Scientific Notation Converter

About Scientific notation converter

Converts a number between standard, scientific and engineering notation and names the matching SI prefix. Values are kept as exact digit strings with an exponent, so extreme numbers like 1e300 convert without the rounding noise ordinary floating-point math introduces.

How to use it

1. Type a number into the Number field. It accepts 1234.56, 1.23e-4 and 6.02×10^23.
2. Try one of the example buttons, such as Avogadro, Planck, Speed of light or Micrometre.
3. Switch on the significant figures option if needed, then choose 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8 figures.
4. Copy any row: Standard decimal, Scientific notation, E-notation, Engineering notation, Engineering E-notation or the SI prefix form.

The speed of light

299792458

2.99792458 × 10^8 in scientific form, 299.792458 × 10^6 in engineering form, or 299.792458 M with the mega prefix

When to use it

• Writing a measurement in the notation a physics or chemistry teacher requires.
• Reading an oscilloscope or capacitor value in micro, nano or pico units.
• Rounding a long constant to four significant figures for a lab report.
• Expanding 4.7e-5 into the plain decimal 0.000047.

Questions about Scientific notation converter

How does engineering notation differ?

The exponent is always a multiple of three, so the mantissa runs from 1 up to 999. That lines up with SI prefixes: 45000 becomes 45 × 10^3, or 45 k.

What does the significant figures switch do?

It rounds half-up to the chosen number of figures, so 6.02214076e23 at three figures is 6.02 × 10^23. Values with fewer digits are padded with zeros.

Why does 45000 count as only two significant digits?

Trailing zeros in a whole number are treated as placeholders and carry no information, so only 4 and 5 are counted. The rounding switch can pad it with zeros if you need more figures.

Which prefixes are supported?

The full set from quecto, 10^-30, up to quetta, 10^30. Beyond those two ends, no prefix is shown.

Can I paste numbers with commas?

Yes. Commas, spaces and underscores are stripped, and both the minus sign and the Unicode minus are understood.

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