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Names for large numbers facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

When we talk about really big numbers, like the number of stars in the sky or tiny particles in an atom, they can be hard to read and understand. But don't worry, there are easy ways to name them! We mostly use two main methods: scientific notation and naming by grouping.

Imagine a number like 500,000,000,000,000,000,000. That's a lot of zeros!

  • In scientific notation, we can write it as 5 x 1020. This means you take the number 5 and multiply it by 10, twenty times. It's a neat way to show how many zeros are in a number.
  • When we name it by grouping, it's called five hundred quintillion in the American system. In the European system, it's 500 trillion. We'll learn more about why these are different later!

What if a big number has other digits, not just zeros? Like 642,500,000,000.

  • For scientific notation, we still count the numbers after the first digit. Here, after the 6, there are 11 digits. We put a decimal point after the first digit and include the other non-zero digits. So, 642,500,000,000 becomes 6.425 x 1011.
  • When naming by grouping, this number is 642 billion, 500 million in the American system. In the European system, it's 642 milliard, 500 million.

How We Name Big Numbers

Here are some examples to help you see how these methods work:

Number Scientific Notation Grouping (American)
600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 6 x 1026 600 septillion
765,476,250,000,000 7.6547625 x 1014 765 trillion, 476 billion, 250 million
145,000 1.45 x 105 145 thousand

Different Ways to Count: Short Form vs. Long Form

You might have noticed that the names for big numbers can be different depending on where you are. This is because of two main systems:

  • The Short Form is mostly used in the U.S. and many other English-speaking countries.
  • The Long Form is used in Europe and other parts of the world.

The main difference is how they define a "billion."

  • In the Short Form, a billion is one thousand millions (1,000,000,000 or 109).
  • In the Long Form, a billion is one million millions (1,000,000,000,000 or 1012). This means a "billion" in Europe is actually a "trillion" in the U.S.!

The United Kingdom switched to the Short Form in 1974. Today, the Short Form is the most common way to name large numbers in English-speaking countries.

Names for Super Big Numbers

Here's a table showing how some of these really big numbers are named in different systems:

Scientific
Notation		 American Name
(Short Form)		 European Name
(Long Form)		 British Name
(Long Form)
100 One One One
101 Ten Ten Ten
102 Hundred Hundred Hundred
103 Thousand Thousand Thousand
104 Ten thousand Ten thousand Ten thousand
105 Hundred thousand Hundred thousand Hundred thousand
106 Million Million Million
109 Billion Milliard Thousand million
1012 Trillion Billion Billion
1015 Quadrillion Billiard Thousand billion
1018 Quintillion Trillion Trillion
1021 Sextillion Trilliard Thousand trillion
1024 Septillion Quadrillion Quadrillion
1027 Octillion Quadrilliard Thousand quadrillion
1030 Nonillion Quintillion Quintillion
1033 Decillion Quintilliard Thousand quintillion
1036 Undecillion Sextillion Sextillion
1039 Duodecillion Sextilliard Thousand sextillion
1042 Tredecillion Septillion Septillion
1045 Quattuordecillion Septilliard Thousand septillion
1048 Quindecillion Octillion Octillion
1051 Sexdecillion Octilliard Thousand octillion
1054 Septendecillion Nonillion Nonillion
1057 Octodecillion Nonilliard Thousand nonillion
1060 Novemdecillion Decillion Decillion
1063 Vigintillion Decilliard Thousand decillion
1066 Unvigintillion Undecillion Undecillion
1069 Duovigintillion Undecilliard Thousand undecillion
1072 Trevigintillion Duodecillion Duodecillion
1075 Quattuorvigintillion Duodecilliard Thousand duodecillion
1078 Quinvigintillion Tredecillion Tredecillion
1081 Sexvigintillion Tredecilliard Thousand tredecillion
1084 Septenvigintillion Quattuordecillion Quattuordecillion
1087 Octovigintillion Quattuordecilliard Thousand quattuordecillion
1090 Novemvigintillion Quindecillion Quindecillion
1093 Trigintillion Quindecilliard Thousand quindecillion
1096 Untrigintillion Sexdecillion Sexdecillion
1099 Duotrigintillion Sexdecilliard Thousand sexdecillion
10102 Tretrigintillion Septedecillion Septedecillion
10105 Quattuortrigintillion Septedecilliard Thousand septedecillion
10108 Quintrigintillion Octodecillion Octodecillion
10111 Sextrigintillion Octodecilliard Thousand octodecillion
10114 Septentrigintillion Novemdecillion Novemdecillion
10117 Octotregintillion Novemdecilliard Thousand novemdecillion
10120 Novemtrigintillion Vigintillion Vigintillion

There are also some special names for incredibly huge numbers:

  • A googol is a 1 followed by 100 zeros (10100).
  • A googolplex is a 1 followed by a googol of zeros (10googol). Imagine how many zeros that is!
  • And then there's the googolplexian, which is a 1 followed by a googolplex number of zeros. These numbers are so big, they are mostly used in math to talk about very large amounts.

The name centillion was created in the 1800s. It means the 100th "illion" number. In the Short Form, it's 10303. In the Long Form, it's 10600.

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Names for large numbers Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.