Page Content

  1. Fonts for Math
  2. Browser Test
  3. Inserting Symbols Outside MathML
  4. Web Development
  5. Math ML
  6. Superscript and Subscript
  7. Other Links

Other Pages on Math

  1. Common Math Symbols Chart
  2. Greek Letter Unicode Chart

Fonts for Math

Fonts

The following Unicode fonts include a comprehensive set of mathematical characters and are free for academic use.

Windows/Macintosh

  • Windows – Arial Unicode MS, Cambria Math (Vista+)
  • Macintosh OS X – Apple Symbols, Lucida Grade

Freeware Fonts

Browser Test

Without MathML

The following test is just a test to see if your computer has a font with complex symbols. It is NOT a MathML test. If the "Text Version" matches the "Graphic Version", your computer has a font with mathetical symbols installed.

Math Symbol Test (Non MathML)
Graphic Graphic with logic and symbols. Logic notation is meant to say For all OS with year greater than 2001, there exists a font that contains obscure math symbols
Text ∀OS (year(OS) ≥ 2001 | ∃Font ∋ (∛, ∬♁∰⦖,≈))

MathML/MathJax

The following tests whether your broswer supports MathML. See the MathML section for information and links about MathML.

MathML with MathJax Test
Graphic m equals begin fraction m sub 0 over begin square root 1 minus begin fraction v sup 2 over c sup 2 end fraction end square root end fraction
Text
m= m 0 1− v 2 c 2

 

Inserting Symbols

Windows

Use the Windows Character Map to insert mathematical symbols.

  • Switch to a large Unicode font like Arial Unicode MS then scroll down to the appropriate script block.
  • This tool may not function with some older programs which do not support Unicode input.

Macintosh

Use the Macintosh Symbols & Emoji Character Viewer to insert mathematical symbols.

  • Click the Math Symbols and or other blocks on the right to view symbols.
  • This tool may not function with some older programs which do not support Unicode input.

Web Development

Declare Unicode

No matter which method you use to create the document, the HTML page must be declared as a Unicode page with the following meta-tag.

<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
…
</head>

Unicode Numeric Entity Codes

You can substitute numeric
entity codes for the mathematical symbols. For example:

  • square root – √ (&#radic;)
  • cube root – ∛ (&#8731;)
  • fourth root – ∜ (&#8732;)
  • superscript 6 – ⁶ (&#8310;)

See the Math Symbol Unicode chart or Alan Wood’s Mathematical Operator Unicode table for other common symbols.

Math ML

Math ML is an XML language designed to present complex equations. MathML and HTML 5 combinations are supported, but only in the most recent browsers.

See the following links for information on how MathML can be implemented.

Math ML Links

LaTeX

Web pages generally do not support LaTeX directly, but many equation editors such as MathType or Wiris can convert LaTeX to MathML.

Superscript & Subscript

You can use the <sup></sup> tag to create super script text and <sub></sub> to create sub-script text. See examples below:

Code: x<sup>x+1</sup>
Result: xx+1

Code: x<sub>i+1</sub>
Result: xi+1

See the Superscript page for additional options.

Third Party Fonts

The following fonts are availble free for educational use and include most encoded mathematical and technical symbols.

Mathematic Entity Codes

Math ML Links

LaTeX

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