LaTeX Need Help Labeling Latex Equation

  • Thread starter Thread starter fluidistic
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Latex
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on labeling equations in LaTeX, specifically using the eqnarray* environment. Users encountered issues with equation numbering and formatting, particularly when splitting large equations across multiple lines. The recommended solution involves using the aligned environment within equation or multline from the amsmath package, which provides better spacing and formatting options. The final solution successfully integrates the \end{aligned} command to resolve errors and achieve the desired output.

PREREQUISITES
  • Familiarity with LaTeX syntax and environments
  • Understanding of the amsmath package
  • Knowledge of equation labeling techniques in LaTeX
  • Experience with formatting multi-line equations
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the amsmath package documentation for advanced features
  • Learn about the multline environment for handling large equations
  • Research best practices for equation formatting in LaTeX
  • Experiment with the aligned environment for multi-line equations
USEFUL FOR

Researchers, students, and academics who are writing documents in LaTeX and need to format and label complex equations effectively.

fluidistic
Gold Member
Messages
3,931
Reaction score
281
Latex "help" needed

Hello,
I would like to label the following as an equation:

Code:
\begin{eqnarray*}
Enormous equation here
\end{eqnarray*}

I have tried the \label{name of equation} line, but it did not work.

I want to do this because in my latex document I have labeled many equations the following way:
Code:
\begin{equation}
\label{name of equation}
equation expression
\end{equation}

And I would like my "eqnarray*" to look like an equation for a reader of my document. I need to cite that "eqnarray*" at several places in my document so I really need to label it, but I don't know how to do.

Any idea?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The reason you don't get equation numbers is because the * in equarray* option switches numbers off!

But without the *, each equation in the array gets its own number, which is presumably not what you want.

And in any case, eqnarray is sort of "left over from the an earlier version of LaTeX". The various alignment envoronments in the amsmath package give better spacing than eqnarray.

Try
Code:
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\label{name}
& equation \\
another & equation \\
and yet another & equation
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help!
AlephZero said:
The reason you don't get equation numbers is because the * in equarray* option switches numbers off!

But without the *, each equation in the array gets its own number, which is presumably not what you want.
Well actually it somehow work but not as I want. Since the equation is enormous I have split it into 2 long lines. What I get when I remove the "*" is that both lines are assigned a number (not 1 and 2 but 12 and 13 because the previous equation is labeled as 11). On the top of that the numbers are displayed over/under the equation because it is simply too large. Maybe if I could put the number on the left side (in the margin I suppose), it would be ok. But I would still need to create a single number and not 2.


And in any case, eqnarray is sort of "left over from the an earlier version of LaTeX". The various alignment envoronments in the amsmath package give better spacing than eqnarray.

Try
Code:
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}
\label{name}
& equation \\
another & equation \\
and yet another & equation
\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
I just tried this, I get a lot of errors. Probably because I split a single equation (it has \left [ and 2 kilometers away it has \right ] ) but I am not sure.

Here's the code of what I just tried:
Code:
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned} 
\label{test}
& \frac{\partial ^2 P}{\partial x^2}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi t} \sigma} \left [ \frac{1}{\sigma ^2 t} \exp \{ -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}    \} + \frac{(x-y)^2}{\sigma ^4 t^2} \exp \{ - \frac{(x-y)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}  \}\right. \\ 
& \qquad \qquad \left. -\frac{1}{\sigma ^2 t} \exp \{ - \frac{(x-y)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}  \} -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{\sigma ^4 t} \exp \{ -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}  \} \right ] 
\end{equation}
and it won't work.
Here's the code that work but needs to be fixed:
Code:
\begin{eqnarray*} 
& & \frac{\partial ^2 P}{\partial x^2}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi t} \sigma} \left [ \frac{1}{\sigma ^2 t} \exp \{ -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}    \} + \frac{(x-y)^2}{\sigma ^4 t^2} \exp \{ - \frac{(x-y)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}  \}\right. \\ 
& &\qquad \qquad \left. -\frac{1}{\sigma ^2 t} \exp \{ - \frac{(x-y)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}  \} -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{\sigma ^4 t} \exp \{ -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t}  \} \right ] 
\end{eqnarray*}
 
fluidistic said:
Here's the code of what I just tried:
Code:
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned} 
\label{test}
...
\end{equation}
and it won't work.

You forgot something:

Code:
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned} 
\label{test}
...
\end{aligned} % !
\end{equation}

And you need \usepackage{amsmath} if you don't already have it.

That works for me - see attachment.

This is a bit simpler, but the formatting is slightly different:

Code:
\begin{multline}
\label{test}
\frac{\partial ^2 P}{\partial x^2}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi t} \sigma} \left [ \frac{1}{\sigma ^2 t} \exp \{ -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t} \} + \frac{(x-y)^2}{\sigma ^4 t^2} \exp \{ - \frac{(x-y)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t} \}\right. \\
\left. -\frac{1}{\sigma ^2 t} \exp \{ - \frac{(x-y)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t} \} -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{\sigma ^4 t} \exp \{ -\frac{(x+y-2B)^2}{2\sigma ^2 t} \} \right ]
\end{multline}
Note I've deleted the &'s and some of the \quads, and you don't need \ begin{equation} ... \ end{equation}.
 

Attachments

  • big eqaution.png
    big eqaution.png
    10.2 KB · Views: 559
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes 1 person
Thanks a lot, that worked great!
I just added the \end{aligned} line, now it works simply perfectly. :smile:
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
8K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
6K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
6K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
5K