How many Zeros in a Trillion?
A trillion is not a unit that’s used quite often. Usually, trillion always means as a short-scale measurement which has 12 zeros. But there is another answer. So, how many zeros are there in a trillion?
A trillion can be measured on two types of scale. One is the usual one everyone uses that is called a short scale. The other is the long scale.
The short scale is a more modern idea and wasn’t introduced to everyone until after the 1970s. This was mainly practiced in English-speaking countries. According to the short-scale method, a trillion is calculated as the power of a thousand. The following numerical presentation will make it understand .
10001 = 1000 = Thousand
10002 = 1,000,000 = Million
10003 = 1,000,000,000 = Billion
10004 = 1,000,000,000,000 = Trillion
This is another way of remembering the number of zeros. There are four triple zeros in a trillion that makes the number 12.
According to the long scale, on the other hand, the trillion was considered the power of a million. This method was mostly practiced in European (Non-English speaking) countries before the short-scale method was accepted worldwide.
1,000,0001 = 1,000,000 = Million
1,000,0002 = 1,000,000,000,000 = Billion
1,000,0003 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = Trillion
Back then a trillion was considered a billion, and a trillion had 18 zeros after it’s 1. But that calculation is not valid anymore.
Worldwide, only one method is considered acceptable to avoid any confusion.
So if your question is how many zeros are there in a trillion, the simple answer would be 12 zeros. And if you are willing to know a more elaborate answer, you should know both short-scale and long-scale methods.
To sum up, there are twelve zeros in a trillion in general. But according to the former European country method, a trillion has 18 zeros after it’s 1.