LaTeX integration for papers in Matplotlib - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to enable LaTeX rendering in matplotlib plots.

Matplotlib

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.rcParams['text.[1]'] = True
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [1, 4, 9])
plt.title(r'$y = x^2$')
plt.show()

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ausetex

Blatex

Cmathtext

Dtextmode

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'text.latex' instead of 'text.usetex'.

Forgetting to set the parameter to True.

Trying to use 'mathtext' which is different from full LaTeX rendering.

Setting plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True tells matplotlib to use LaTeX for rendering text.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to set the font family to 'serif' for LaTeX text in matplotlib.

Matplotlib

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.rcParams['font.[1]'] = 'serif'
plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True
plt.title(r'$\alpha + \beta = \gamma$')
plt.show()

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Astyle

Bvariant

Cweight

Dfamily

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'font.style' which controls italic or normal style.

Using 'font.weight' which controls boldness.

Using 'font.variant' which is less common.

Setting plt.rcParams['font.family'] = 'serif' changes the font family to serif for LaTeX text.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code to correctly display LaTeX math in the plot label.

Matplotlib

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [1, 4, 9])
plt.xlabel('$x^2$')
plt.ylabel(r'$[1]$')
plt.show()

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A\sqrt{x}

Bsqrt{x}

C\frac{1}{x}

Dfrac{1}{x}

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Omitting the backslash before LaTeX commands.

Not using raw strings when needed.

Using incomplete LaTeX syntax.

LaTeX commands require a backslash. So \sqrt{x} is correct, while missing backslash causes errors.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a dictionary comprehension that maps words to their lengths only if length is greater than 3.

Matplotlib

words = ['data', 'science', 'ai', 'ml']
lengths = { [1] : len([2]) for word in words if len(word) > 3 }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aword

Bwords

Ddata

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using the list name 'words' instead of the loop variable.

Using a fixed string like 'data' instead of the variable.

Mixing key and value variables.

The dictionary comprehension uses word as key and len(word) as value.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a dictionary comprehension that maps uppercase words to their lengths if length is greater than 2.

Matplotlib

words = ['cat', 'dog', 'a', 'elephant']
result = { [1] : [2] for word in words if len(word) [3] 2 }

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aword.upper()

Blen(word)

C>

Dword.lower()

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using lowercase instead of uppercase for keys.

Using wrong comparison operators.

Mixing up key and value expressions.

The comprehension maps word.upper() to len(word) for words longer than 2 characters.

Practice

1. What does setting plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True do in matplotlib?

easy

A. It changes the plot background color to white.

B. It disables all text rendering in the plot.

C. It enables LaTeX rendering for all text in the plot.

D. It saves the plot as a LaTeX file.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the rcParams setting

   The plt.rcParams dictionary controls matplotlib's runtime configuration. Setting text.usetex to True tells matplotlib to use LaTeX to render all text elements.

2. Step 2: Effect on plot text

   With LaTeX enabled, labels, titles, and other text appear with professional formatting consistent with LaTeX documents.

3. Final Answer:

   It enables LaTeX rendering for all text in the plot. -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True enables LaTeX [OK]

Hint: Remember: usetex=True means LaTeX formats all text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it disables text rendering
• Confusing it with saving file formats
• Assuming it changes plot colors

2. Which of the following is the correct way to write a LaTeX label for the x-axis in matplotlib?

easy

A. plt.xlabel('x^2')

B. plt.xlabel('$x^2')

C. plt.xlabel(r'x^2')

D. plt.xlabel(r'$x^2$')

Solution

1. Step 1: Use raw string for LaTeX code

   LaTeX code inside matplotlib labels should be raw strings (prefix r) to avoid escape character issues.

2. Step 2: Enclose LaTeX math in dollar signs

   LaTeX math expressions must be wrapped in $...$ to render correctly.

3. Final Answer:

   plt.xlabel(r'$x^2$') -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Raw string + $...$ for LaTeX label [OK]

Hint: Use r'...' and $...$ for LaTeX labels [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting raw string prefix r
• Missing closing $ in LaTeX math
• Not using $ to mark math mode

3. What will be the output of this code snippet?

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True
plt.title(r'$\alpha + \beta = \gamma$')
plt.savefig('plot.pdf')

medium

A. A plot saved with title showing raw string \alpha + \beta = \gamma as text.

B. A plot saved with title showing Greek letters α + β = γ rendered by LaTeX.

C. SyntaxError due to incorrect LaTeX syntax.

D. Runtime error because plt.show() is missing.

Solution

1. Step 1: LaTeX rendering enabled

   Setting plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True enables LaTeX rendering for all text including titles.

2. Step 2: Title uses raw string with LaTeX Greek letters

   The raw string r'$\alpha + \beta = \gamma$' correctly formats Greek letters α, β, γ in math mode.

3. Step 3: Saving plot to PDF

   The plot is saved as 'plot.pdf' with the LaTeX-rendered title. No error occurs without plt.show().

4. Final Answer:

   A plot saved with title showing Greek letters α + β = γ rendered by LaTeX. -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   usetex=True + raw string + $...$ = LaTeX output [OK]

Hint: usetex=True + raw string + $...$ = LaTeX rendered text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking plt.show() is required to save
• Confusing raw string escaping
• Assuming LaTeX syntax error here

4. Identify the error in this matplotlib code snippet for LaTeX labels:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True
plt.xlabel('$x^2')
plt.show()

medium

A. Unmatched dollar sign in the label string.

B. plt.show() must be called before setting xlabel.

C. plt.rcParams setting must be after plt.xlabel call.

D. Missing raw string prefix before the label string.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check LaTeX math delimiters

   The label string '$x^2' has only one dollar sign, missing the closing $ to end math mode.

2. Step 2: Effect of unmatched dollar sign

   Unmatched dollar signs cause LaTeX rendering errors or incorrect text display in matplotlib.

3. Final Answer:

   Unmatched dollar sign in the label string. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   LaTeX math needs matching $...$ [OK]

Hint: Always match $ signs in LaTeX labels [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring missing raw string prefix (not always error)
• Changing order of rcParams and plotting calls
• Thinking plt.show() order matters here

5. You want to create a plot with the title showing the equation E = mc^2 using LaTeX in matplotlib. Which code snippet correctly achieves this and saves the plot as a PDF with LaTeX-rendered text?

hard

A. plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True
plt.title(r'$E = mc^2$')
plt.savefig('energy.pdf')

B. plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True
plt.title('E = mc^2')
plt.savefig('energy.pdf')

C. plt.title(r'$E = mc^2$')
plt.savefig('energy.pdf')

D. plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = False
plt.title(r'$E = mc^2$')
plt.savefig('energy.pdf')

Solution

1. Step 1: Enable LaTeX rendering

   Set plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True to use LaTeX for all text rendering.

2. Step 2: Use raw string with math delimiters for title

   Title must be a raw string with LaTeX math mode: r'$E = mc^2$'.

3. Step 3: Save plot as PDF

   Use plt.savefig('energy.pdf') to save the plot with LaTeX-rendered title.

4. Final Answer:

   plt.rcParams['text.usetex'] = True plt.title(r'$E = mc^2$') plt.savefig('energy.pdf') -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   usetex=True + raw string + $...$ + save = correct [OK]

Hint: Enable usetex and use raw string with $...$ for LaTeX titles [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Not enabling usetex before plotting
• Missing raw string prefix r
• Not using $ to mark LaTeX math mode