Scientific Notation Display Format - HP 12C User Manual

88 Section 5: Additional Operating Features
Several options are provided for controlling how numbers appear in the display.
But regardless of which display format or how many displayed decimal places you
specify, the number inside the calculator — which appears altered in the
display — is not altered unless you use the B, !, V, Ý, or # functions.
Standard Display Format. The number 14.87 now in your calculator is
currently being displayed in the standard display format with two decimal places
shown. To display a different number of decimal places, press f followed by a
digit key (0 through 9) specifying the number of decimal places. In the following
examples, notice how the displayed form of the number inside the calculator —
14.87456320 — is rounded to the specified number of digits.
Keystrokes
f4
f1
f0
f9
The standard display format, plus the specified number of decimal places, remain
in effect until you change them; they are not reset each time the calculator is turned
on. However, if Continuous Memory is reset, when the calculator is next turned on
numbers will be displayed in the standard display format with two decimal places
shown.
If a calculated answer is either too small or too large to be displayed in the
standard display format, the display format automatically switches to scientific
notation (described below). The display returns to the standard display format for
all numbers that can be displayed in that format.

Scientific Notation Display Format

In scientific notation, a number is displayed with its mantissa at the left and a
two-digit exponent at the right. The mantissa is simply the first seven digits in the
number, and has a single, nonzero digit to the left of the decimal point. The
File name: hp 12c pt_user's guide_English_HDPMF123E27
Printed Date: 2005/8/1
Display
14.8746
14.9
15.
14.87456320
Although nine decimal places were
specified after f, only eight are
displayed since the display can
show a total of only 10 digits.
Page: 88 of 275
Dimension: 14.8 cm x 21 cm