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The math environment is used to insert short mathematical expressions in the running text. It renders fractions and Sum-class symbols in a way that consumes less vertical space than the displaymath environment.

It can be used like any other environment with \begin{math}...\end{math} but it is more common to use the shorthand notation \(...\) or $...$.

Example[]

Markup
The area of a circle is given by $\pi R^2$.
Renders as The area of a circle is given by .

Comparison with displaymath[]

Markup
\sum_{i=1}^n
Renders as (in math)
(in displaymath)

You can switch between the two types of rendering using \textstyle and \displaystyle.