Millions and Billions and More (Oh My!)

We sometimes describe 1,100 as eleven hundred instead of one thousand, one hundred because it is easier to say. Just as 800 is equal to 8 x 100, 1,100 is 11 x 100.

A million is a thousand, thousand or 1000 x 1000 or 10⁶. A billion is a thousand million or 10⁹ and a trillion is a thousand billion or 10¹².

Scientists theorize that the earth is 4.6 billion years old. That means it is 4,600,000,000 years old. We can also say that the earth is 4,600 million years old. This is a very large number. 4.6 billion inches is equal to 72,601 miles. A piece of string 72,601 miles could be wound around the earth at the equator three times.

Very Large Numbers

hundreds	102	100
thousands	103	1,000
millions	106	1,000,000
billions	109	1,000,000,000
trillions	1012	1,000,000,000,000
quadrillion	1015	1,000,000,000,000,000
quintillion	1018	1,000,000,000,000,000,000
sextillion	1021	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
septillion	1024	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
octillion	1027	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
nontillion	1030	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
decillion	1033	1,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000
undecillion	1036	1,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000
duodecillion	1039	1,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000
tredecillion	1042	1,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quattuordecillion	1045	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
quindecillion	1048	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
sexdecillion	1051	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
septendecillion	1054	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
octadecillion	1057	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
novemdecillion	1060	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
vigintillion	1063	1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000