In more detail
12,300 = 1.23 × 10⁴ and 0.0045 = 4.5 × 10⁻³. Calculators and code often print it as 1.23e4. Multiplying adds the exponents.
Glossary
Math & Statistics
Scientific notation
Scientific notation writes a number as a coefficient between 1 and 10 times a power of ten, which keeps very large and very small numbers readable.
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See also
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Glossary
Exponent
An exponent says how many times to multiply a base by itself: in `2³` the base is 2, the exponent is 3, and the value is 8.
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Glossary
Significant figures
Significant figures are the digits in a number that carry meaning about its precision, starting from the first non-zero digit.