scientific notation
Powers-of-ten format
Scientific notation is a way of writing very large or very small numbers as a decimal between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of ten: The speed of light is 3 × 10⁸ meters per second.
It makes unwieldy numbers manageable and clarifies their order of magnitude.
Standard in science, engineering, and mathematics.
Logarithm's fractional component
- exponentSuperscript showing power
- coefficientNumber multiplying a variable
- powers of tenSuccessive multiples of ten
- floating-pointDecimal number representation
significant figures · decimal point · normalize · standard form · place value · digit · order of magnitude · numeral system
Size or scale
- order of magnitudeApproximate size class
- microVery small prefix
- nanoMetric prefix for billionth
- picoTrillionth-scale metric prefix
kilo · mega · giga · peta · Avogadro · astronomical unit · light-year · parsec
Accuracy of measurement
- accuracyDegree of correctness
- significant figuresDigits indicating measurement precision
- roundingAdjusting to simpler values
- digitsSingle-place numerals
calibration · tolerance · uncertainty · error margin · approximation · estimation · quantitative · metrology
Science of celestial objects
- physicsScience of matter and energy
- chemistryStudy of substances' interactions
- biologyStudy of organisms
- engineeringDesigning functional systems scientifically
computing · cosmology · particle physics · molecular weight · wavelength · speed of light · national debt · population
mantissa
Logarithm's fractional component
- exponentSuperscript showing power
- coefficientNumber multiplying a variable
- powers of tenSuccessive multiples of ten
floating-point · significant figures · decimal point · normalize · standard form · place value · digit · order of magnitude · numeral system · precision
magnitude
Size or scale
- order of magnitudeApproximate size class
- microVery small prefix
- nanoMetric prefix for billionth
pico · kilo · mega · giga · peta · Avogadro · astronomical unit · light-year · parsec · angstrom
precision
Accuracy of measurement
- accuracyDegree of correctness
- significant figuresDigits indicating measurement precision
- roundingAdjusting to simpler values
digits · calibration · tolerance · uncertainty · error margin · approximation · estimation · quantitative · metrology · resolution
astronomy
Science of celestial objects
- physicsScience of matter and energy
- chemistryStudy of substances' interactions
- biologyStudy of organisms
engineering · computing · cosmology · particle physics · molecular weight · wavelength · speed of light · national debt · population · distance
- numbersone, two, four, three, 0
- math & science termspi, infinity, zero, billion, million
- math operationsaddition, adding, subtraction, subtracting, multiplication
- math termsnumbers, plus or minus, linear growth, square, operand
- unitsunit, angstrom, yard, meter, base units
- notationscore, sheet music, tablature, tab, note
scientific notationdecimal notation
Place-value number system
longhand · expanded form · standard form · long form · written out
scientific notationlayman's terms
Non-specialist phrasing
plain language · words · verbal expression · plain English · round numbers
science, scientist, scientific, notation, unscientific, scientifically, notate, notational, notates