Math Complexities and Troubleshooting
Math Complexities and Troubleshooting jls164This section is for complex equations, troubleshooting, and advanced workflows. Faculty are encouraged to involve a Learning Designer when working with these scenarios.
Using the correct mathematical symbols
Warning!
Some keyboard characters look like mathematical symbols but are not true mathematical symbols. If you use the incorrect character, your equation will not be read correctly by a screen reader.
For example
- The hyphen on your main keyboard is not the same as the minus sign on the numeric keypad.
- The dot used for multiplication is not the same as a period.
- An asterisk is not the proper symbol for multiplication.
The table below provides several ways to ensure you are using the correct symbols when writing mathematical equations. Inserting the proper symbols into your equations may require the use of dedicated tools for creating MathML code or access to the source MathML code.
NOTE: Checking and changing these symbols must be done in the source code ( 
). For assistance, please contact your Learning Designer.
| Symbol | Operator | Description | Screen Reader | Named Entity (html) | Decimal | Hexadecimal | MathML Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | Addition | Plus sign | "Plus" | + | + | + | <mo>+</mo> |
| − | Subtraction | Minus sign (proper) | "Minus" | − | − | − | <mo>−</mo> |
| - | Hyphen (Do not use for subtraction) | Hyphen (on your keyboard) | "dash" | ‐ | - | - | <mo>-</mo> |
| × | Multiplication | Times sign | "Times" | × | × | × or × | <mo>×</mo> |
| x | x (Do not use the letter x for multiplication) | The letter x | "x" | n/a | ¸ | N | <mo>x</mo> |
| ⋅ | Dot Multiplication | Dot operator sign | "Times" | · | ⋅ | ⋅ | <mo>⋅</mo> |
| * | Asterisk (Do not use for multiplication) | "Star" | |||||
| ∗ | Asterisk for Multiplication | Asterisk times sign | "Asterisk operator" | n/a | ∗ | ∗ | <mo>∗</mo> |
| ÷ | Division | Division sign | "Divide by" | ÷ | ÷ | ÷ or ÷ | <mo>÷</mo> |
| = | Equals | Equals sign | "Equals" | = | = | = or = | <mo>=</mo> |
| ≠ | Not Equal | Not equal sign | "Not equal to" | ≠ | ≠ | ≠ | <mo>≠</mo> |
| < | Less Than | Less than sign | "Less" | < | < | < or < | <mo><</mo> |
| > | Greater Than | Greater than sign | "Greater" | > | > | > or > | <mo>></mo> |
| ≤ | Less or Equal | Less than or equal sign | "Less than or equal to" | ≤ | ≤ | ≤ | <mo>≤</mo> |
| ≥ | Greater or Equal | Greater than or equal sign | "Greater than or equal to" | ≥ | ≥ | ≥ | <mo>≥</mo> |
| ≈ | Approx Equal | Approximately equal sign | "Almost equal to" | ≈ | ≈ | ≈ | <mo>≈</mo> |
| ± | Plus-Minus | Plus-minus sign | "Plus or minus" | ± | ± | ± or ± | <mo>±</mo> |
| ∞ | Infinity | Infinity sign | "Infinity" | ∞ | ∞ | ∞ | <mo>∞</mo> |
| √ | Square Root | Square root sign | "Square root" | √ | √ | √ | <mo>√</mo> |
Alignment of mathematical equations
The last tab in the MathType editor window suggests you can align a series of equations (left, center, right, or aligned with the equal sign). Unfortunately, these alignment settings do not render correctly when saved to the page. If you need help aligning a series of equations, please contact your Learning Designer.
Cleaning up MathML
Messy MathML may include unnecessary attributes that:
- Make editing difficult
- Increase the chance of errors
Cleaning MathML improves long‑term maintainability. Learning Designers can assist, or advanced users may use AI tools to simplify MathML while preserving meaning.
Getting help
Your Learning Designer is your resource for both pedagogy and technical support, including Drupal. Contact them anytime for guidance on creating effective and accessible learning experiences.