Notation

What Is Notation?

Some numbers can be very large...

notation large number Some numbers can be very small...

notation small number Writing out so many numerals can be very time consuming, especially if they are part of a long calculation. Scientific and Engineering notation is a way of writing very large or very small numbers in a standard (shorter!) way.
12,300,000,000 = 1.23 × 1010 Scientific notation
0.0000000123 = 12.3 × 10−9 Engineering notation

What Is Scientific Notation?

Scientific notation writes a number as a number between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10. The number below is written in scientific notation. It is said as "1.2 times 10 to the 3".

notation scientific notation example

Dictionary Definition

The Oxford English Dictionary defines scientific notation as "a system of representing some given number as a product of a number with an absolute value between 1 and 10 and a power of 10 (as 2 × 102 for 200)."

What Is Engineering Notation?

Engineering notation writes a number as a number between 1 and 1,000 multiplied by a power of 10 that has an exponent that is a multiple of 3. The number below is written in engineering notation. It is said as "123.4 times 10 to the 3".

notation engineering notation example
  • 123.4 is between 1 and 1,000.
  • 103 is a power of 10. The exponent is 3, which is a multiple of 3. 106, 109 and 1012 also have exponents that are multiples of 3.

The Curriculum

The lessons are grouped into mini-curriculum to help you organise your learning. A brief description is given for each mini-curriculum. Click the MORE button to learn more.

Scientific Notation

notation about scientific notation

Scientific notation is a way of writing very large or very small numbers as a number between 1 and 10 multiplying a power of 10. In this mini-curriculum, you will learn about scientific notation.

Powers of 10
A power of 10 is 10 raised to a exponent, which tells you how many times 10 is multiplied by itself. Here is an example of a power of 10:
notation powers of 10
An exponent of 2 means that 10 is multiplied by itself 2 times.

Scientific Notation
Scientific notation is a way of writing a number. A number is written as a number between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10.
notation scientific notation

Convert Number to Scientific Notation
A number can be converted to scientific notation.
notation convert number to scientific notation

Convert Number Less Than 1 to Scientific Notation
A number less than 1 can be converted to scientific notation.
notation convert number less than 1 to scientific notation

Convert Scientific Notation to Number
A number written in scientific notation can be converted to a normal number.
notation convert scientific notation to number

Convert Scientific Notation with a Negative Exponent to a Number
A number written in scientific notation with a negative exponent can be converted to a normal number.
notation convert scientific notation to number less than 1

Read More

powers of 10
scientific notation
how to convert a number to scientific notation
how to convert a number less than 1 to scientific notation
how to convert scientific notation to a number
how to convert scientific notation with a negative exponent to a number

Engineering Notation

notation about engineering notation

Engineering notation is a way of writing very large or very small numbers. It is written as a number between 1 and 1,000 that multiplies a power of 10 that has an exponent that is a multiple of 3 (3, 6, 9 etc). In this mini-curriculum, you will learn about engineering notation.

Engineering Notation
Engineering notation is a way of writing a number as a number between 1 and 1,000 multiplied by a power of 10 that has an exponent that is a multiple of 3.
notation engineering notation

Convert Number to Engineering Notation
A number can be converted to engineering notation.
notation convert number to engineering notation

Convert Number Less Than 1 to Engineering Notation
A number less than 1 can be converted to engineering notation.
notation convert number less than 1 to engineering notation

Convert Engineering Notation to Number
A number written in engineering notation can be converted to a normal number.
notation convert engineering notation to number

Convert Engineering Notation with a Negative Exponent to a Number
A number written in engineering notation with a negative exponent can be converted to a normal number.
notation convert engineering notation to number less than 1

Read More

engineering notation
how to convert a number to engineering notation
how to convert a number less than 1 to engineering notation
how to convert engineering notation to a number
how to convert engineering notation with a negative exponent to a number