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How Cell Formatting Works
Working with Numbers in Scientific Notation
Scientific (or exponential) notation displays large numbers in a shorthand form that shows the
first few digits along with instructions on where to place the decimal point. To convert a
number written in scientific notation to its decimal equivalent, move the decimal to the
right by the number that appears after “E+”; if there’s a minus sign after the E, move the
decimal to the left. In either case, add extra zeros as needed. Thus, 8.23E+06 is actually
8,230,000, and 3.82E-07 is .000000382.
Numbers expressed in scientific notation are often rounded. When you see numbers in
General ...