What is a Googol?
A word for the number 10¹⁰⁰ (a “1” followed by one hundred 0s). Based on a child’s name for this number.
A googol is an incredibly large number, written as a 1 followed by 100 zeros. That’s:
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
The term “googol” was coined by Milton Sirotta, the 9-year-old nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner. When Kasner asked him to invent a name for the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, Milton came up with “googol,” and it stuck! (Yes, it even inspired the name for the company Google!)
Learning about googols is a fun way to explore extremely large numbers and expand your number sense. It helps students think beyond everyday numbers and imagine just how big numbers can get.
When Do Students Learn About Googols?
Students typically encounter the idea of a googol when exploring powers of 10 or learning about very large numbers in enrichment or math extension activities.
Grades 4–6 – Exploring Large Numbers
Students begin learning about powers of 10 and place value for very large numbers. Googol is introduced to spark curiosity and number sense.
