LaTeX Lab • Foundations & Inline Maths

Foundations & inline maths

This page is for students who are opening LaTeX for the first time. The goal is simple: by the end, you should be able to type the main symbols you meet in UI courses and place them correctly inside sentences and displayed equations.

🌱Absolute beginner friendly ✏️Write what you already know in LaTeX 📚Works with any UI course

Step-by-step path

1 Choose where you will type LaTeX

You may use:

• Overleaf (recommended): works in the browser, no installation.
• A local editor such as TeXstudio or VS Code with a LaTeX plugin.
• The LaTeX Lab editor on this site for quick practice and copying.

For assignments and projects, Overleaf or a local installation is ideal. For short practice, the LaTeX Lab editor is enough.

2 Inline maths vs display maths

Inline maths lives inside the sentence, for example $f(x) = x^2$ . Display maths sits on its own line:

$$
f(x) = x^2 + 1
$$

Use inline maths when the formula is part of the grammar of the sentence. Use display maths when you want the expression to stand out, be centred, or be referenced as an equation.

3 Superscripts, subscripts, and grouping

Use ^ for superscripts and _ for subscripts:

$x^2$, $\alpha_n$, $a_{n+1}$, $x^{2n+1}$

Whenever you need more than one character in a super- or subscript, wrap it in {...}. That way LaTeX knows where the exponent or index stops.

4 Greek letters and basic symbols

Greek letters and standard symbols follow simple names:

$\alpha, \beta, \gamma, \lambda, \pi, \sigma$

$\infty, \leq, \geq, \neq, \mathbb{R}, \mathbb{N}, \mathbb{Z}$

The rule is: type a backslash and the name of the symbol, then place it between $ ... $ or inside a displayed equation.

✅ Foundations checklist

◻ I know the difference between inline and display maths.
◻ I can type superscripts and subscripts correctly with {...}.
◻ I can write basic Greek letters and comparison symbols.
◻ I have one place where I regularly practise (Overleaf or the LaTeX Lab editor).

Core patterns to memorise

These are the patterns that show up in almost every first- and second-year mathematics course. Type them slowly, then adapt them to your current lecture notes.

Inline vs display

The function $f(x) = x^2$ is continuous.

$$
f(x) = x^2 + 1
$$

Exercise: rewrite two lines from your current notes using inline and display maths.

Simple identities

$$
(a+b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2
$$

$$
\sqrt{a^2} = |a|
$$

Exercise: type the binomial formula and one identity you know from algebra.

Quantifiers

$$
\forall x \in \mathbb{R},\ x^2 \ge 0.
$$

$$
\exists n \in \mathbb{N} \text{ such that } n \ge 10.
$$

Exercise: write the formal statement for the definition of an even integer.

Intervals and sets

$$
[0,1] = \{ x \in \mathbb{R} : 0 \le x \le 1 \}
$$

$$
A \cup B,\quad A \cap B,\quad A \subseteq B
$$

Exercise: describe the solution set of a simple inequality using set notation.

Short practice routine

Use this routine any time you finish a topic in class. The aim is to make LaTeX a normal part of your study, not an extra burden.

1. Pick one example from your lecture notes (a theorem, example, or exercise).
2. Rewrite the statement in LaTeX using inline and display maths.
3. Type one full solution using LaTeX in the LaTeX Lab editor.
4. Copy the result into your private notes or Overleaf project.

After a few weeks of doing this, typing mathematics in LaTeX will feel as natural as writing in your notebook.