Standard Form Scientific Engineering Notation

Reference data and engineering information about standard form scientific engineering notation for standard organizations applications.

Overview

Engineering reference data for Standard Form Scientific Engineering Notation in standard organizations.

$ISO \; 9001:2015$

Quality management systems.

$ASTM \; E8$

Standard test methods for tension testing.

$ANSI/ASME \; B16.5$

Pipe flanges and flanged fittings.

Symbol	Description	Unit
$ISO$	International Organization for Standardization	—
$ASTM$	American Society for Testing and Materials	—
$ANSI$	American National Standards Institute	—

Numbers must share the same exponent before combining. Example:

$4.3\times10^4 + 2.4\times10^3 = 4.3\times10^4 + 0.24\times10^4 = (4.3 + 0.24) \times 10^4 = 4.54 \times 10^4$

When multiplying, add the exponents:

$N_1 \times 10^x \times N_2 \times 10^y = (N_1 \times N_2) \times 10^{x+y}$

Example:

$4.3\times10^4 \times 2.4\times10^3 = (4.3 \times 2.4) \times 10^{4+3} = 10.32 \times 10^7$

When dividing, subtract the exponent in the denominator from the exponent in the numerator:

$\frac{N_1 \times 10^x}{N_2 \times 10^y} = \left(\frac{N_1}{N_2}\right) \times 10^{x-y}$

Example:

$\frac{4.3\times10^4}{2.4\times10^3} = \left(\frac{4.3}{2.4}\right) \times 10^{4-3} = 1.79 \times 10^1$

Engineering notation's power-of-10 multiples of 3 correspond directly to common SI prefixes:

This allows convenient unit conversion, for example: