Formatting a scientific number

To format a number to display in scientific notation:

  1. Select the Cells command from the Format menu (or right-click and select Format Cells).

  2. Select the Number tab in the "Format" dialog box.

  3. Select Scientific from the numbers list and then set the decimal places as described in Formatting a number.

Ability defaults to Scientific format if the number is too big (or small) to display with significant precision in the width of the current cell.

Note: scientific format coverts the original number into a base number, between 1 and 10, multiplied by a power of 10. This is useful for working with very large or very small numbers. For example, 1 meter is defined as the distance light travels in 0.000000003335640952 seconds. Entering such a value is hard on the eye. Selecting scientific format gives you a simplified display of 3.34E-09 (which is 3.34 x 10-9).