Scientific Notation Calculator
Scientific Notation Converter
Provide a number below to get its scientific notation, E-notation, engineering notation, and real number format. It accepts numbers in the following formats 3672.2, 2.3e11, or 3.5x10^-12.
Scientific Notation Calculator
Use the calculator below to perform calculations using scientific notation.
Click the buttons below to calculate
Scientific notation
Scientific notation is a way to express very small or very large numbers. It uses a base b (significand) multiplied by 10 raised to an integer exponent n (order of magnitude). The general form is b x 10^n.
| Decimal notation | Scientific notation |
|---|---|
| 5 | 5 x 10^0 |
| 700 | 7 x 10^2 |
| 1,000,000 | 1 x 10^6 |
| 0.0004212 | 4.212 x 10^-4 |
| -5,000,000,000 | -5 x 10^9 |
Calculations with scientific notation
Scientific notation simplifies arithmetic operations by allowing us to work with the significands and exponents separately.
Addition and subtraction:
To add or subtract numbers in scientific notation, first align the exponents, then add or subtract the significands.
1.432x10^2 + 800x10^-1 - 0.001x10^5
= 1.432x10^2 + 0.8x10^2 - 0.1x10^2
= 1.232x10^2
Multiplication:
To multiply numbers in scientific notation, multiply the significands and add the exponents.
1.432x10^2 x 800x10^-1 x 0.001x10^5
= (1.432 x 800 x 0.001) x 10^(2 + (-1) + 5)
= 1.1456 x 10^6
= 1.1456x10^6
Division:
To divide numbers in scientific notation, divide the significands and subtract the exponents.
(1.432x10^2) / (800x10^-1) / (0.001x10^5)
= (1.432 / 800 / 0.001) x 10^(2 - (-1) - 5)
= 1.79 x 10^-2
= 1.79x10^-2
Note: Adjust the decimal place and exponent as needed. For example, 0.179x10^-2 → 1.79x10^-3
Engineering notation
Engineering notation is similar to scientific notation, but the exponents are restricted to multiples of 3 (e.g., 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, -3, -6). This aligns with SI prefixes such as kilo (10^3), mega (10^6), giga (10^9), etc.
1.234 x 10^8 (scientific notation) → 123.4 x 10^6 (engineering notation)
E-notation
E-notation replaces "x 10" with "E" (or "e") when the exponent cannot be conveniently displayed. The general form is bEn.
| Scientific notation | E-notation |
|---|---|
| 5 x 10^0 | 5E0 |
| 7 x 10^2 | 7E2 |
| 1 x 10^6 | 1E6 |
| 4.212 x 10^-4 | 4.212E-4 |
| -5 x 10^9 | -5E9 |
Note: "E" can also be written as "e". Different programming languages may use variations of this notation.