How to convert exponential notation to standard form
Move the mantissa's decimal point by however many places the exponent says Example: 5 × 10⁻⁴ — move the point 4 places left — 0.0005 A positive exponent moves the decimal point right (making the number larger); a negative exponent moves it left (making the number smaller). 6.022 × 10²³ (roughly Avogadro's number) means moving the point 23 places right, landing on 602,200,000,000,000,000,000,000 — a number too large to type comfortably in standard form, which is exactly why exponential notation exists for values at that scale in the first place.
This works identically whether the mantissa follows scientific notation's convention (always between 1 and 10) or engineering notation's wider one (up to just under 1,000, so the exponent lands on a multiple of 3). The math is the same either way — mantissa × 10exponent — so there's nothing to detect or switch between; just enter whatever mantissa and exponent you have.
Notation equivalents
| Notation | Standard Form |
|---|---|
| 5 × 10⁻⁴ | 0.0005 |
| 2.5 × 10⁻⁵ | 0.000025 |
| 5 × 10⁻¹ | 0.5 |
| 3 × 10⁰ | 3 |
| 1.5 × 10² | 150 |
| 15 × 10³ (engineering) | 15,000 |
| 4.5 × 10³ | 4,500 |
| 9.3 × 10⁵ | 93,000,000 |
| 6.022 × 10²³ | 602,200,000,000,000,000,000,000 |
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert scientific notation to decimal?
Move the mantissa's decimal point right for a positive exponent, or left for a negative one, by however many places the exponent specifies. 5 × 10⁻⁴ becomes 0.0005 by moving the point 4 places left.
What is 5 x 10^-4 in standard form?
0.0005.
What does a negative exponent mean in scientific notation?
The number is smaller than 1. A negative exponent moves the decimal point to the left, producing more leading zeros the more negative it is.