Scientific Notation Converter
Free scientific notation converter: write any number in scientific notation, E notation and engineering notation, or turn them back into a decimal.
What it does
Scientific notation writes a number as a value between 1 and 10 times a power of 10: 0.00045 = 4.5 × 10⁻⁴ and 6,020,000 = 6.02 × 10⁶. This converter writes any number in scientific notation, in E notation as used by calculators and spreadsheets (4.5e-4), and in engineering notation, where the exponent is a multiple of 3 (450 × 10⁻⁶), and turns them back into an ordinary decimal, keeping the significant zeros.
How to use it
- Type a number as a decimal or in scientific or E notation.
- See it in scientific, E and engineering notation.
- Read the ordinary decimal form to convert in the other direction.
The arithmetic runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere and nothing is stored, so you can use these with real numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert to scientific notation?
Move the decimal point until one nonzero digit remains to its left and count the moves: to the left the exponent is positive, to the right it is negative. 45,600 = 4.56 × 10⁴.
What is E notation?
A way to write scientific notation on one line, used by calculators, spreadsheets and programming languages: 6.02e23 means 6.02 × 10²³ and 4.5e-4 means 4.5 × 10⁻⁴.
What is engineering notation for?
Its exponents are multiples of 3, matching the metric prefixes: 10³ is kilo, 10⁶ mega, 10⁻³ milli and 10⁻⁶ micro. So 4.7 × 10⁻⁶ F is 4.7 µF.
Are the zeros kept?
Yes, the significant ones: 0.00450 becomes 4.50 × 10⁻³, keeping the final zero that shows the precision. Trailing zeros of a whole number without a decimal point are treated as not significant.
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