File:Slide_rule_example2_with_labels.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
scientific notation
Sign in to saveAlso known as exponential notation, powers-of-10 notation, standard index form
method of writing numbers, especially very large or small ones
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Avogadro's number in e notation.jpg
Show 1 more fact
- Stack Exchange tag
- stackoverflow.com/tags/scientific-notation
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~29 min read
Article
Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form, since to do so would require writing out an inconveniently long string of digits. It may be referred to as scientific form or standard index form, or standard form in the United Kingdom. This base ten notation is commonly used by scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, in part because it can simplify certain arithmetic operations. On scientific calculators, it is usually known as "SCI" display mode.
In scientific notation, nonzero numbers are written in the form