$ printf "1 21 5.0 2e1" | tr " " "\n" | sort -g

1
5.0
2e1
21

$ printf "1 21 5.0 2e1" | tr " " "\n" | sort -n

1
2e1
5.0
21

$ printf "1 21 5.0 2e1" | tr " " "\n" | sort

1
21
2e1
5.0