Speedcrunch lesser or equal4/3/2023 ![]() ![]() When writing an expression like 10+5*4, which operation will be executed first? The common rules of operator precedence tell us that in this case multipication shall be computed first, hence the result is 30. However, only about 78 significant digits are stored at any point. the part preceding the exponent) is required exactly one exponent must be specified.Ĭompared to most calculators, SpeedCrunch can accept very large numbers without overflowing (e.g. If the sign is ‘+’, you may simply omit it: e0, E10. ![]() So e+10, e-4, E-0 are all valid scale expressions. ![]() ![]() The scale of a number (sometimes called its exponent) always begins with the scale character E or e followed by a signed integer. Here, the e represents *10^, but it is considered a part of the number literal and treated with higher precedence. Naturally, in SpeedCrunch this could be written as 1.234*10^-9, but there’s also a shorthand notation: 1.234e-9. These are more commonly expressed in scientific notation for instance, 1.234*10 -9 is preferable to 0.000000001234. If you're not a native speaker, the simple rule is a good place to start, but be sure to consider the exceptions to it as well.When dealing with very small or very large numbers (think the size of an atom or of a galaxy) the notation above is inconvenient. If you're a native speaker your best bet is to be guided by your ear, choosing the word that sounds more natural in a particular context. Less is common following a number, as in "a package containing three less than the others," and is the typical choice after one, as in "one less worry."Ī definitive rule covering all possibilities is maybe impossible. (Some grocery stores have apparently been convinced by the chagrin, though, and use "items or fewer." They are still very much in the minority.) The use of less to modify ordinary plural count nouns (as in "made less mistakes") is pretty rare in writing and is usually better avoided, though it does occur frequently in speech.īut less is actually preferred in phrases like "an essay of 250 words or less." It's also-to the chagrin of some-the preferred choice in the supermarket checkout line's "twelve items or less" sign. Exceptions to the Ruleĭespite the rule, less used of things that are countable is standard in many contexts, and in fact is more likely than fewer in a few common constructions, especially ones involving distances (as in "less than three miles"), sums of money (as in "less than twenty dollars"), units of time and weight (as in "less than five years" and "less than ten ounces"), and statistical enumerations (as in "less than 50,000 people")-all things which are often thought of as amounts rather than numbers. Somewhere along the way-it's not clear how-his preference was generalized and elevated to an absolute, inviolable rule. The received rule seems to have originated with the critic Robert Baker, who expressed it not as a law but as a matter of personal preference. But for more than 200 years almost every usage writer and English teacher has declared such use to be wrong. Less has been used this way for well over a thousand years-nearly as long as there's been a written English language. This isn't an example of how modern English is going to the dogs. The fact is that less is also sometimes used to refer to number among things that are counted. This rule is simple enough and looks easy enough to follow, but it's not accurate for all usage. While the supermarket cashier understood that the phrase "12 Items or Less" violated a received rule of grammar, she wished fewer people would complain to her about it. ![]()
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