Earth's average radius
6,371,000 meters is 6.371 × 10⁶ in scientific notation, written 6.371E+6, and stays 6.371 × 10⁶ in engineering notation since 6 is already a multiple of 3.
Scientific notation calculator
Result
Fill in the fields to see your result.
How it works
Scientific notation writes a number as a single digit (1 to 9) before the decimal point, times a power of 10 — this makes very large or very small numbers compact and makes their order of magnitude immediately visible. Engineering notation is a variant that restricts the exponent to multiples of 3, matching the metric prefixes (kilo, mega, milli, micro), which is why it is common in engineering contexts.
E-notation is just scientific notation typed without the × 10 symbol, replaced by a letter E — the format used when scientific notation would otherwise need special characters a keyboard or a spreadsheet cell cannot easily enter.
Formulas used
Scientific notation
x = a × 10ⁿ, where 1 ≤ |a| < 10
Engineering notation
Same form, but n is restricted to a multiple of 3
Worked examples
A very small number
0.0000045 is 4.5 × 10⁻⁶ in scientific notation (4.5E-6), and also 4.5 × 10⁻⁶ in engineering notation.
Assumptions and limits
- The scientific-notation coefficient is always kept between 1 and 10 in absolute value.
- Very large or very small numbers may show a coefficient rounded to a limited number of digits.
Frequently asked questions
Why is scientific notation useful?
It compares magnitudes at a glance — comparing 6.371 × 10⁶ to 1.496 × 10¹¹ instantly shows one is roughly five orders of magnitude larger, which is much harder to see written out in full decimal digits.
Why does engineering notation restrict the exponent to multiples of 3?
Because metric prefixes step in multiples of 1000 (milli, micro, nano; kilo, mega, giga) — keeping the exponent a multiple of 3 lets the coefficient map directly onto a prefix, like 6.371 × 10⁶ reading naturally as "6.371 mega-something."
What does the E mean in E-notation?
It stands for "exponent" — 6.371E+6 means the same thing as 6.371 × 10⁶, just written without needing a superscript or multiplication symbol.
Can I enter a number already in scientific notation?
Enter it as a plain decimal (like 6371000, not 6.371e6) — the field expects an ordinary number and does the conversion for you.
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