Scientific Notation Converter
Free scientific notation converter. Convert large or small numbers to scientific notation and back. Supports E notation, engineering notation, and displays the mantissa and exponent clearly.
Enter any decimal number to convert it to scientific, E, and engineering notation.
What Is Scientific Notation?
Scientific notation is a way of expressing very large or very small numbers in a compact form. A number is written as a coefficient between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10. For example, 3,140 becomes 3.14 x 10³ and 0.00052 becomes 5.2 x 10⁻&sup4;. This notation is widely used in science, engineering, and mathematics to make calculations with extreme values more manageable.
Types of Notation
Scientific notation: Coefficient x 10 raised to a power (e.g., 3.14 x 10²). E-notation: Used in programming and calculators, replacing "x 10^" with "E" (e.g., 3.14E2). Engineering notation: Like scientific notation, but the exponent is always a multiple of 3, aligning with metric prefixes like kilo, mega, and giga.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert a number to scientific notation?
Move the decimal point until you have a number between 1 and 10. Count how many places you moved it: that count becomes the exponent. If you moved the decimal to the left the exponent is positive; if to the right, it is negative.
What is the difference between E-notation and scientific notation?
They represent the same value. E-notation is simply a text-friendly way to write scientific notation: 3.14E5 means 3.14 x 10&sup5;. It is commonly used in spreadsheets, programming languages, and calculators.