Scientific Notation Converter

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Convert any number to and from scientific notation, with E-notation, plain decimal, engineering notation and order of magnitude. Free and instant.

Enter any number, large or small, for example 149600000 or 0.00042.

× 10

Enter the coefficient a and the exponent n.

Scientific notation –
E-notation –
Plain decimal –
Engineering notation –
Order of magnitude –
Scientific notation uses a coefficient between 1 and 10. Engineering notation uses an exponent that is a multiple of 3.

About Scientific Notation Converter

This scientific notation converter changes any number to scientific notation and back again. Type a plain decimal such as 149600000 or 0.00042 to see it written as a × 10ⁿ, or enter a coefficient and exponent to expand it into a full decimal number.

Every conversion shows four related formats at once: standard scientific notation with a coefficient between 1 and 10, E-notation as used by calculators and programming languages, the plain decimal expansion, and engineering notation, where the exponent is always a multiple of 3. The order of magnitude is listed too.

It is handy for physics and chemistry problems, checking calculator output or making very large and very small numbers readable. The converter is free and works instantly in your browser.

How to use Scientific Notation Converter

  1. Choose the direction: to scientific or from scientific.
  2. For “to scientific”, enter any decimal number, large or small.
  3. For “from scientific”, enter the coefficient a and the exponent n of a × 10ⁿ.
  4. Read the scientific notation, E-notation, plain decimal, engineering notation and order of magnitude.

Frequently asked questions

A way of writing numbers as a coefficient between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of ten. For example, 149,600,000 becomes 1.496 × 10⁸ and 0.00042 becomes 4.2 × 10⁻⁴.

The compact form used by calculators and code, where 1.496 × 10⁸ is written 1.496E8. The letter E stands for “times ten to the power of.” The converter shows it alongside every result.

Engineering notation restricts the exponent to multiples of 3 (10³, 10⁶, 10⁹…), so values line up with unit prefixes like kilo, mega and giga. 149,600,000 becomes 149.6 × 10⁶ instead of 1.496 × 10⁸.

It is the power of ten closest to the number’s size — the exponent in its scientific form. Two numbers one order of magnitude apart differ by roughly a factor of ten.

Yes. Negative numbers keep their sign in the coefficient, and negative exponents represent values smaller than 1, so 4.2 × 10⁻⁴ expands to 0.00042.
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