NOTATIONS

• Before trying to solve the cube you must be aware of the notations used while solving a cube. 

In order to convey a certain turn or a sequence of turns around the cube through writing, there are certain agreed key letters that specify exactly what move should be made: There are 6 different letters for turning the Rubik's cube, each for the 6 faces of the Rubik's cube to be turned:

• F (front): the face facing the solver.
• B (back): the back face.
• R (right): the right face.
• L (left): the left face.
• U (up): the upper face.
• D (down): the face opposite to the upper face.

The letter means turning a single turn, (90°), clockwise, the corresponding face. 

Letter followed by an apostrophe mark (') (known as "prime") means turning the corresponding face a single turn, (90°),counter-clockwise. 

These notation marks will always be in Capital letters. The reason for that is that there are different meanings for small letters.

DOUBLE LAYER TURNS

A small letter means turning the face along with its corresponding middle layer, making it a double layer turn. The reason for doing such moves is that it can reduce the need of cube rotations.

• u: Turning the top 2 layers together.
• r: Turning the right 2 layers together.
• f: Turning the front 2 layers together.
• d: Turning the bottom 2 layers together.
• l: Turning the left 2 layers together.
• b: Turning the back 2 layers together.

Note: u' ,r' ,f' ,d' ,l' and b' mean that turning the specified layers counter clockwise.

A sequence of turns in a row is represented by a sequence of letters, and called an algorithm. 

MIDDLE LAYER TURNS

There are 3 different middle layer possible turns in the Rubik's cube, represented by letters . Only 1 out of the 3 is popular in common algorithms, while the other 2 are rarely used. 

• M (middle): the middle layer parallel to the R & L faces.
• E (equator): the middle layer parallel to the U & D faces.
• S (side): the middle layer parallel to the F & B faces.

CUBE ROTATIONS

A cube rotation is a rotation of the whole cube. Sometimes making a cube rotation allows executing much more convenient turns, like turning the R face, instead of the B face. There are 3 possible axes to rotate the cube on: The x, y & z axes. Best way to remember the rotations is just thinking about a 3D function graph:

• x : rotating the cube on the x axis. (R & L faces remain intact)
• y : rotating the cube on the y axis. (U & D faces remain intact)
• z : rotating the cube on the z axis. (F & B faces remain intact)

Cube rotations can be followed by a prime (') meaning rotating the cube a quarter rotation (90°) on the corresponding axis counter-clockwise.