Common Mathematical Notation

The amsmath, amssymb, and amsfonts packages are essential.

Superscripts & Subscripts

• Superscripts: ^
• \(x^2\) - x^2
• \(e^{-x}\) - e^{-x} (Note: multiple characters must be in {})

• \(2^{3x+1}\) - 2^{3x+1}

• Subscripts: _

• \(a_n\) - a_n
• \(x_{i,j}\) - x_{i,j}

• \(H_2O\) - H_2O

• Combined

• \(x_i^2\) - x_i^2

Greek Letters

Lowercase	Command	Uppercase	Command
\(\alpha\)	\alpha	\(A\)	A
\(\beta\)	\beta	\(B\)	B
\(\gamma\)	\gamma	\(\Gamma\)	\Gamma
\(\delta\)	\delta	\(\Delta\)	\Delta
\(\epsilon\)	\epsilon	\(E\)	E
\(\zeta\)	\zeta	\(Z\)	Z
\(\eta\)	\eta	\(H\)	H
\(\theta\)	\theta	\(\Theta\)	\Theta
\(\iota\)	\iota	\(I\)	I
\(\kappa\)	\kappa	\(K\)	K
\(\lambda\)	\lambda	\(\Lambda\)	\Lambda
\(\mu\)	\mu	\(M\)	M
\(\nu\)	\nu	\(N\)	N
\(\xi\)	\xi	\(\Xi\)	\Xi
\(\pi\)	\pi	\(\Pi\)	\Pi
\(\rho\)	\rho	\(P\)	P
\(\sigma\)	\sigma	\(\Sigma\)	\Sigma
\(\tau\)	\tau	\(T\)	T
\(\upsilon\)	\upsilon	\(\Upsilon\)	\Upsilon
\(\phi\)	\phi	\(\Phi\)	\Phi
\(\chi\)	\chi	\(X\)	X
\(\psi\)	\psi	\(\Psi\)	\Psi
\(\omega\)	\omega	\(\Omega\)	\Omega

Operators

• Summation: \sum_{i=1}^n \(\sum_{i=1}^n\)
• Integral: \int_a^b \(\int_a^b\)
• Limit: \lim_{x \to \infty} \(\lim_{x \to \infty}\)
• Product: \prod \(\prod\)

Brackets and Parentheses

Scale automatically with \left and \right.

• \left( \frac{1}{2} \right) \(\rightarrow \left( \frac{1}{2} \right)\)
• \left[ ... \right]
• \left\{ ... \right\} (Use \{ for braces)
• \left| ... \right| (Absolute value)
• \left\langle ... \right\rangle (Angle brackets)

Sets

• \(\in\) \in
• \(\notin\) \notin
• \(\subset\) \subset
• \(\subseteq\) \subseteq
• \(\cup\) \cup
• \(\cap\) \cap
• \(\emptyset\) \emptyset
• \(\infty\) \infty
• \(\mathbb{R}\) \mathbb{R} (Real numbers - amsfonts)
• \(\mathbb{Z}\) \mathbb{Z} (Integers)
• \(\mathbb{N}\) \mathbb{N} (Natural numbers)
• \(\mathbb{C}\) \mathbb{C} (Complex numbers)

Text in Math Mode

Inside math mode, spaces are ignored. Use \text{...} to write normal text. text{if } x > 0 \(\rightarrow \text{if } x > 0\)