is 10^3 equals 10E3

[Excel_learner]

Hi,
I thought 10^3 equals 10E3. My understanding is 10^3 = 1000. However, when I enter 10E3 to excel it came out as 1.00E+04 which is 10000. My data source has a whole bunch of 10^x notation. Do I need to convert it to 10Ex in order to perform calculation. any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

[MrShorty]

Your understanding of exponential notation is off. Exponential/scientific notation is mantissaE+exponent. 1.234E+3 means 1.234*10^3 (so the 10 does not actually appear in exponential notation, it is implied). to enter 1000, you would enter 1E3 (meaning 1*10^3).

[ChemistB]

Yes, E3 means times 10^3 so your nomenclature of 10E3 = 10 x 10^3 or 10000

To correct, you can enter 10 into a blank cell and copy it
Then select all the cells that are 10 times to high and Paste Special> Operation:Divide> OK
That should fix everything.

[Jonmo1]

No, 10^3 does not equal 10E3

10^3 = 1000, that much is correct.

But in Scientific notation, 1000 is 1E3 (not 10E3)

1E3 meaning the number 1 followed by 3 0's (1000)
10E3 is the number 10 followed by 3 0's (10000)

Hope that helps.

[Excel_learner]

Thanks MrShorty for the explanation. so how do I convert the number from exponential sign "^" to scientific notation in excel?

[Pete_UK]

1.00E+4 means a number (1) times 10 raised to the power 4, i.e. 10,000.

When you enter 10E3 it means 10 (the number) times 10 raised to the power 3, which is the same as 1E4 - you want 1E3, which is 10 raised to the power 3.

You don't need to convert the values that you have.

Hope this helps.

Pete

[MrShorty]

If needed, you might review this Wikipedia article on scientific notation and its many forms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_notation The section on E notation explains the use of E notation and its relation to traditional scientific notation.

[Excel_learner]

Thanks all.