have solved it in
into rubik’s cube rubik’s cube before various ways and
are looking for more

B2:
I have created a schedule where I have planned what research should be completed by
when, with justifications for each objective and possible method of completion. This was
to help me finish objectives on time. It shows the major steps that were planned to be
done in the project, and although I didn’t follow all the steps in the project, I attempted to
do as best as I could.

B3:
Self-management skills help with managing things such as time and conserving energy,
and even though I knew several, I haven’t used them a lot before the personal project. I
already knew strategies for overcoming distractions, I have some experience with
creating efficient plans, and I am very persistent and persevering. During the project, I
learned how to organize my time and energy for longer periods, and I realized how I
could use technology effectively and productively.

Criterion C (Taking Action)

C1:
The product:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTqeTKhsEcM
C2:
Thinking skills help me in the project during the creation stage. Before the project I was
a bit above average thinker, however, this project challenged my thinking skills a lot and
it forced me to think differently than I used to. Because I had to think differently I also
took a very unique approach. during this project, I watched a lot of tutorials on how to
solve a Rubik's cube and had to focus and think very intensively for an extensive period
of time to come up with my way to solve the Rubik's cube. This project took me out of
my comfort zone for the very first time and because of it now, I can take a step forward,
explore, and look at things differently.

C3:
My communication and social skills are well developed but in this project, I gained
experience in a different aspect of communication and social skills which is teaching
others. I am a student in grade 10 and in all my life I have never taken the initiative of
teaching others something. When I was filming the tutorial it was nerve-racking at first,
but I slowly got used to it and now all my stress is gone. I have discovered my weak
points and have strengthened them to the point that I am used to it now. This project
overall gave my communication and social skills a huge boost.

Criterion D (Reflecting)
D1:
All and all, I think that my project has satisfied all the criteria for achieving 6. Therefore,
my product is of high quality. Rubik’s cube is all about memorizing algorithms and
implementing them. You can't solve a Rubik's cube without knowing the things that are
essential to solving one. Thus, solving a Rubik's cube tends to be tremendously difficult
because there are at least 4-6 algorithms to memorize and you have to implement them
several times to solve it. My strong point of this tutorial is that I created one of the ways
to solve a Rubik's cube with a minimal amount of algorithms needed. I have also
identified and solved all the rare occurrences (edge cases) that can appear while
solving the cube. As for my improvements, I believe that I could explain the tutorial to
the viewers a cut above than this one if I had more experience with teaching others.

D2:
By completing the project I have extended my knowledge of my topic and the global
context, while I was creating my way to solve the Rubik's cube a lot of ideas, feeling and
beliefs pop up and I expressed all of it by making the tutorial which is very relevant to
the global context “Personal and cultural expression”. I also met several different
challenges during the project, and I was able to develop different solutions for them.
The first major obstruction was the pace of development of my work during the time
between the start and Winter break. I hate to admit it, but at that particular period of time
I was slacking off frequently and it resulted in very little progress. Later, in response to
this problem, I made a schedule for myself and set multiple alarms to frequently remind
me to work, and eventually, I was done with my research, planning and was ready for
creation. The creation process was the hardest of them all, I had to keep analyzing tons
of videos on how to solve a Rubik's cube and create mine and after I was done with my
product I had to analyze and evaluate it 3 times to make sure it's ok. The creation
process took me the longest time to come up with plus it feels like it was rushed a little
because I had to scrap some plans due to the scarcity of time (check appendix 4 for
more info). I also had some small problems here and there but I managed to clear it up
and move on. These were often caused by applying the wrong algorithms and adding
the wrong steps. By completing my personal project, I have learned a lot about the
Rubik's cube, critical thinking, and using logic and the global context I chose, Personal
and cultural expression.

D3:
This personal project has challenged me to become more of an IB learner through
independent learning and various challenges. I have developed to become more
balanced in my spare time, I have found new ways of thinking to solve problems, which
has also led to a more open mind. Although it can be hard to see in the report, I balance
my life considerably better now compared to before and during the project. My balance
was not the best before Winter break, and although I tried to get back on track several
times. I learned from this when experiencing the time pressure after the break, and so I
changed my working environment and attitude towards how I do homework. This helped
drastically, and as I was able to work effectively, which led to balance. I have had to
think a lot during the creation stage, trying to find new solutions and approaching
problems from new angles. I describe how I went about this, and I was able to
successfully complete the product in time. It taught me that there are several solutions
to every problem and that when I’m stuck I should try to seek help from others, and get
a new view on the task. By finding new solutions I have become more open-minded to
different perspectives, as it was required for succeeding in the product and project. I
have had to use different sources of information, and it has shown me different
approaches, that are each useful in their way. I completed my project far from perfect,
but this has added to the learning experience.This has taught me to manage my time
better through deadlines, objectives, and plans, but also how to work effectively when
under a large workload. These are both positive outcomes that came from a negative
experience, although it would have been preferred to spend less time in the winter,
close to the deadline, and more time in Autumn, further away from the due date. This all
originated from my weak planning and poor working surroundings but resulted in a
strengthened ability to manage time and resources in several areas, instead of a failure
to meet deadlines. As a whole, I think the project will have a significant impact on my
future learning capabilities because of the lessons I have taken away from it. I now
value planning a lot more than what I used to because I have experienced the massive
influence it has on my ability to work with effectiveness and focus. I have learned that if I
set myself clear goals in life it is a lot easier for me to work towards something instead
of being distracted. This means that if I move on to the diploma program, and even
further, I can apply methods that I know helps me focus and work effectively because I
have tested them in this project. Even if I don’t plan correctly, and I get caught up with a
lot of work, I have practiced how to work well under pressure.

Appendices
AP1:
At first, my personal project plan was to teach others how to play chess because i found
it very intriguing and I was very passionate about it.

AP2:
I had a meeting with my consultant and my supervisor and came up with a decision to
change my project topic to the tutorial on how to solve a rubik’s cube.

AP3:
I was planning on surveying and taking tips from my cousins who are experts in solving
rubik’s cubes but due to COVID-19 i was impotent.

AP4:
While I was watching various tutorials and surfing through webpages to see some
references, my brain got messed up and I could create my own way to solve the cube.
Thus, I had to take a few days of rest to think creatively again.

AP5:
After I was done with my report I wasn't sure if it was good enough and i was very
doubtful about my grammar which resulted in me checking my report a lot of times.

Bibliography
● “Rubik's Cube Can Make Your Children Smarter. Know How?” Edsys, 16 Jan. 2020,
www.edsys.in/rubiks-cube-make-children-smarter/.
● WIRED. “How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube | WIRED.” YouTube, uploaded by WIRED, 5
Sept. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-R0KrXvWbc.
● J Perm. “Learn How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube in 10 Minutes (Beginner Tutorial).”
YouTube, uploaded by J PERM, 19 Sept. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7Ron6MN45LY&t=524s.