# equation* environment or ? [duplicate]

So, I'm writing a mathematics paper, and let's say I have the following:

\begin{equation*}
2+2=4
\end{equation*}


Is this the proper way to do an unnumbered equation, or is it preferred to do the following:

$2+2=4$


My question really is: what's the difference between doing \begin{equation*} and \begin{equation*} versus doing ? Is there a setting in which one may be preferred over the other?

• The equation environment gives you a numbered displayed formula, not equation* nor $..$. Note that you need the amsmath package for the equation* environment. With this package loaded, equation* has then the same meaning as $..$ (unnumbered displayed formula). See here for more information: tex.stackexchange.com/questions/5788/… – Franck Pastor Apr 9 '15 at 5:03
• Thank you fpast and AboAmmar! Your comments and the articles to which you linked were quite helpful. – 3.14 - Thon Apr 9 '15 at 5:26
equation* is defined by amsmath. So, if you're loading amsmath, then there is no difference amsmath, as it executes the following at the end:
\DeclareRobustCommand{$}{\begin{equation*}} \DeclareRobustCommand{$}{\end{equation*}}