Symbolic Equal Sign |
Keystroke: [Ctrl] [.]
→
The symbolic equal sign → evaluates expressions symbolically. It is a live operator, meaning that if you make a change to the worksheet anywhere above the expression (or to the left of it on the same line), Mathcad updates the result automatically, just as with the numerical equal sign. It also uses previously defined functions and variables to reduce expressions where appropriate.
To use the symbolic equal sign, click anywhere in the expression you want to evaluate and either:
- or -
Then click outside the expression or press [Enter].
You can use the symbolic equal sign to evaluate expressions containing Mathcad operators, including integrals, derivatives, matrix operations (and most matrix functions), summations and products.
To evaluate the expression x2·x3 + 5x + 3x − 6 + 4, type the expression and then:
x2·x3 + 5x + 3x − 6 + 4 →
x2·x3 + 5x + 3x − 6 + 4 → x5 + 8x − 2
Mathcad simplifies the expression by performing arithmetic and combining like terms. Note that you cannot evaluate this expression using the numerical equal sign, because the variable x does not have an assigned value. To evaluate it, you must use the symbolic equal sign.
To perform more complicated symbolic operations such as factoring or expanding an expression, you can insert a keyword before the symbolic equal sign.
The following operators can only be evaluated using the symbolic equal sign: