Scientific Notation Calculator
Type a number to see it in scientific notation, or type a coefficient and exponent to get the standard form.
How to use the calculator
- Type a number in the top field to see it in scientific notation automatically.
- Or type a coefficient and exponent in the bottom fields to calculate the standard form.
What is scientific notation?
Scientific notation writes a number as a coefficient between 1 and 10, multiplied by 10 raised to an exponent — for example, 1,234,500 is the same as 1.2345 × 10⁶. This makes it easier to write and compare very large or very small numbers, and is standard in science and engineering.
The notation makes significant figures explicit
Write 1500 and it is impossible to tell whether all four digits are measured or whether the number has been rounded to the nearest hundred. Scientific notation removes that ambiguity: 1.5 × 10³ has two significant figures, 1.50 × 10³ has three, and 1.500 × 10³ has four. The value is the same, but the precision being claimed is different.
That is why the notation is standard in science and engineering, where overstating precision is a genuine error. It also makes orders of magnitude easy to compare: the exponent alone tells you that 10⁻⁹ and 10⁶ are fifteen orders of magnitude apart, without anyone having to count zeros.
Engineering notation is a close relative worth knowing about. It restricts the exponent to multiples of three, so that values line up with the standard SI prefixes: 10³ is kilo, 10⁶ is mega, 10⁻³ is milli. A value written as 47 × 10³ ohms is immediately readable as 47 kilohms, which is why electronics and engineering often prefer it to strict scientific notation, where the same value would be written 4.7 × 10⁴.
Calculator and spreadsheet displays add their own convention: many show 4.7E+04 or 4.7e4 rather than proper superscript notation. The E stands for «exponent» and means exactly the same thing — it is a display limitation, not a different system.
Worked example: 1,234,500 is written 1.2345 × 10⁶. The exponent 6 is the number of places the decimal point must move left to leave a coefficient between 1 and 10. For small numbers it goes the other way: 0.00042 becomes 4.2 × 10⁻⁴. The point is to separate the digits that carry information from the zeros that merely indicate magnitude.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the coefficient always between 1 and 10?
That's the definition of standard scientific notation — it ensures every number has one unambiguous representation, instead of multiple valid ways to write it.
Does it work for negative numbers?
Yes, the sign is kept on the coefficient — for example, −1,234,500 is the same as −1.2345 × 10⁶.
What about very small numbers?
Small numbers (less than 1) get a negative exponent — for example, 0.000123 is the same as 1.23 × 10⁻⁴.