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scientific notation

Method of writing numbers, especially very large or small ones

Entitynumeric writing system exponential formQ219142

Also known as exponential notation · powers-of-10 notation · standard index form

Instance of: numeric writing system
, exponential form

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form, since to do so would require writing out an inconveniently long string of digits. It may be referred to as scientific form or standard index form, or standard form in the United Kingdom. This base ten notation is commonly used by scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, in part because it can simplify certain arithmetic operations. On scientific calculators, it is usually known as "SCI" display mode.

Overview

All data

16 statements · 19% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Members / parts: significand
multiplication
power of 10

On other databases

11 identifiers linking scientific notation across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

19%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 7, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). scientific notation (Q219142). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/scientific-notation-Q219142