# Writing equations with neatly defined parameters [duplicate]

I have been dealing with a multitude of equations in my thesis and it gets really repetitive defining each parameter verbally after each equation; personally I find it inefficient and at times messy. So I came up with the idea of displaying the units as follows (Word example):

With the parameters listed below with a 1/2 or 2/3 page indent (I will have to test out what works) and a single line spacing between each definition to save page space (currently using 1.5). If possible I would like to have the parameters aligned as well as the definitions but this isn't crucial, I believe it will look neater, as seen in the above example.

I tried including the list within the equation environment but it does not work well as the equation number is displaced.

I offer my MWE for my document class:

\documentclass{scrreprt}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{siunitx}

\renewcommand{\labelitemi}{}

\begin{document}

I would like to have the units neatly defined for Equation~\eqref{eq:newton_gravity}\dots

$$\label{eq:newton_gravity} F=G\frac{{m_1}{m_2}}{{r^2}}$$
\begin{itemize}
\item $F$: Force.
\item $G$: Gravitational constant.
\item $m_x$: Mass of object x.
\item $r$: Distance between centres of two objects.
\end{itemize}

\end{document}


## marked as duplicate by Paul Gessler, karlkoeller, Jesse, Paul Gaborit, MasroorJan 29 '15 at 13:06

• @PaulGessler very similar indeed, I am striving to have an environment type solution – Fiztban Jan 29 '15 at 12:29
• Do you really need to describe each variable after all equations? – egreg Jan 29 '15 at 12:31
• @egreg well in some cases when jumping between developed equations and literature ones it is useful to have them briefly defined yes, as symbols can become confusing and being able to just leave a brief reminder without writing a paragraph would make it so much clearer – Fiztban Jan 29 '15 at 12:32
• @PaulGessler I would end up classifying this question as an almost duplicate and have found my solution by the helpful link you have reported. Thank you. – Fiztban Jan 29 '15 at 12:36

\begin{align}

• This does align the parameters to the & sign wrt the equation, however its not ideal. I would rather it be consistent with itself rather than wrt equation at hand. – Fiztban Jan 29 '15 at 12:27