Equation number with an apostrophe

I am writing two equations in an align environment:

\begin{align}
x^2+y^2=z^2, \\
x^2=7,
\end{align}


I would like the first equation to be labelled with e.g. (1.1) and the second equation to be labelled (1.1'), rather than (1.2).

Is this possible to automate? Do I need to use a hack to manually place the equation number after my second equation? e.g.

\newcommand{\hack}{\hfill({\eqnum}')} % Sketch - I don't know what command to use.
\begin{align}
x^2+y^2=z^2, \\\nonumber
x^2=7,\hack
\end{align}


If so, what command can I use to get the equation number? i.e. what should my command \hack be?

• Welcome to TeX.SX! You can have a look at our starter guide to familiarize yourself further with our format. Don't you mean a prime rather than an apostrophe? – jubobs Sep 9 '13 at 13:03
• Possibly, I'm not that familiar with the difference. – innisfree Sep 9 '13 at 13:12
• +1 for the question, but also for your nickname: I'm a fan of John Ford. ;-) – egreg Sep 9 '13 at 13:47
• @egreg, I had to do a bit of searching to get that reference. I wasn't familiar with "The Isle of Innisfree", only with "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". – TRiG Sep 9 '13 at 15:51
• @TRiG “The quiet man” is one of John Ford's many masterpieces. – egreg Sep 9 '13 at 16:02

I would recommend using the \tag macro to directly insert the equation number.

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb}
\numberwithin{equation}{section}
\begin{document}

\section{Section A}

\begin{align}
z^2&= x^2 + y^2     \\
z^2 &=  x^2 + y^2  \tag{\theequation'}
\end{align}

\end{document}


As per @barbarabeeton 's answer, the ' should be \prime as:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb}
\numberwithin{equation}{section}
\begin{document}

\section{Section A}

\begin{align}
z^2&= x^2 + y^2     \\
z^2 &=  x^2 + y^2  \tag{\theequation${}^\prime$}
\end{align}

$$z^2= x^2 + y^2$$
\end{document}


Incidentally, the \theequation is the way to access directly the formatted equation counter. This works with any counter you're using, \the<counter_name> will call the formatted counter. This is the reason \theequation resulted in 1.1 and not just 1, which is the value of the counter equation.

a method that will allow both equation numbers to be referenced outside the align uses labels and \ref:

\begin{align}
x^2+y^2=z^2, \label{firsteq}\\
x^2=7, \tag{\ref*{firsteq}'} \label{primeq}
\end{align}


the job needs to be run three times to resolve the numbers.

the * on \ref* in the \tag{...} will prevent the equation number in the display from being treated as a link. however, the label for the number with the prime can still be referenced in text by \eqref, and that will be linked.

(not part of the answer, but a suggestion: prime is more usual than an apostrophe; the apostrophe in this context will automatically be set as a prime.)

• That could be helpful also, but how can I stop \ref being hyperlinked at that label if I use hyperref, which is not desired? – innisfree Sep 9 '13 at 18:00
• using \ref* for the reference in the \tag{...} will prevent the number on the equation itself from being made into a link. the label for the "derivative" number will still be able to be linked from a reference in text. i presume that's what you want. (i'm adding this to the answer.) – barbara beeton Sep 9 '13 at 18:26