What is 'E' notation?

In calculators and computers, 'E' stands for 'Exponent'. So 3.0E8 is the same as 3.0 × 10^8. It's a shorthand used because typing superscript numbers is difficult.

Why do we use negative exponents?

Negative exponents represent small numbers (less than 1). 10^-3 means 1 divided by 10^3 (or 1/1000), which equals 0.001.

What are Significant Figures?

Significant figures (sig figs) are the digits that carry meaningful information. Scientific notation is the best way to handle sig figs because you write only the significant digits before the multiplication sign.

Scientific Notation Converter | Standard Form Calculator | Finmato

The Shorthand of the Universe

The universe deals in extremes. The mass of the sun is a 2 with 30 zeros after it. The width of a DNA helix is 0.000000002 meters. Writing these out standard form is not just tedious—it's prone to error. Drop one zero, and your bridge collapses or your chemical reaction fails. Our Scientific Notation Converter acts as an error-proof translator between standard decimals and the elegant "Powers of 10" format.

Anatomy of Standard Form

Scientific notation always follows the same format: m × 10ⁿ

The Coefficient (m)

This is a number greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10. It contains the "data" or significant digits.
Example: The "6.02" in 6.02 × 10^23.

The Exponent (n)

This tells you how many places to move the decimal point. Positive moves it right (bigger), negative moves it left (smaller).

Moving the Decimal Point

Think of the exponent as an instruction manual:

Standard to Scientific: Count how many jumps the decimal makes to get behind the first non-zero digit. If you jumped left, the exponent is positive. If you jumped right, it's negative.
Scientific to Standard: If the exponent is +5, move decimals 5 spots right. If it's -5, move 5 spots left. Fill empty spots with zeros.

Astronomy

A light-year is 5,878,625,370,000 miles. It is much easier to write and calculate with 5.88 × 10¹².

Microbiology

Bacteria size is often measured in micrometers. converting 0.000003 meters to 3 × 10^-6 makes comparison simple.

Computing

Floating point numbers in programming (e.g., in JavaScript or Python) use a binary version of scientific notation to store values.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 10 × 10^5 correct scientific notation?

Technically, no. In strict "Normalized" notation, the coefficient must be less than 10. So you would rewrite 10 × 10^5 as 1.0 × 10^6.

How do I multiply scientific notation?

It's easy! You multiply the coefficients and add the exponents. (2 × 10^3) * (3 × 10^4) = 6 × 10^7.

How do I divide scientific notation?

Divide the coefficients and subtract the exponents. (6 × 10^5) / (2 × 10^3) = 3 × 10^2.

Precision

This tool uses standard JavaScript number precision (double-precision floating-point). Extremely large exponents (approx >308) or small ones may result in 'Infinity' or '0'.

Data Privacy

We do not store your calculations. This tool runs entirely in your browser.

Scientific Notation Converter