Significand

The significand (also coefficient or, more informally, mantissa) is the part of a floating-point number that contains its significant digits. Depending on the interpretation of the exponent, the significand may be considered to be an integer or a fraction.

Related Topics:
Coefficient - Mantissa - Floating-point number - Exponent - Integer - Fraction

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For example, the number 123.45 can be represented as a decimal floating-point number with integer significand 12345 and exponent −2. Its value is given by the formula:

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: 12345 × 10−2

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This same value could also be represented with the fractional coefficient 1.2345 and exponent +2:

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: 1.2345 × 10+2

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