Scientific notation

Scientific notation writes a number as a coefficient multiplied by a power of ten. It makes very large and very small values compact and supports consistent comparison and calculation.

Power of ten: An integer exponent of ten representing repeated multiplication or division by ten. The exponent in scientific notation specifies the number’s decimal scale.
Scientific notation normalization: The convention of choosing a coefficient whose absolute value is at least one and less than ten. Normalization gives each nonzero number a standard decimal representation.
Scientific measurement: The use of instruments and procedures to assign numerical values to physical quantities. Measured values often span scales that are cumbersome in ordinary decimal form.
Engineering notation: A form of scientific notation whose exponent is a multiple of three. It favors powers corresponding to SI prefixes rather than coefficients below ten.
Place value: A numeral system principle in which a digit’s value depends on its position. Moving the decimal point changes place values by powers of ten.
Decimal point: A symbol that separates the whole-number part of a decimal numeral from its fractional part. Converting a number shifts this point while adjusting the exponent.
Avogadro constant: The number of specified elementary entities in one mole, exactly 6.02214076 × 10²³ mol⁻¹. Its very large value is routinely written compactly in scientific notation.
E notation: A text representation of a number using E to indicate a power-of-ten exponent. It adapts scientific notation for keyboards and software that cannot display superscripts.
Decimal fraction: A fraction whose denominator is a power of ten, written using a decimal point. The coefficient commonly uses decimal digits to express the number’s significant part.
Exponentiation: The mathematical operation of raising a base to a specified power. Scientific notation uses exponentiation to compactly encode repeated factors of ten.

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