Scientific Notation Calculator
Convert any number to scientific notation, or perform arithmetic on two numbers in scientific notation with full precision.
Convert to Scientific & Engineering Notation
Notation & Calculation Result
What is scientific notation?
Scientific notation writes a number as a mantissa between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10. For example 123456789 becomes 1.23456789 × 10⁸, and 0.00005 becomes 5 × 10⁻⁵.
It makes very large and very small numbers readable and easy to compare. The exponent tells you how many places the decimal point moves: positive exponents mean big numbers, negative exponents mean small ones.
Arithmetic with exponents
To multiply, multiply the mantissas and add the exponents. To divide, divide the mantissas and subtract the exponents. Addition and subtraction require matching exponents first.
For example (3.2 × 10⁴) + (1.5 × 10³) = 3.35 × 10⁴. The calculator normalizes every result so the mantissa always stays between 1 and 10.
How to use this calculator
- To convert, type a number (plain or E-notation like 1.2e5) and press Convert.
- Read the scientific notation, E-notation and digit count.
- For arithmetic, enter the mantissa and exponent of A and B.
- Pick an operation and press Calculate for the normalized result.
Pro tips
- E-notation uses the letter e: 1.2e5 means 1.2 × 10⁵.
- The mantissa of a properly normalized number is always between 1 and 10.
- Adding numbers with very different exponents gives an answer dominated by the larger exponent.
Advantages & considerations
✅ Advantages
- Converts between forms instantly
- Full arithmetic in scientific notation
- Normalizes results automatically
⚠️ Considerations
- Displays up to 8 significant digits
- Extreme exponents may lose precision