Scientific Notation Calculator
Convert any number to scientific notation, E-notation and engineering notation, with the expanded decimal form and order of magnitude.
Enter a number
How to use this calculator
1. Type your number
Enter a plain decimal like 0.000452 or an existing E-notation value like 1.23e5. The tool reads either form and works with positives, negatives and zero.
2. Read the scientific form
The main result shows the coefficient (always between 1 and 10) times the correct power of ten. This is the standard way scientists write very large or very small values.
3. Compare the other formats
E-notation is the compact computer form (4.52E-4), engineering notation keeps the exponent a multiple of three, and the expanded form spells out every digit.
4. Use the order of magnitude
The order of magnitude is the exponent in scientific notation. It tells you the rough scale of a number — handy for quick "ballpark" comparisons.
About scientific notation
What is scientific notation?
It writes a number as a coefficient between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of ten, such as 4.52 × 10⁻⁴. This keeps very large and very small numbers compact and easy to compare at a glance.
How is engineering notation different?
Engineering notation also uses a power of ten, but the exponent is always a multiple of three so the coefficient ranges from 1 up to 1000. That matches metric prefixes like kilo (10³), mega (10⁶) and milli (10⁻³).
What does order of magnitude mean?
The order of magnitude is the exponent once the number is in scientific form. Numbers with the same order of magnitude are within the same factor-of-ten band, which is why scientists use it for rough scale comparisons.