Scientific Notation Converter
Express a number as a coefficient × 10 to a power.
Result
Coefficient
1.234500
Exponent (power of 10)
4
How it works
Scientific notation writes any number as a coefficient between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of ten. 12,345 becomes 1.2345 × 10⁴; 0.00072 becomes 7.2 × 10⁻⁴. The exponent simply counts how many places the decimal point moved. The sign of the exponent tells the story: positive for large numbers (the point moved left), negative for small ones (it moved right). That single convention lets you write the mass of the Earth (5.97 × 10²⁴ kg) and the mass of an electron (9.11 × 10⁻³¹ kg) on the same line without drowning in zeros. It also makes magnitudes instantly comparable: 10⁶ against 10⁹ tells you at a glance one is a thousand times the other. Calculators display it as "1.2345E4", and the notation carries the added benefit of showing significant figures explicitly — 1.20 × 10³ signals three digits of real precision, where "1200" is ambiguous.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I write 12345 in scientific notation?
1.2345 × 10⁴.
What about small numbers?
The exponent is negative: 0.0042 → 4.2 × 10⁻³.
What does the E in my calculator's display mean?
It is shorthand for "× 10 to the power of". 1.2345E4 means 1.2345 × 10⁴ = 12,345, and 7.2E−4 means 7.2 × 10⁻⁴ = 0.00072.
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