Whether you are writing a blog post or taking class notes, it’s imperative to give some phrases more emphasis by highlighting them. You might want to draw more attention to a phrase or be able to discern it from the rest of the text to ease reading.
For example, while taking math notes in Notion, you want the equations to look different from the rest of the text. That allows easy scanning of notes when you refer to them in future.
Notion offers three built-in font styles, a variety of blocks, and color options that can help elevate text. One of those blocks is the Block equation. It provides a unique font style that makes math equations and symbols stand out from the text.
In this guide, we will show how to write equations in Notion that include a variety of math symbols based on your requirements.
Let’s get started.
Here are the three methods to add an inline math equation in Notion:
Method 1: Formatting the text
1. Create a new Notion page
You can add math equations to an existing page but we create a new one for demonstration purposes. We will refer to it throughout this guide.
2. Write your equation
You can use the default text block to type your equation as displayed in the below image.
3. Highlight the text and use the Create equation formatting option
Highlighting the text will display a menu bar. Click on the Create equation icon in it, as indicated in the below image.
4. Click on the Done button
Notice the math equation taking a different font than before? That's what we were trying to achieve. If the equation looks good, click on Done to insert it in your page.
Method 2: Using the Block equation or Inline Equation Notion blocks
Block equation and Inline equation are both Notion blocks which can help you add equations with symbols to Notion.
There are some subtle differences between the two that we will discuss in the next section. But for now let's see how to use either of these blocks to insert an inline equation in Notion.
1. Open the Notion page
2. Create a block equation
Type /equation where you want to insert the equation inside your page. Notion will display both the blocks. Select the Block equation option for now.
3. Write the equation
Type the equation in the Block equation block as demonstrated in the below image.
It simultaneously takes a different font style.
4. Click on the Done button
Click on the blue Done button once you're done to insert the center aligned Notion formula in your page.
Method 3: Using the $$ shortcut
The shortcut to inserting an inline math equation in Notion is placing it between a pair of double dollar signs.
Let's check out how that works.
1. Open the Notion page
2. Type the equation between two sets of $$
You might notice in the below image that we did not add the last dollar sign. That's because as soon as we add it, it changes the font but wants to display the formula with the signs.
Notion changes the font as soon as you type the last dollar sign, as visible in the below image.
When to use Block equation vs Inline equation Notion block
1. Alignment of text
The Block equation block displays the formula (or any text) center aligned. The Inline equation block displays it left aligned.
2. Ease of using other functions
Block equation enables you to add more functions to the formula. For example, you can make the font size larger with it.
The below image displays the normal sized font.
By prefixing the \Large function, we have increased its size as demonstrated in the below image.
How to add math symbols in Notion?
Notion follows the KaTex nomenclature of math symbols. We will demonstrate its implementation with the Division or Fraction symbol.
We will also share a cheat sheet of common math symbols with the formula in a later section. You can use it to insert any symbol based on the math equation you plan to write.
1. Open the Notion page
2. Initiate the Inline equation block
3. Write the equation with KaTex code
The KaTex code for division is \frac {A} {B}.
Putting that in an inline equation block turns it into a fraction, as indicated in the below image.
Notion symbols cheat sheet
Function | Symbol | Sample Formula |
Addition | Σ | \sum{A}{B} |
Subtraction | Minus (-) | A-B |
Division or fraction | \frac{A}{B} | |
Integral | ∫ | \int_{lower}^{upper} |
Differential | ∂ | \frac{\partial f}{\partial x} |
Brackets | (), {}, [] | (A) |
Superscript/ Power | Caret (^) | A^B |
Underscore (_) | A_B | |
Root | √ | \sqrt[n]{a} with return nth root of a |
Greek symbols | Greek symbol | \”symbol name” |
Text color and background color | \color{color name}text | |
Font size | \large
\small | |
Maximum | \max {a},{b} | |
Minimum | \min {a},{b} | |
Modulus | | | |a| |
Mean | x̄ | \overline{x} |
Not equal to | ≠ | \ne |
