Using LaTeX for maths and science notation

You can write proper mathematical and scientific notation anywhere you write a question: fractions that look like fractions, indices, subscripts for chemical formulae, Greek letters and inequality symbols.

When to use it: Any time a question, option or explanation needs notation that plain text can’t show properly.

Notation you write is rendered everywhere the question appears, including on the projected view, on students’ devices, in results and in any AI feedback.

A formatting toolbar sits below the question field, each option field, and the explanation field. You do not need to know any syntax to use it.

It gives you:

Superscript and subscript, for indices and chemical formulae
Fraction and root templates, which insert the structure for you to fill in
A symbol palette, for anything you cannot type on a keyboard
A wrap action, which turns text you have selected into maths

The toolbar inserts at your cursor, so you can write a sentence and add notation partway through without going back to the end.

As soon as a field contains notation, a preview appears underneath showing how it will look to students. Check it before you save.

Writing it directly

If you already know LaTeX, you can type it. Wrap it in dollar signs:

$ ... $ for notation inside a line of text
$$ ... $$ for notation on its own line, centred

For example, What is $\frac{1}{3} + \frac{1}{6}$? renders the fractions properly inside the sentence.

$ ... $ and \[ ... \] also work if that is the style you are used to, but dollar signs are the house style and what the product uses in its own examples.

Common notation

What you want	What to type
Fraction	$\frac{3}{4}$
Power or index	$x^2$
Subscript	$x_1$
Chemical formula	$H_2O$ , $CO_2$
Square root	$\sqrt{16}$
Other root	$\sqrt[3]{27}$
Multiply and divide	$\times$ , $\div$
Plus or minus	$\pm$
Less than or equal to	$\leq$ , $\geq$
Not equal to	$\neq$
Approximately	$\approx$
Degrees	$25^\circ C$
Greek letters	$\pi$ , $\theta$ , $\alpha$ , $\Delta$
Reaction arrow	$\rightarrow$
Words inside notation	$\text{speed} = \frac{d}{t}$

Anything more involved than this will usually work too. If the preview shows what you expect, it will render for students.

Editing a question that is already running

Once students have started answering, the question and its options are locked so the thing they answered cannot change underneath them. The explanation stays editable, and its toolbar stays available, so you can improve an explanation while a question is live.

AI generated questions

If you generate questions on a maths or science topic, notation is produced automatically. You may meet it in a generated question before you ever open the toolbar. It is editable like anything else.

Tips

Check the preview, not just the source. A missing closing brace produces something that does not look like what you meant.
Project it before the lesson if you can. Notation that reads clearly on a laptop can be small at the back of a classroom.
You do not need notation for everything. Plain text renders exactly as before. Notation is for the parts that need it.