How do you type the little number on the keyboard for a compound, like methane would be CH4.?

Question

I'm typing a report on elements and I need to know how to type it on the computer, I can write it, but how do you do it?!

Thanks.

Answer 1

On Microsoft Word, there are buttons you can use from the toolbar that are for subscript and superscript. Go all the way on the right hand side of the toolbar, and there is a button with two arrows on it, if you hold your mouse over it, it says "toolbar options". Click this, and then go to add or remove buttons, and then select formatting options, and both the subscript and superscript will be choices, and you can just add them to your toolbar.

To use them, just click on them when you want to type a subscript or superscript(if writing ions) and then when you are done typing the numbers, just click off of it

Hope this helps you!

Answer 2

Note: The response from "Star" is a good keyboard shortcut that I didn't know about. My method (see below) works, but his is quicker. As he says, Ctrl+= (the Ctrl key and the = sign pressed simultaneously) will make one or more characters into subscript. Repeating that step will change it back to NOT subscript. And if you need to make anything superscript, you can press Ctrl+Shift+=.

If you're working in Word for Windows, you want to make the 4 into a subscript.

You do that by highlighting the 4 (using the mouse or the cursor), the choose from the menus:
Format
Font
Subscript (which appears near the bottom left of the dialog box)
OK

Be careful, because once you change something to subscript, anything you type immediately to the right of it will also be in subscript font. You can undo that by highlighting the item you want to change back, and then follow the above steps. (You will be UNchecking the subscript option in the
dialog box.)

Answer 3

In MSWord, highlight the number you want to "shrink", then right click and choose "font". There should be an option for "subscript". Choose that option and the number will shrink and be placed on the bottom of the line. Conversely, if you want the number to appear at the top of the other characters, choose "superscript".

Answer 4

In MS Word, highlight the text you want to be a subscript.
Go to Format, Font, then tick the Subscript box

Answer 5

if the control plus does not work (by the way good answer) you could type it as CH^4. The ^ is shift on the six and means exponent.

Answer 6

Ctrl + = will make subscript.