# Mini Latex Introduction

You can typset your assignments beautifully in LaTeX .  Here’s a quick start guide once you’ve got yourself into some latex editing software and have a document open (see Resources for some info on getting the software going).

To add an equation to your latex document, as a separate line, you surround your math with \$\$ at the beginning and \$\$ at the end. So, you write

$$YOUR MATH HERE$$

You can use symbols like + x – and for exponents you can write ^.  For subscripts you can use _.  So for example,

$$x^2y_3+6=z_2^7$$

produces

$$x^2y_3+6=z_2^7$$

You can also write fractions this way:

$$\frac{a}{b}$$

producing

$$\frac{a}{b}$$

You can make an integral like this:

$$2\pi \int_a^b f(x) dx$$

producing

$$2 \pi \int_a^b f(x) dx$$

You can make a sum, and limits, like this:

$$\lim_{N \rightarrow \infty} \sum_{i=1}^{N} \frac{1}{i} = \infty$$ 

producing

$$\lim_{N \rightarrow \infty} \sum_{i=1}^{N} \frac{1}{i} = \infty$$

Here’s a real pro tip: if you want your math inline, use \$and \$ (single dollars) to surround it. So for example,

I was trying to evaluate $\lim_{N \rightarrow infty} \sum_{i=1}^{N} \frac{1}{i} = \infty$ when a pig flew. 

produces

I was trying to evaluate $\lim_{N \rightarrow \infty} \sum_{i=1}^{N} \frac{1}{i} = \infty$ when a pig flew.

Finally, you can make a matrix this way:

$$\begin{pmatrix} 1 & 2 & 3 \\ 4 & 5 & 6 \\ 7 & 8 & 9 \end{pmatrix}$$ 

and you’ll get

$$\begin{pmatrix} 1 & 2 & 3 \\ 4 & 5 & 6 \\ 7 & 8 & 9 \end{pmatrix}$$

If you have a symbol in mind and want to know the latex for it, draw it in the “deTexifyer”:

http://detexify.kirelabs.org/classify.html

For a browsable list of lots of math symbols you can use, see

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dwilkins/LaTeXPrimer/MathSymb.html