<> Element | HTML: Structural Layer

wⁱx²z⁽ⁿ⁺⁶⁾ (Unicode superscripts) to

wⁱx²z^{(n + 6)} (w<sup>i</sup>x<sup>2</sup>z<sup>(n + 6)</sup>) or

wⁱx²z^{(n + 6)} (w{{sup|i}}x{{sup|2}}z{{sup|(n + 6)}})

1 + x² + y³ (²) to

1 + x² + x³ (<sup>2</sup>) or

1 + x² + x³ ({{sup|2}})

Except under extraordinary circumstances, font sizes, color, etc should be controlled with Wikipedia's stylesheets.

Dates and Numbers

• The ordinal suffix (e.g., th) is not superscripted (23rd and 496th, not 23^rd and 496^th).
• Centuries and millennia are written using ordinal numbers, without superscripts and without Roman numerals: the second millennium, the 19th century, a 19th-century book (see also Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Numbers as figures or words).
• Non-base-10 notations in non-computer-related articles use subscript notation. For example: 137₉, 241₆, 2A9₁₂, A87D₁₆ (use {{sub|radix}} or <sub>radix</sub>).

Music

• In figured bass, superscript and subscript may be combined by using math markup or by using the {{su}} template: <math>C_6^4</math> = , ''C''{{su|b=6|p=4}} = C4
  6; (see also Wikipedia:TeX markup or m:Help:Formula).
• A superscript circle, or degree sign, which indicates a diminished chord, that may not display correctly for everyone, "°", can be produced by typing °, &#176, or by keying Alt+0176 (Windows PCs). A superscript lower case "^o" ({{sup|o}}) may be used instead. The slashed o, "^ø", which may not display correctly for all readers, is produced by superscripting the character produced by typing ø, or ø, or by keying Alt+0248 (Windows PCs).
• For inversions and the degree sign superscript and subscript may be done thus: vii{{sup|o}}, I{{sub|6}}. This looks like: vii^o, I₆.

Unit Symbols and Abbreviations

• Squared and cubic metric-symbols are always expressed with a superscript exponent (5 km², 2 cm³); squared imperial and US unit abbreviations may be rendered with sq, and cubic with cu (15 sq mi, 3 cu ft).

Science

Chemistry

Descriptions of:

• Chemical compounds

C₂H₅OH using C{{sub|2}}H{{sub|5}}OH

• Isotopes

3
2He using {{Nuclide2|He|3}}

Mathematics

• Exponentiation is indicated using a superscript:

2² = 4 using 2{{sup|2}} = 4

Special care is needed with subscripted labels to distinguish the purpose of the subscript (as this is a common error): variables and constants in subscripts should be italic, while textual labels should be in normal text font (Roman, upright). For example:

  (correct—typeset from <math> x_\text{this one} = y_\text{that one} \,\!</math>),

and

  (correct—typeset from <math>\sum_{i=1}^n { y_i^2 }\!</math>),

but not

  (incorrect—typeset from <math>r = x_{predicted} - x_{observed}</math>).

Moreover, the TeX engine used on Wikipedia may format simple superscripts using <sup>...</sup> depending on user preferences. Thus, instead of the image , many users see x². Formulae formatted without using TeX should use the same syntax to maintain the same appearance.

Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Superscripts and Subscripts