Convert numbers to and from scientific notation. Perform arithmetic operations on numbers in scientific notation with configurable significant figures.
Enter numbers as standard decimals (e.g. 0.0045) or scientific notation (e.g. 4.5e-3 or 4.5×10^-3).
| Form | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard notation | 0.000045678 |
| Scientific notation (E) | 4.568e-5 |
| Written form | 4.568 × 10^-5 |
| Coefficient | 4.5678 |
| Exponent (power of 10) | -5 |
| Prefix | Power | Name |
|---|---|---|
| T | 10¹² | Trillion |
| G | 10⁹ | Billion |
| M | 10⁶ | Million |
| k | 10³ | Thousand |
| 10⁰ | One | |
| m | 10⁻³ | Thousandth |
| μ | 10⁻⁶ | Millionth |
| n | 10⁻⁹ | Billionth |
Our free scientific notation calculator converts any number between standard and scientific notation, and lets you add, subtract, multiply, or divide numbers written in scientific form. It's built for students, engineers, and scientists working with very large or very small numbers.
A number in scientific notation is written as a × 10^b, where a (the coefficient) is a number between 1 and 10, and b (the exponent) is an integer showing how many places the decimal point moves.
To convert a standard number to scientific notation, move the decimal point until only one non-zero digit remains to its left, then count how many places you moved it, that count becomes the exponent (positive for large numbers, negative for small numbers).
When multiplying numbers in scientific notation, multiply the coefficients and add the exponents. When dividing, divide the coefficients and subtract the exponents.
Scientific notation makes it much easier to read, write, and compare extremely large numbers (like the distance to a star) or extremely small numbers (like the mass of an atom) without writing out long strings of zeros.
A negative exponent means the original number is smaller than 1. For example, 5 × 10⁻³ equals 0.005, since the decimal point moves three places to the left.
You can type numbers using "e" notation, such as 3.2e5 for 3.2 × 10⁵, or in the format 3.2 × 10^5. The calculator accepts either style.
Scientific notation requires the coefficient to be between 1 and 10, while engineering notation restricts exponents to multiples of 3 (matching metric prefixes like kilo, mega, and giga), which can make the coefficient range from 1 to 999.