ENGINEERING CALCULATION GUIDE

Engineering notation and scientific notation

Scientific notation expresses a number as a coefficient times a power of ten. Engineering notation uses exponents in multiples of three, matching common SI prefixes.

FORMULA

Scientific: a × 10ⁿ; Engineering: a × 10³ᵏ, where 1 ≤ |a| < 1000

WORKED EXAMPLE

0.000047 F can be written as 4.7 × 10⁻⁵ F in scientific notation or 47 µF in engineering notation.

STEP BY STEP

Move the decimal point

Count how many places the decimal moves to create a coefficient with one non-zero digit before it.

Use the power of ten

Moving left gives a positive exponent; moving right gives a negative exponent.

Use multiples of three for engineering work

Exponents such as −9, −6, −3, 0, 3, and 6 align with nano, micro, milli, base, kilo, and mega prefixes.

Check units and significant figures

Keep a sensible number of significant figures and make sure the unit conversion is consistent with the chosen prefix.