Mathematical Formulas

There are two ways to insert mathematical formulas into your document with LaTeX. One is to have it appear in a paragraph with text. In doing so, the formulas will be compressed vertically: limits for integrals and summations will appear to the side instead of on the top and bottom, etc. The other way is to have them appear in a separate paragraph, where there will be more room.

For formulas that appear in a paragraph, surround them with $'s. For example,

$\alpha$ is the first letter of the Greek alphabet.

becomes

$\alpha$ is the first letter of the Greek alphabet.

To have formulas appear in their own paragraph, use matching $$'s to surround them. For example,

$$
\frac{x^n-1}{x-1} = \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}x^k
$$

becomes

$$\frac{x^n-1}{x-1} = \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}x^k$$

Practice: Create your own document with both kinds of formulas.