Characteristic and Mantissa
Consider the standard form of n
n = m ×10
p, where 1 < m < 10
Taking logarithms to the base 10 and using the laws of logarithms
log n = log m + log 10
p
= log m + p log 10
= p + log m
Here p is an integer and as 1 < m < 10, so 0 < log m < 1, i e , m lies between 0 and 1 When log
n has been expressed as p + log m, where p is an integer and 0 log m < 1, we say that p is the
“characteristic” of log n and that log m is the “mantissa of log n