Scientific Notation

Any nonzero real number x can be written in the form

x = c×10n

with 1≤c < 10 and n an integer. A number in this form is in scientific notation.

$\blacktriangleright$ To write a number in scientific notation

  1. Enter the number c to as many decimal places as appropriate.

  2. Choose × from the Common Symbols toolbar or from the Binary Operations symbol panel under itbpF0.3009in0.3009in0.0701inbinops.wmf.

  3. Enter the number 10.

  4. Choose Insert + Superscript, or click itbpF0.3009in0.3009in0.0701insupscrip.wmf, and enter the integer n in the input box.

This is illustrated in the following examples.


12 = 1.2×10  
1274.9837 = 1.2749837×103  
.000001234 = 1.234×10-6