How can I typeset non-inline math in tables?

Question

I have to typeset mathematics in table and want to avoid it being scaled down because I have to use inline math (\( \)). However, using \[ \] for example does not work. What is the best way to typeset tables with formulas, in such a way that the math is not scaled down?

MWE:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\begin{document}

\[ test \] % works

\begin{tabular}{cc}
\[ test  \] & \[ test \]\\ % doesn't work
\end{tabular}

\end{document}

Answer 1

You can add \displaystyle within the inline math environment, e.g.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{fixltx2e}  % fixes that \( \) are fragile
\begin{document}
\begin{tabular}{cc}
\( \lim_{x\to 0} \frac{\sin x}{x}   \) & \( \sum_{i=1}^n x_i \) \\
\(\displaystyle \lim_{x\to 0} \frac{\sin x}{x}   \) & \( \displaystyle \sum_{i=1}^n x_i \)
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

Answer 2

use tabularx or alternetively the p-column specifier if you want smaller columns:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath,tabularx}
\begin{document}

\noindent
\begin{tabularx}{\linewidth}{@{}XX@{}}
\[ test  \] & \[ test \]
\end{tabularx}

\end{document}

Answer 3

You can use paragraph columns:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\[ test \] % works
\begin{tabular}{p{3cm}p{3cm}}
\[ test  \] & \[ test \]\\ % works now
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

Answer 4

A variation of the answer by @wh1t3 would be:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}

\begin{document}

\[ test \] % works

\begin{tabular}{cc}
\parbox{2cm}{\[ test  \]} & \parbox{2cm}{\[ test \]}\\ % does work
\end{tabular}

\end{document}

The solution consists here, as you can see in putting each equation into a box. With \parbox the width is a required parameter, so you will need to specify it as with p columns.

On the other hand you will not need any extra packages.