44

I want to number use a equation and add a letter to the equation number such as:

f(x) =a x and g(x) = b x                     (3.1.1a,b)

That is e.g. using \begin{equation} ... \label{eq} \end{equation}

lockstep
  • 250,273
Henry
  • 443

3 Answers3

44

The amsmath package provides \tag{<whatever>} that allows you to tag (or number) an equation with <whatever> you want. Here's a minimal working example:

enter image description here

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}% http://ctan.org/pkg/amsmath
\begin{document}
\[
  f(x)=ax \qquad \text{and} \qquad g(x)=bx \tag{3.1.1a,b}\label{myeq}
\]
For example, see \eqref{myeq}.
\end{document}

If you don't want the parentheses around the \tag, use \tag* instead. With this, however, you can only reference the entire equation, not the separate components.

For the ability to reference either the main equation or the sub-equations as a whole, you could use the following setup:

enter image description here

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}% http://ctan.org/pkg/amsmath
\renewcommand{\theequation}{\thesubsection.\arabic{equation}}
\begin{document}
\setcounter{section}{2}% Just for illustrative purposes
\section{A section} \subsection{A subsection}
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Ut purus elit, vestibulum ut, placerat ac, adipiscing vitae, felis.%
\refstepcounter{equation}\label{myeqn1}% Correctly mark and label equation
\[
  f(x)=ax \qquad \text{and} \qquad g(x)=bx \tag{\theequation a,b}\label{myeqn2}
\]
For example, see~\eqref{myeqn1} and~\eqref{myeqn2}.
\end{document}​

The idea is to correctly step and reference (using \refstepcounter) the equation before it is typeset, and use the equation number in \tag (via \theequation) for appropriate labelling and referencing.

Werner
  • 603,163
  • 5
    Just curious: what's the best way to put in the "3.1.1" part automatically? – Chel Dec 18 '11 at 20:46
  • 7
    In the equation, one could use \stepcounter{equation}\tag{{\theequation}a,b}. This assumes that your equations are numbered according to (say) \thesection.\arabic{equation} and sections according to (say) \thechapter.\arabic{section}. – Werner Dec 18 '11 at 21:10
  • 3
    @rdhs -- if you're using amsmath, you can say \numberwithin{equation}{section}. – barbara beeton Dec 19 '11 at 15:08
16

There is an easy way to do this automatically if you put the equations on seperate lines. The amsmath package provides an environment subequations which can easily be used in conjunction with the align environment for equations. For example:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\begin{subequations}
\label{equations}
\begin{align}
  \label{eq:f}
  f(x)&=ax + b \\
  \label{eq:g}
  g(x)&=cx^2 + dx + e
\end{align}
\end{subequations}
For example, see \eqref{equations}.
Or see equations \eqref{eq:f} and \eqref{eq:g}.
\end{document}
David Carlisle
  • 757,742
Heather
  • 836
5
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\makeatletter
\newcommand{\specialnumber}[1]{%
  \def\tagform@##1{\maketag@@@{(\ignorespaces##1\unskip\@@italiccorr#1)}}%
}
\newcommand{\specialeqref}[2]{\begingroup
  \def\tagform@##1{\maketag@@@{(\ignorespaces##1\unskip\@@italiccorr#2)}}%
  \eqref{#1}\endgroup}
\makeatother

\begin{document}
\begin{equation}
\specialnumber{a,b}\label{myeq}
a=b\qquad c=d
\end{equation}

\specialeqref{myeq}{a}

\end{document}

This doesn't work for alignment environments such as align and gather, though.

The argument to \specialnumber is added after the normal equation number. For references, you have to add it manually, so the \specialeqref command comes handy.

egreg
  • 1,121,712