How to use scientific notation in a graph in Mathematica?

[hanson]

When the numbers on the axis are too small or too big, I would like to use scientific notation for that axes in mathematica...
Anyone know how to do it...
I have googles it and find no useful things. Kind of frustrated.

 

[CompuChip]

Grabbed this little piece of code from the 'net somewhere and made it a bit more user-friendly. It works in Mathematica 6 and higher (if you are using a version < 6 you have to add some DisplayFunctions to hide the initial plot and only show it at the end)

ScientificTicks[plot_Graphics, xSci_: False, ySci_: True] := 
  Module[{t},
   Show[plot, 
    Ticks -> {(t = Ticks /. AbsoluteOptions[plot, Ticks])[[1]] /. 
       If[xSci, {x_, xlab_?NumericQ, r__} -> {x, ScientificForm[x], 
          r}, {}], 
      t[[2]] /. 
       If[ySci, {y_, ylab_?NumericQ, r__} -> {y, ScientificForm[y], 
          r}, {}]}]
   ];

The first argument is a plot and the next two arguments indicate whether you want scientific notation on the x- and y-axis, respectively. If you leave them out you will get scientific notation on the y-axis only.

(* Normal on x, Scientific on y *)
ScientificTicks[Plot[Exp[x], {x, 0, 100}], False, True]
ScientificTicks[Plot[Exp[x], {x, 0, 100}], False]
ScientificTicks[Plot[Exp[x], {x, 0, 100}]]
(* Scientific on x, Normal on y *)
ScientificTicks[Plot[Exp[x], {x, 0, 100}], True, False]
(* Scientific on both *)
ScientificTicks[Plot[Exp[x], {x, 0, 100}], True, True]
ScientificTicks[Plot[Exp[x], {x, 0, 100}], True]

You can edit the defaults in the first line (e.g. change "xSci_:False" to "xSci_:True").

 

[oswaler]

I understand the importance of accurately representing data on a graph. When dealing with extremely large or small numbers, using scientific notation can make the data easier to read and understand. In Mathematica, there are a few ways to incorporate scientific notation into a graph.

One way is to use the "ExponentialForm" option when defining the axes. For example, if you have a plot with x and y axes ranging from 0 to 1000, you can use the following code to display the numbers in scientific notation:

Plot[x, {x, 0, 1000}, AxesLabel -> {Style["x", 16], Style["y", 16]}, AxesStyle -> Directive[FontSize -> 14, ExponentialForm -> True]]

This will display the numbers on the axes in the form of 1x10^3, 2x10^3, etc.

Another option is to use the "ScientificForm" function within the tick labels. For example, if you have a plot with the x axis ranging from 0 to 0.00001, you can use the following code to display the numbers in scientific notation:

Plot[x, {x, 0, 0.00001}, AxesLabel -> {Style["x", 16], Style["y", 16]}, Ticks -> {Automatic, Table[{ScientificForm, i}, {i, 0, 0.00001, 0.000001}]}]

This will display the numbers on the x axis as 1x10^-5, 2x10^-5, etc.

I hope this helps in incorporating scientific notation into your graphs in Mathematica. Don't get discouraged, as there are always solutions to any problem in science and technology. Good luck!