Examples
\(3,000,000 = 3 \times 10^6\)
Scientific Notation Calculator
Convert numbers to and from scientific notation, and perform operations with scientific notation
Results
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Scientific Notation Theory
Scientific notation is a way of writing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form.
Format
A number in scientific notation is written as a × 10ⁿ, where:
- a is the coefficient (1 ≤ |a| < 10)
- n is the exponent (integer)
- A positive exponent represents a number with absolute value at least 10.
- A negative exponent represents a nonzero number with absolute value less than 1.
- Significant figures indicate the precision of a measurement.
Rules for significant figures
- All nonzero digits are significant.
- Zeros between nonzero digits are significant: 1002 has four significant figures.
- Leading zeros are not significant: 0.0045 has two significant figures.
- Trailing zeros after a decimal point are significant. Without a decimal point, trailing zeros are treated as placeholders here.
\(a \times 10^n, \quad 1 \leq |a| < 10\)
Worked Examples
Examples
\(0.0000045 = 4.5 \times 10^{-6}\)