What Is Standard Notation?

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Skip to content Home › What Is Standard Notation? By Staff WriterLast Updated May 19, 2025 Follow Us: Facebook Twitter

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Standard notation is when a number is completely written out using numerical digits. Some examples of numbers written in standard notation are 64,100 and 2,000,000.

Standard notation is commonly used in everyday math. However, when working with large numbers, it can become cumbersome to write out every single digit. Scientists and mathematicians often use another type of number form known as scientific notation to make writing numbers less cumbersome.

If someone has the standard notation of a number, he can easily convert it to scientific notation. First, he needs to write the digits of the number, placing a decimal after the first digit. This needs to be followed by a multiplication sign (x) and the number 10 written to a specified power. Writing the 10 to the correct power shows how many places to move the decimal point. The 10 and its power are written as 10^x power. An example of a number in scientific notation is 7 x 10^2.

A number in scientific notation can easily be converted back into standard notation. The digits need to be written first, followed by the proper amount of corresponding zeros so that the number has the correct decimal point. For example, 7 x 10^2 can be written as 700. The 7 is written first. The 10 is written to the second power, meaning that the standard notation form of the number needs to have its decimal point moved two times.

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