Any number, written the clean way.
Type a plain number, large or tiny, and see it as a × 10b scientific notation, plus E-notation, engineering notation and the fully expanded form.
Your number
Works with decimals like 0.00042 and negatives like -92500000. The decimal point moves until one non-zero digit sits to its left.
What this means
The same number, scaled
| Value | Scientific | E-notation | Exponent |
|---|
How scientific notation works
What Is Scientific Notation?
Scientific notation expresses numbers as a coefficient between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10. For example, 123,456,789 = 1.23456789 × 10⁸. This makes very large numbers (speed of light: 3 × 10⁸ m/s) and very small numbers (electron mass: 9.109 × 10⁻³¹ kg) much easier to write and compare.
How to Convert to Scientific Notation
Move the decimal point until only one non-zero digit remains to its left. Count the positions moved, this becomes the exponent. Moving left gives a positive exponent; moving right gives a negative exponent. For example, 0.00045 → 4.5 × 10⁻⁴ (moved 4 places right).
Engineering Notation
Engineering notation is similar to scientific notation but restricts the exponent to multiples of 3 (matching SI prefixes). For example, 12,345 = 12.345 × 10³ in engineering notation (vs 1.2345 × 10⁴ in scientific). This aligns with kilo (10³), mega (10⁶), giga (10⁹), etc.
Arithmetic with Scientific Notation
To multiply: multiply coefficients and add exponents. (3 × 10⁴) × (2 × 10³) = 6 × 10⁷. To divide: divide coefficients and subtract exponents. For addition/subtraction, first match the exponents, then add/subtract the coefficients.
Common questions
How is scientific notation different from standard form?
In most contexts, they are the same thing. "Standard form" is the UK/European term for scientific notation. In the US, "standard form" often means the regular way of writing numbers (e.g., 123,456).
What is the coefficient in scientific notation?
The coefficient is the number before the × 10^n part. It must be at least 1 and less than 10. For example, in 6.022 × 10²³, the coefficient is 6.022.
Can zero be written in scientific notation?
Zero is a special case. It is typically written as 0 × 10⁰ or simply 0. Some contexts do not allow zero in scientific notation because there is no non-zero leading digit.
Why do scientists use scientific notation?
It makes extremely large or small numbers manageable, reduces errors from miscounting zeros, makes magnitude comparisons easier, and standardizes the way numbers are communicated across disciplines.
Results are rounded for display. Very long numbers may lose trailing precision due to standard floating-point limits.