Getting Started Tutorial > Task 2–1: Entering and Evaluating an Equation
  
Task 2–1: Entering and Evaluating an Equation
1. Click . A new blank worksheet opens with a grid and a blue crosshair. This crosshair indicates the insertion point for the next region, such as a math or text region. As you click the grid, or as you press the Arrow keys, the blue crosshair changes position.
2. Type 19.
A math region is created, as indicated by the border around the number 19.
3. Click outside of the math region. The border disappears and the blue crosshair reappears.
4. Click on the number 19 to activate the math region again. Notice the blue cursor. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the rightmost insertion point of the math region, as in step 2.
5. To insert the addition operator, type + (plus sign).
Type 5.
Do not insert spaces. PTC Mathcad inserts space around each operator as needed.
6. To insert the exponentiation operator, on the Math tab, in the Operators and Symbols group, click Operators. The Operators list opens. Click xy. A placeholder appears.
Type 2.
When you point to an operator in the Operators list, a tooltip appears with a short description of the operator and its keyboard shortcut.
7. To group the terms 19 and 52, press Spacebar 3 times. The group is complete when all the required terms are highlighted.
8. To insert the multiplication operator, type * (asterisk).
PTC Mathcad inserts parentheses to indicate that you multiply the whole group.
9. To insert the cosine function, type cos.
10. To add an argument to the cosine function, type ( for the left and right parentheses.
The pair of parentheses appears with an empty placeholder in the middle. Notice that empty placeholders also appeared in steps 5, 6, and 8 when you entered an operator. In most cases, when you see such a placeholder, you must fill it in before you can evaluate the expression.
11. To insert the constant π, type p, and then press Ctrl+G. For a list of constants, on the Math tab, in the Operators and Symbols group, click Constants.
12. To evaluate the expression, type = (equal sign).
The evaluation operator and the result are displayed. To delete the result, press Backspace to select the result and the equal sign and then press Delete.
Proceed to Task 2–2.