Scientific Notation

Scientific notation is a way to express numbers in a form that makes numbers that are too small or too large more convenient to write and perform calculations with. It is commonly used in mathematics, engineering, and science. In scientific notation, numbers are written as a base b (called the significand) multiplied by 10 raised to an integer exponent n (the order of magnitude). The significand must have exactly one non-zero digit to the left of the decimal point.

Engineering notation is similar except the exponent n is restricted to multiples of 3 so that numbers align with SI prefixes (kilo, mega, giga, etc.). E-notation is almost the same as scientific notation except '× 10' is replaced with 'E'.

For addition and subtraction, each number must be converted to the same power of 10 first. For multiplication, multiply the significands and add the exponents. For division, divide the significands and subtract the exponents.