Creating algebraic expressions

An algebraic expression is very similar to an arithmetic expression, except that English and Greek letters may be included. The process of creating an algebraic expression, therefore, follows the same idea as that of creating an arithmetic expression, except that use of the alphabetic keyboard is included.

To illustrate the use of the Equation Writer to enter an algebraic equation we will use the following example. Suppose that we want to enter the expression:

2

 

−∝

x + 2∝ ⋅ ∆y

 

λ + e

 

⋅ LN

 

3

 

θ 1/ 3

 

 

Use the following keystrokes:2/R3™™*~‚n+„¸\~‚m™™*‚¹~„x+2*~‚m*~‚c ~„y———/~‚tQ1/3This results in the output:In this example we used several lower-case English letters, e.g., x

(~„x), several Greek letters, e.g., λ (~‚n), and even a combination of Greek and English letters, namely, ∆y (~‚c ~„y). Keep in mind that to enter a lower-case English letter, you need to use the combination: ~„followed by the letter you want to enter.

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