What does - 3.4 E + 38 mean? (In normal number terms).

Question

Karsyn Reilly

Mathematics

4 May, 12:42

What does - 3.4 E + 38 mean? (In normal number terms).

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Allyson Lang · Answer 1

"E" stands for exponent, specifically 10. If something says "E+38" (like in Microsoft Excel), that means 10^38 in scientific notation.

Therefore, "-3.4 E + 38" means - 3.4x10^38.

The "+38" means there are 38 zeros following a 1 as the exponent. It also works with negative numbers. For example, E-3 equals 10^-3