Resistors
A resistor is a device that opposes the flow of electrical current. The bigger the value of a resistor the more it opposes the current flow. The value of a resistor is given in ohms and is often referred to as its ‘resistance’.
Identifying Resistor Values
Band Colour |
1st Band |
2nd Band |
Multiplier x |
Tolerance |
Silver |
|
|
÷ 100 |
10% |
Gold |
|
|
÷ 10 |
5% |
Black |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Brown |
1 |
1 |
10 |
1% |
Red |
2 |
2 |
100 |
2% |
Orange |
3 |
3 |
1000 |
|
Yellow |
4 |
4 |
10,000 |
|
Green |
5 |
5 |
100,000 |
|
Blue |
6 |
6 |
1,000,000 |
|
Violet |
7 |
7 |
|
|
Grey |
8 |
8 |
|
|
White |
9 |
9 |
|
|
Example: Band 1 = Red, Band 2 = Violet, Band 3 = Orange, Band 4 = Gold |
|
Too many zeros? |
The value of this resistor would be: |
|
|
kilo ohms and mega |
2 (Red) 7 (Violet) x1,000 (Orange) |
= 27 x 1,000 |
|
ohms can be used: |
|
= 27,000 with a 5% tolerance (gold) |
|
1,000 ohms =1k |
|
= 27k ohms |
|
1,000k = 1M
|