Exponential Notation in Excel & How to Turn Off Auto Scientific
Notation!
This article will at first introduce you with the scientific number system and number
precision definition. Then you will know about the highest and lowest number limitations in
Excel. At the end of the article, I have narrated how you can turn off auto scientific notation
in Excel.
Let’s start today’s post thinking about a few questions. How big a number can Excel handle?
Or how many types? Or with what precision can it report statistics to its users.
First, we will discuss a few examples of these situations:
Table of Contents
1 How Scientific Notation Works
2 What is Number Precision?
3 What can Excel handle
3.1 #Highest and Lowest Number Limits in Excel 2013 & 2016
3.2 #Numbr Precision in Excel
4 Turn off scientific notation in Excel
5 Download Working File
How Scientific Notation Works
Sometimes, especially while using a calculator, you may end up with a very long number.
For example, you have a very large number like this: 1234567894578215153456789, this
number has 25 digits. Or you may face a small number like this:
0.12345621345722156652231
To use these types of numbers conveniently, you can express them in scientific notation.
Let’s take a smaller number; in scientific notation, 7245 becomes 7.245E+3;
How? The decimal point moved 3 digits left. So, the scientific notation is 7.245E+3, +3 as
the decimal point has moved left.
So, you will express the movement with an E.
All rights reserved to ExcelDemy.com. | 1
Exponential Notation in Excel & How to Turn Off Auto Scientific
Notation!
In scientific notation 183857.419 becomes 1.83857419E+5 as for this number, the decimal
point has moved 5 digits left.
In scientific notation, this small number, 0.00007245 becomes 7.245E-5. As the decimal
point has moved 5 digits right. In the same way, number 0.0000000625431 will become
6.25431E-8, as the decimal point has moved 8 digits right.
What is Number Precision?
Now let’s discuss number precision. The precision of a number is how many digits of a
number are shown.
Considering the same numbers 7.245E+3 number’s precision is 4 as it is showing that many
digits.
1.83857419E+5 number’s precision is 9; as it’s showing 9 digits.
7.245E-5 number’s precision is 4 as it has 4 digits.
And lastly 6.25431E-8 number’s precision is 6 as it is showing that many digits.
What can Excel handle
#Highest and Lowest Number Limits in Excel 2013 & 2016
The largest positive number that you can store in a worksheet cell is 9.9E+307.
It is 99 then three hundred and six zeros. It is an extraordinarily large number, of course.
The smallest negative number you can store in a worksheet cell is -9.9E-307. It is minus
zero point three hundred and six zeros, and then 99.
Click on the image to get a full view.
All rights reserved to ExcelDemy.com. | 2
Exponential Notation in Excel & How to Turn Off Auto Scientific
Notation!
#Numbr Precision in Excel
Excel’s numbers are precise up to 15 digits.
If you enter a number that has more than 15 digits, the digits after 15 will be converted to
Zeros. For example, enter number 1234, 56789, 1234, 56789 in a worksheet cell and look at
the Formula bar (don’t hit enter yet).
There are 18 digits of this number.
When I hit enter, the number gets converted to scientific notation. You can see how Excel
understood it by looking at the formula bar. There are 15 digits intact but the last 3 digits
are converted to zeros.
Here is another number 20 digits long this time.
Press Enter.
To see how the number is saved, select the cell. You see, the first 15 digits are intact again
and the rest 5 digits are transferred to zeros.
So, if you save a number that has more than 15 digits, then remember that the result based
on this number will not be as accurate as you may expect. This precision may seem quite
limiting, but in practice, it rarely causes any problem.
Turn off scientific notation in Excel
So, Excel automatically turns a number in scientific notation if the cell width is not sufficient
for the number.
Sometimes, you might want to stop this auto converting of numbers into scientific notation.
All rights reserved to ExcelDemy.com. | 3
Exponential Notation in Excel & How to Turn Off Auto Scientific
Notation!
How can you do that?
Simply select the cell where the scientifically noted number sits. And format the cell with
Number format.
If you format a cell with the Number format from the Number format drop-down, then by
default you will get two places after the decimal point.
To avoid the decimal places, you can use the Format Cells dialog box. Select Number option
from the left window, and on the right window, make the decimal places to zero.
So, this was number theory folks, stay tuned for some more Excellence.
Download Working File
Download the working file from the link below:
Scientific-Number-System-Number-Precision.xlsx
1
SHARES
FacebookTwitter
Read More...
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
TEXT and FORMAT Functions in Excel [68 Examples]
Date & Time in Excel – How to Enter Them in Worksheet Cells Effectively?
Exporting Data in Excel
Forecasting in Excel Using FORECAST Function & Auto Fill Handle Tool
Top 20 Excel Limitations that might Frustrate You!
Kawser
All rights reserved to ExcelDemy.com. | 4
Exponential Notation in Excel & How to Turn Off Auto Scientific
Notation!
Hello!
Welcome to my Excel blog! I am conducting deep dives into the world of Excel. Please join
with me and explore Excel deeply.
Keep in mind this African proverb:
"If you want to go fast, go alone,
If you want to go far, go together."
Let's together explore Excel deeply!
☕
All rights reserved to ExcelDemy.com. | 5