Trillion (disambiguation) facts for kids
A trillion is a very large number. It can mean two different things depending on where you are in the world. This is because different countries use different ways to name large numbers.
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What is a Trillion?
The word "trillion" comes from "tri-" meaning three, and "-illion." It generally refers to a number with a one followed by many zeros.
The Short Scale Trillion
In many English-speaking countries, like the United States and the United Kingdom, a trillion means one million million.
- It is written as 1,000,000,000,000.
- This is the same as 10 multiplied by itself 12 times, or 1012.
- When we talk about computer storage, the prefix "tera-" (like in terabyte) means a trillion.
How Big is a Short Scale Trillion?
Imagine counting to a trillion. If you counted one number every second, it would take you over 31,000 years!
- The Earth's population is currently around 8 billion people. A trillion is 125 times larger than 8 billion.
- If you had a trillion pennies, you could stack them high enough to reach the Moon and back more than 1,300 times!
The Long Scale Trillion
In some other countries, especially in Europe, a trillion means one million million million.
- It is written as 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.
- This is the same as 10 multiplied by itself 18 times, or 1018.
- When we talk about very large amounts, the prefix "exa-" (like in exabyte) means a long scale trillion.
Where is the Long Scale Used?
The long scale is less common in English-speaking countries today. However, it is still used in many other languages and countries. This difference can sometimes cause confusion when people from different places discuss very large numbers.
Why Are There Two Meanings?
The two different meanings come from historical ways of naming large numbers.
- The short scale adds a new name every time the number is multiplied by 1,000. So, a thousand, a million, a billion (a thousand million), a trillion (a thousand billion).
- The long scale adds a new name every time the number is multiplied by 1,000,000. So, a million, a billion (a million million), a trillion (a million million million).
Most scientific and financial discussions in English now use the short scale.
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