Keyboard shortcuts: Enter math expressions (Engineering)

Updated 19 Feb 2024

It can be faster to enter some math expression answers using your keyboard instead of the answer box toolbar. Tablet and smartphone users: Tap the answer box for the toolbar to appear beneath it.

Math formats: subscript, exponent, fraction, square root, vector, absolute value, etc.

For this math format	Type this from your keyboard	On a tablet or smartphone, open the ...
y₃ (subscript)	_ (underbar)	Numeric keyboard to enter _
x2 (exponent)	^	Numeric keyboard to enter ^
(fraction)*	/	Letters keyboard to enter /
2.56 (decimal point)	.	Numeric keyboard to enter .
( )	( and )	Numeric keyboard to enter ( and )
[ ]	[ and ]	Numeric keyboard to enter [ and ]
{ }	{ and }	Numeric keyboard to enter { and }
+	+	Numeric keyboard to enter +
- (minus sign)	- (hyphen)	Numeric keyboard to enter -
(multiplication dot)	* (asterisk)	Numeric keyboard to enter *
(square root)	\sqrt	Letters keyboard to enter \sqrt
(nth root)	\nrt	Letters keyboard to enter \nrt
\|x\| (absolute value)	\|	Numeric keyboard to enter \|
F_xi+F_yj (vector)	\vec	Letters keyboard to enter \vec
(polar form complex number)	cis	Letters keyboard to enter cis
(X)* (complex conjugate)	conj	Letters keyboard to enter conj

*To enter an expression with multiplication in the numerator: Choose $fraction$ from the Templates menu for the correct format. (You cannot use /.)

Greek letter symbols, EMF, and hbar

For this letter	Enter this from your keyboard OR on a tablet or smartphone, open the Letters keyboard and enter
a	\alpha
b	\beta
g	\gamma
D, d	\Delta, \delta
e	\epsilon
h	\eta
q	\theta
k	\kappa
l	\lambda
m	\mu
n	\nu
p	\pi
r	\rho
S, s	\Sigma, \sigma
t	\tau
F, f	\phi
c	\chi
Y, y	\Psi, \psi
W, w	\Omega, \omega
	\EMF
	\hbar

Special functions (acos, acot, ascs, ...)

Use radians for arguments of trigonometric functions, unless asked to answer in degrees.

For this special function	Enter this from your keyboard OR on a tablet or smartphone, open the Letters or Numeric keyboard, as needed
arccosine	arccos(x), acos(x), or cos^-1(x)
arccotangent	arccot(x), acot(x), or cot^-1(x)
arccosecant	arcscs(x), ascs(x), or csc^-1(x)
arcsecant	arcsec(x), asec(x), or sec^-1(x)
arcsine	arcsin(x), asin(x), or sin^-1(x)
arctangent	arctan(x), atan(x), or tan^-1(x)
cosine	cos(x)
cotangent	cot(x)
cosecant	csc(x)
natural exponential function (e = 2.71828...)	e^x or exp(x)
natural logarithm (base e)	ln(x)
common logarithm (base 10)	log(x)
secant	sec(x)
sine	sin(x)
tangent	tan(x)

To move the cursor within your answer: On a computer, use your keyboard arrow keys (, , , ). On a mobile device, use your finger or other input device. For finer cursor control on a phone, enlarge your view of the answer box before moving the cursor.