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Definition

Scientific Notation

Scientific notation expresses a number as the product of a coefficient and a power of ten, written in the form: aimes10na imes 10^n where 1a<101 \leq |a| < 10 and nn is an integer. The coefficient aa must have an absolute value that is at least 11 but strictly less than 1010 — meaning exactly one nonzero digit appears before the decimal point. The integer exponent nn conveys the number's order of magnitude: a positive nn represents a number larger than 11 (e.g., 4,000=4imes1034{,}000 = 4 imes 10^3), while a negative nn represents a number between 00 and 11 (e.g., 0.004=4imes1030.004 = 4 imes 10^{-3}). This connection arises because our place-value system is built on powers of 1010: thousands correspond to 10310^3, thousandths correspond to 1103=103\frac{1}{10^3} = 10^{-3}, and so on. By convention, scientific notation uses the cross symbol imes imes as the multiplication sign, even though this symbol is normally avoided elsewhere in algebra to prevent confusion with variables.

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Updated 2026-04-29

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