Scientific Notation Calculator

The scientific notation calculator will take any decimal value and convert it to scientific notation. Here we will not only tell you what scientific notation is all about but also explain the scientific notation rules and discuss slight variations that might appear in different domains where people use scientific notation.

Scientific notation is generally used with very large or very small numbers in applications such as physics, engineering, and chemistry. It condenses the numbers into a number a between 1 (included) and 10 (excluded) multiplied by 10 raised to an exponent, denoted as a × 10ⁿ.

When converting a number into scientific notation, we must remember a few rules. First, the decimal must be between the first two non-zero numbers. The number prior to the multiplication symbol is known as the significant or mantissa. The numbers of digits in the significant depends on the application and are known as significant figures. The significant figures calculator can assist in this situation. The value of the exponent depends on whether or not the decimal place is moved to the right or left to return to the original number. An example on how to convert a number into scientific notation is done in the next section.

To better understand these rules of scientific notation, let's discuss an example.

Suppose we want to convert 0.00345 to scientific notation:

1. Place the decimal between the first two non-zero numbers, so we have 3.45.
2. Count the number of decimal places that were moved, which in this case is 3.
3. Determine whether the decimal point must be moved to the left or right to return to the original number.
4. If the decimal point is moved left, the exponent is negative. If the decimal point is moved right, the exponent is positive.
5. Write in terms of a × 10ⁿ, in this case, 3.45 × 10⁻³.

Verify this result with our scientific notation calculator! If you wanted the answer to have two significant figures, you would have to round the significant to 3.5. The rounding calculator is a great tool to accomplish this task. Also helpful in converting numbers to scientific notation is the exponent calculator.

It's very easy to use Omni's scientific notation calculator: just input a number and our converter will do the rest.

Note that this scientific notation converter uses e plus or minus the exponent, instead of 10 raised to the exponent. There are several different notations used, depending on the application. Computer languages, engineering, and mathematical applications use similar but different ways to represent scientific notation.

If you are searching for useful maths calculators do not hesitate to take a look at the cube root calculator which enables you to calculate not only cube root but also roots of any degree.