Typesetting Long Division in LaTeX: Tips and Tricks for Accurate Equations

[DivGradCurl]

Does anyone know a way to typeset a long division in LaTeX? I'm particularly interested in:

$$\frac{1}{\cos x} = \frac{1}{1-\frac{x^2}{2!}+\frac{x^4}{4!}-\cdots}$$

Thanks

 

[gulumal]

Hi thiago,
Use the following code. Use pdflatex for making the pdf file.

documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
\Huge
${1\over{cosx}}= {1\over{1-{x^2\over{2!}}+{x^4\over{4!}}-...}} $\\
\end{document}

Gulumal

 

[DivGradCurl]

I tried that... but it gives exactly what I put down initially:

$$\frac{1}{\cos x} = \frac{1}{1-\frac{x^2}{2!}+\frac{x^4}{4!}-\cdots}$$

In fact, I've just figured it out. This goes in the preamble:

\usepackage{array}
\setlength{\extrarowheight}{0.12cm}

and this is the final code:

\begin{equation*}
\begin{array}{rc@{}c}
& \multicolumn{2}{l}{\, \, \, 1+\frac{1}{2}x^2 +\frac{5}{24}x^4-\dotsb} \vspace*{0.12cm} \\ \cline{2-3}
\multicolumn{1}{r}{1-\frac{1}{2!}x^2+\frac{1}{4!}x^4-\dotsb \hspace*{-4.8pt}} & \multicolumn{1}{l}{ \hspace*{-5.6pt} \Big) \hspace*{4.6pt} 1} \\
& \multicolumn{2}{l}{\, \, \, 1-\frac{1}{2!}x^2+\frac{1}{4!}x^4-\dotsb} \vspace*{0.12cm} \\ \cline{2-3}
& \multicolumn{2}{l}{\, \, \, \phantom{1{}-{}} \frac{1}{2!}x^2-\frac{1}{4!}x^4+\dotsb} \\
& \multicolumn{2}{l}{\, \, \, \phantom{1{}-{}} \frac{1}{2!}x^2-\frac{1}{\left(2!\right)^2}x^4+\dotsb} \vspace*{0.12cm} \\ \cline{2-3}
& \multicolumn{2}{l}{\, \, \, \phantom{1{}-{}\frac{1}{2!}x^2{}-{}} \frac{5}{24}x^4-\dotsb}
\end{array}
\end{equation*}

Thanks, anyway. If there is a simpler way to do this, please let me know.

 

[camillerinadia]

I'm trying to input a graphics file from Mathematica, but I'm having an error which says: unknown graphics extension: .eps Can anyone help me?

 

[Mikko Rautiaine]

.eps doesn't work with \usepackage[pdftex]{graphicx}

Hi.

You cannot use .eps files with

\usepackage[pdftex]{graphicx}

but instead you need to use

\usepackage[dvips]{graphicx}

However, with this you cannot use .png or .jpg files.

I usually take a screenshot (usally GeoGebra or Mathematica), save it as .png file and use the pdftex-graphicx package. Tell me if you have a better solution. I always make the conversion to pdf because couldn't make the .dvi file.

 

[camillerinadia]

thank you for your reply. I am using latex and I'm using a feature called {gsm-l} which changes the format of the first page of every chapter. The problem is that the pdf document I'm writing starts from the 3rd page not from 1st page. Please can you help me with this??

 

[Mikko Rautiaine]

Probably not, I'm not sure if I understand the problem...

If the problem if with page numbering, you can set it by \setcounter{page}{3}so the current page gets the number 3.

If you want your {gsm-l} "be in effect" only from page 3 on, or you have 2 blank pages in the beginning, I don't know how to help.

 

[Crosson]

I'm trying to input a graphics file from Mathematica, but I'm having an error which says: unknown graphics extension: .eps Can anyone help me?

I had this problem in the past with eps files generated by Mathematica 5.2 but the new Mathematica 6.0 does a much better job and import and export of all kinds. Back when I had the same problem, I would load the eps from Mathematica into Adobe Illustrator, and then export it again and it would work in my LaTeX document!

 

[CompuChip]

Does anyone know a way to typeset a long division in LaTeX? I'm particularly interested in:

$$\frac{1}{\cos x} = \frac{1}{1-\frac{x^2}{2!}+\frac{x^4}{4!}-\cdots}$$

Thanks

In cases like this, when placing a fraction would become really ugly, I'd usually resort to something like
$$\left( 1-\frac{x^2}{2!}+\frac{x^4}{4!}-\cdots \right)^{-1}$$
or the uglier
$$1 / \left( 1-\frac{x^2}{2!}+\frac{x^4}{4!}-\cdots \right)$$

I'm trying to input a graphics file from Mathematica, but I'm having an error which says: unknown graphics extension: .eps Can anyone help me?

Which version of Mathematica do you have? Mathematica 6.0 can now export in PDF format, which pdfLaTeX can handle very well. Otherwise, you'd have to use something like PNG or use (e)ps2pdf (should be included in your LaTeX distribution) to convert the exported (e)ps to a pdf (but problems may occur, in particular watch out with the bounding boxes).