Scientific notation is a compact create of composing numbers that are incredibly huge or very tiny. It is particularly helpful as soon as expressing measurements such as ranges to stars, eons of time, or the sizes of objects that are incredibly large or small. This kind of notation helps simplify calculations and comparisons of these numbers, and also it helps express the precision with which amounts have been measured.

You watching: Mass of the earth in scientific notation

Each number is expressed in the develop of a power of 10. For instance, the Earth"s mass is around 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms (kg). In clinical notation, this number is written as 5.9736×1024 kg. An electron"s mass, which is about 0.00000000000000000000000000000091093826 kg, is written as 9.1093826×10−31 kg. The rate of light, which is roughly 300,000,000 meters per second (m/s), is written as 3×108 m/s.

General develop for clinical notation

The basic create of writing a number in clinical notation is a×10b, wbelow b is an integer and is dubbed the exponent, and a is any type of real number, dubbed the significand or mantissa (utilizing "mantissa" may reason confusion bereason it can also refer to the fractional component of the widespread logarithm).

In "normalized create," a is favored such that 1 ≤ a a have the right to have actually any type of value ranging from 1 to much less than 10. (In normalized develop, the value of a can be 9.99 yet not 10.) Also, the exponent b offers the order of magnitude of the number. The greater the value of b, the bigger the all at once number; and also conversely, the smaller sized the value of b, the smaller sized the number. It is assumed that clinical notation have to be expressed in normalized create, other than during calculations or once an unnormalized create is desired (such as for design applications).


Engineering notation

In engineering notation, the exponent b is minimal to multiples of 3. Engineering notation is therefore not constantly normalized. Numbers in this form are conveniently review out using magnitude prefixes such as mega or nano. For instance, 12.5×10-9 meters might be check out or created as "twelve allude 5 nanometers," or 12.5 nm.

Notation using E

For gadgets such as calculators, typewriters, and some computers, it might be hard to show a number through an exponent, such as 107. In such instances, an different notation is frequently used: "×10" is reput by the letter E or e (for exponent), followed by the exponent. (Keep in mind that this e is not regarded the mathematical constant e.) The authorize of the exponent, whether positive or negative, is frequently offered. For example, 1.56234 E+29 is a depiction of the number 1.56234×1029.


As stated over, scientific notation is a convenient method to write huge and little numbers and perform calculations via them. In enhancement, this notation helps avoid misinterpretation of terminology, such as "billion" or "trillion," which have different definitions in different parts of the human being. Additionally, clinical notation conveniently conveys 2 properties of a measurement that are advantageous to scientists: Huge numbers and also order of magnitude, as described listed below.

Monumental digits

Scientific notation is useful for indicating the precision with which a quantity was measured. By consisting of just the significant numbers (the digits that are recognized to be reliable, plus one unspecific digit) in the coeffective, one can convey the precision of the value. In the lack of any kind of statement otherwise, the value of a physical amount in clinical notation is assumed to have been measured to at least the quoted number of digits of precision, via the last digit possibly in doubt by half a unit.

Consider, for example, the Earth"s mass given above in conventional notation (5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg). That representation offers no indication of the accuracy of the reported value, so a reader might wrongly assume from the twenty-five digits displayed that the mass is well-known best down to the last kilogram. By writing the number in clinical notation, one shows that the Earth"s mass is well-known via a precision of ± 0.00005×1024 kg, or ± 5×1019 kg.

In instances where precision in such measurements is crucial, even more sophisticated expressions of measurement error should be used.

Order of magnitude

Scientific notation additionally permits easy comparisons of orders of magnitude. For example, a proton"s mass, which is 0.0000000000000000000000000016726 kg, can be composed as 1.6726×10−27 kg. As noted above, the electron"s mass is 9.1093826×10−31 kg. To compare the orders of magnitude of the masses, one have the right to simply compare the exponents quite than counting all the leading zeros. In this situation, "−27" is larger than "−31" by the number 4, and also therefore the proton is around 4 orders of magnitude (about 10,000 times) even more massive than the electron.

See more: How Many Chromosomes Would A Typical Human Cell Have After Mitosis But Before Cytokinesis?

Converting numbers to clinical notation

A number deserve to be easily converted to clinical notation in a couple of basic procedures. Consider the complying with examples.

Example A

To convert the number 123.4 to scientific notation, one have the right to use the procedures provided listed below.

1. Write 123.4 in a form that mirrors it multiplied by 100. (Keep in mind that 100 = 1, so this action is the same as multiplying the number by 1.)

123.4=123.4×100displaystyle 123.4=123.4 imes 10^0

2. Divide the mantissa (123.4) by 100, by shifting the decimal suggest 2 areas to the left. Also multiply 100 by 100, by including 2 to the exponent.

123.4×100=(123.4/102)×(100×102)=1.234×102displaystyle 123.4 imes 10^0=(123.4/10^2) imes (10^0 imes 10^2)=1.234 imes 10^2

Thus the scientific notation for 123.4 is 1.234×102.

Example B

To convert the number 0.001234 to scientific notation, one have the right to use the adhering to steps.

1. Write 0.001234 in a kind that shows it multiplied by 100.

0.001234=0.001234×100displaystyle 0.001234=0.001234 imes 10^0

2. Multiply the mantissa (0.001234) by 1,000, by moving the decimal suggest three places to the best. Also divide 100 by 1,000, by including −3 to the exponent.

.001234×100=(.001234×103)×(100/103)=1.234×10−3displaystyle .001234 imes 10^0=(.001234 imes 10^3) imes (10^0/10^3)=1.234 imes 10^-3

Therefore the clinical notation for 0.001234 is 1.234×10−3.

Basic operations with numbers in scientific notation

Consider two numbers, x0 and x1, in scientific notation. They might be composed as complies with.

x0=a0×10b0displaystyle x_0=a_0 imes 10^b_0
x1=a1×10b1displaystyle x_1=a_1 imes 10^b_1

Multiplication and division:

Multiplication and also department are performed making use of the rules for procedure via exponential functions:

x0x1=a0a1×10b0+b1displaystyle x_0x_1=a_0a_1 imes 10^b_0+b_1
x0x1=a0a1 ×10b0−b1displaystyle frac x_0x_1=frac a_0a_1 imes 10^b_0-b_1


5.67×10−5×2.34×102≈13.3×10−3=1.33×10−2displaystyle 5.67 imes 10^-5 imes 2.34 imes 10^2approx 13.3 imes 10^-3=1.33 imes 10^-2
2.34×1025.67×10−5 ≈0.413×107=4.13×106displaystyle frac 2.34 imes 10^25.67 imes 10^-5approx 0.413 imes 10^7=4.13 imes 10^6

Addition and also subtraction:

To include or subtract two (or more) numbers in scientific notation, they need to initially be stood for such that they have actually the exact same exponential component. After that, the mantissas have the right to be sindicate included or subtracted.

x1⋆=a1⋆×10b0displaystyle x_1^star =a_1^star imes 10^b_0
x0±x1=x0±x1⋆=(a0±a1⋆)×10b0displaystyle x_0pm x_1=x_0pm x_1^star =(a_0pm a_1^star ) imes 10^b_0


2.34×10−5+5.67×10−6=2.34×10−5+0.567×10−5≈2.91×10−5displaystyle 2.34 imes 10^-5+5.67 imes 10^-6=2.34 imes 10^-5+0.567 imes 10^-5approx 2.91 imes 10^-5


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