 - 1. What is a memorized sequence of moves with a desired effect called in Rubik's cubers' parlance?
A) Pattern
B) Formula
C) Technique
D) Algorithm
- 2. From what field is the term 'algorithm' derived?
A) Physics
B) Mathematics
C) Engineering
D) Computer science
- 3. What does the mathematical term 'algorithm' imply?
A) An optional guide for players
B) A random sequence of steps
C) A shortcut for solving puzzles
D) A list of well-defined instructions
- 4. What do Rubik's cube solving methods provide along with their set of algorithms?
A) Descriptions of the algorithm's effect
B) A list of suggested competitors
C) A list of history of the cube
D) The manufacturing date of the cube
- 5. Why are many algorithms designed to affect only a small part of the cube?
A) To make the cube rotate faster
B) To reduce the number of moves required
C) To make the algorithm look more impressive
D) To avoid interfering with already solved parts
- 6. What is an example of an algorithm that leaves the rest of the puzzle unchanged?
A) Cycling three corners
B) Rotating the entire cube
C) Swapping the center pieces
D) Resetting the cube to solved
- 7. Which pieces can be flipped using algorithms without disturbing others?
A) The core mechanism
B) All corners
C) A pair of edges
D) Every side of the cube
- 8. Why are some algorithms allowed to have side effects during early stages of the solve?
A) Because they are faster to learn
B) Because they are the only algorithms available
C) Because side effects are not important when most of the puzzle is unsolved
D) Because the cube is easier to hold
- 9. What is a common characteristic of algorithms that have side effects?
A) They are often simpler
B) They require more finger tricks
C) They are more complex
D) They are always longer
- 10. Which type of algorithms are typically used toward the end of a solution?
A) Algorithms with many side effects
B) Simple and generalized algorithms
C) Random sequences
D) More specific and complicated algorithms
- 11. Did the original Rubik's Cube have orientation markings on the centre faces?
A) Only on the red face
B) Yes
C) No
D) Only on the white face
- 12. What is a cube with four coloured marks on each edge of the central squares called?
A) A standard cube
B) A master cube
C) A supercube
D) A pro cube
- 13. What is an example of a commercially produced cube with markings on all squares?
A) Luoshu Square
B) Rubik's square
C) Minimal square
D) Standard square
- 14. Does marking the centres of a Rubik's Cube increase its difficulty?
A) It decreases difficulty
B) Yes
C) It has no impact on difficulty
D) No
- 15. How many ways are there to orient the centres of a supercube?
A) 4,096
B) 512
C) 2,048
D) 1,024
- 16. What happens to the number of permutations when center orientations are counted?
A) It decreases
B) It increases
C) It becomes zero
D) It remains the same
- 17. How many centre face arrangements are achievable on a cube without disassembly?
A) 24
B) 6
C) 120
D) 720
- 18. When center orientation is counted, what is the new total number of permutations?
A) 1.2×1021
B) 4.3×1019
C) 8.9×1022
D) 2.1×1024
- 19. How many corners does a standard 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube have?
A) 8
B) 24
C) 6
D) 12
- 20. How many edges does a standard 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube have?
A) 6
B) 24
C) 8
D) 12
- 21. What is the total number of possible arrangements of a Rubik's Cube?
A) 43 quintillion
B) 519 quintillion
C) 40 thousand
D) 3 billion
- 22. How many ways can the corner cubes be arranged?
A) 40,320
B) 239,500,800
C) 2,048
D) 2,187
- 23. How many times could the Earth's surface be covered by cubes representing all permutations?
A) 12
B) 275
C) 24
D) 261
- 24. What is the height of a tower of all possible cube permutations in light-years?
A) 43
B) 519
C) 275
D) 261
- 25. What fraction of the total possible arrangements (including disassembled states) is solvable?
A) One-eighth
B) One-twelfth
C) One-twenty-fourth
D) One-half
- 26. When did interest in the Rubik's Cube begin to increase again after the 1990s?
A) 1985
B) 2010
C) 1995
D) Early 2000s
- 27. In which US city was the 2003 Rubik's Cube World Championship held?
A) New York
B) Boston
C) Toronto
D) Chicago
- 28. How many participants attended the 2003 Rubik's Cube World Championship?
A) 83
B) 100
C) 50
D) 200
- 29. What organization was formed in 2004 as a result of the 2003 tournament?
A) International Speedcubing Union
B) Cube Manufacturers Association
C) Global Rubik Federation
D) World Cube Association
- 30. What was a major factor in the renewed appeal of the Rubik's Cube?
A) Lower retail prices
B) Internet video sites like YouTube
C) School curriculum inclusion
D) Television commercials
- 31. When did Rubik's patent expire?
A) 2010
B) 2000
C) 1990
D) 2005
- 32. How much did Spin Master agree to pay to buy the Rubik's Cube brand in 2020?
A) $50 million
B) $10 million
C) $500 million
D) $100 million
- 33. Who did Nichols assign his patent to?
A) Rubik's Brand Ltd.
B) Spin Master
C) Ideal
D) Moleculon Research Corp.
- 34. In the 1986 appeals court judgment, which cube was found to infringe on Nichols's patent?
A) 2x2x2 Pocket Cube
B) 3x3x3 Cube
C) 4x4x4 Revenge Cube
D) 5x5x5 Professor's Cube
- 35. Who filed for a Japanese patent for a mechanism nearly identical to Rubik's in 1976?
A) Larry Nichols
B) Erno Rubik
C) Terutoshi Ishigi
D) A German toy manufacturer
- 36. Which of the following puzzles is specifically mentioned as being allowed to exist despite trademark restrictions?
A) Standard Rubik's branded puzzles
B) 2x2x2 Rubik's Cube
C) Pyraminx
D) The original 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube
- 37. In what year did annual sales of Rubik branded cubes reach 15 million worldwide?
A) 2005
B) 2015
C) 2008
D) 2003
- 38. What was the date of the Spin Master acquisition announcement?
A) 25 November 2014
B) 29 March 1983
C) 27 October 2020
D) 10 November 2016
- 39. Who invented the Rubik's Cube in 1974?
A) Larry D. Nichols
B) Ernő Rubik
C) Tibor Laczi
D) Frank Fox
- 40. In what year was the Rubik's Cube released internationally?
A) 1980
B) 1988
C) 1978
D) 1974
- 41. In which year was the Rubik's Cube inducted into the US National Toy Hall of Fame?
A) 2003
B) 1979
C) 1980
D) 2014
- 42. How many stickers are on each face of a classic Rubik's Cube?
A) Eight
B) Twelve
C) Nine
D) Six
- 43. What colour is opposite white on a standardised Rubik's Cube?
A) Blue
B) Orange
C) Yellow
D) Green
- 44. Who invented a 2x2x2 puzzle held together by magnets in 1970?
A) Frank Fox
B) Tom Kremer
C) Ernő Rubik
D) Larry D. Nichols
- 45. How long did it take for Ernő Rubik to solve his own creation the first time?
A) One year
B) One day
C) One week
D) About a month
- 46. Which company released the Magic Cube in the UK in 1978?
A) Ideal Toy Corp
B) Pentangle Puzzles
C) Seven Towns
D) Rubik's Global
- 47. What mechanism allows the layers of the cube to turn?
A) Sliding spherical grooves
B) Magnetic attraction
C) Internal pivot mechanism
D) Interlocking plastic magnets
- 48. What is the Hungarian name for the Rubik's Cube?
A) Bűvös kocka
B) Rubik-kocka
C) Magyar Kocka
D) Budapest Kocka
- 49. What colour is opposite blue on a standardised Rubik's Cube?
A) Red
B) Yellow
C) Green
D) White
- 50. Which company began a television advertising campaign for the cube in 1980?
A) Ideal
B) Guinness
C) Scientific American
D) ABC Television
- 51. Which country gave the Rubik's Cube a Game of the Year special award at the end of 1980?
A) Germany
B) USA
C) UK
D) Hungary
- 52. In what city was the speedcubing championship held in March 1981?
A) Budapest
B) Knoxville
C) Munich
D) New York
- 53. What magazine featured the Rubik's Cube on its front cover in March 1981?
A) The New York Times
B) New Scientist
C) The Washington Post
D) Scientific American
- 54. Which newspaper compared the Rubik's Cube to a Hoola Hoop or Bongo Board?
A) The Washington Post
B) The New York Times
C) Scientific American
D) New Scientist
- 55. Who wrote 'Notes on Rubik's "Magic Cube"' in 1980?
A) David Singmaster
B) Patrick Bossert
C) James G. Nourse
D) Erno Rubik
- 56. Where was a six-foot Rubik's Cube displayed in 1982?
A) Museum of Modern Art
B) ABC Television studio
C) World's Fair in Knoxville
D) Budapest championship
- 57. When did the first official Rubik's Cube World Championship take place?
A) 1983
B) June 1982
C) October 1982
D) March 1981
- 58. What city hosted the first Rubik's Cube World Championship?
A) New York
B) Knoxville
C) Munich
D) Budapest
- 59. In what year was the official World Championship revived after the 1982 event?
A) 1990
B) 1983
C) 2003
D) 1985
- 60. What is the size of a standard Rubik's Cube on each side?
A) 4.8 centimetres
B) 6.2 centimetres
C) 5.6 centimetres
D) 5.0 centimetres
- 61. How many unique miniature cubes, or cubies, are in a Rubik's Cube?
A) 26
B) 21
C) 28
D) 24
- 62. What part of the Rubik's Cube is held by the core mechanism?
A) The six centre squares
B) The entire assembly of 26 cubies
C) The edge pieces
D) The corner pieces
- 63. What keeps the centre pieces of inexpensive clones in place?
A) A screw
B) A rivet
C) A spring
D) A plastic clip
- 64. Who suggested alternative colourings for the Rubik's Cube in 1982?
A) Erno Rubik
B) Scientific American editorial board
C) Douglas Hofstadter
D) The puzzle manufacturer
- 65. What mathematical field is used to deduce algorithms for the Rubik's Cube?
A) Number theory
B) Linear algebra
C) Topology
D) Group theory
- 66. What is a conjugate structure (XYX−1) colloquially called by speedcubers?
A) Setup move
B) Generator
C) Algorithm
D) Commutator
- 67. Who developed the computer cubing method that reduces the cube to subgroups?
A) Rubik
B) Waterman
C) Singmaster
D) Thistlethwaite
- 68. In unitary representation, the rotations of the cube faces act as generators of what?
A) Lie group
B) Abelian group
C) Finite field
D) Symmetric group
- 69. In Singmaster notation, what does a prime symbol (′) indicate?
A) 180-degree turn
B) Clockwise turn
C) Anticlockwise turn
D) Rotate whole cube
- 70. What is the modern standard way to denote wide moves of two layers?
A) Using 'w'
B) Using an asterisk
C) Using lowercase letters
D) Using parentheses
- 71. Which letter in the MES extension denotes the middle layer between F and B?
A) S
B) M
C) E
D) L
- 72. In the 1981 book The Simple Solution to Rubik's Cube, what letter represented the posterior face?
A) B
B) U
C) P
D) F
- 73. In 'The Ideal Solution' notation for Rubik's Revenge, what were vertical front to back planes called?
A) Tables
B) Layers
C) Books
D) Windows
- 74. What does a letter followed by a 2 indicate in Singmaster notation?
A) Two separate turns
B) Two layers at once
C) A 180-degree turn
D) A square turn
- 75. What letter denotes the layer between L and R in the MES extension?
A) U
B) M
C) E
D) S
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