You can enter metric affixes or scientific notation to indicate very large or very small numbers. For scientific notation, you can type either a caret (^) or the letter e followed by a number to indicate an exponent. You can use both positive and negative exponents.
For example, to indicate 0.012, you can enter either of the following expressions:
- 1.2*10^-2
- 1.2e-2
To indicate -440,000, you can enter either of the following expressions:
- -4.4*10^5
- -4.4e5
The following table shows how to enter numbers with metric affixes, with scientific notation, and with e notation.
|
To enter |
Use this |
Scientific Notation |
Use this |
Other Notation |
| 0.1 | 1d (deci) | 10^-1 | 1e-1 | |
| 0.01 | 1c (centi) | 10^-2 | 1e-2 | 1% (percent) |
| 0.001 | 1m (milli) | 10^-3 | 1e-3 | |
| 0.000001 | 1u (micro) | 10^-6 | 1e-6 | |
| 0.000000001 | 1n (nano) | 10^-9 | 1e-9 | |
| 0.000000000001 | 1p (pico) | 10^-12 | 1e-12 | |
| 1,000 | 1k (kilo) | 10^3 | 1e3 | |
| 1,000,000 | 1M (mega) | 10^6 | 1e6 | |
| 1,000,000,000 | 1G (giga) | 10^9 | 1e9 | |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | 1T (tera) | 10^12 | 1e12 |
Note: When you use metric affixes or e notation, make sure you do not include spaces between the number and the metric affix or the e.
For more information, see Entering math expressions in assignments or the calculator or Using constants in math expressions.