UNIVERSITY OF CEBU - MAIN

ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

AS 30A
BASIC ELECTRONICS 1 LABORATORY

EXPERIMENT NO. 1
RESISTOR COLOR CODE

Rating : ______________

Name of Student : GABISAN, MARY JUDY A.

Course and Year : BSNAME-5

Class Schedule : (M-F) 9:30AM - 12:50PM

Date Performed : JULY 21, 2021

Date Submitted : JULY 22, 2021

Instructor : ENGR. JADE JOSEPH JORDA

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Objective
The objective of this experiment is to become familiar with the measurement of resistance values using
digital multimeter (DMM). A second objective is to learn the resistor color code.

Apparatus
Desktop PC/Laptop
Electronics Lab Software Simulator e.g. Electronics Workbench or any

Theory
The resistor is perhaps the most fundamental of all electrical devices. Its fundamental attribute is the
restriction of electrical current flow: The greater the resistance, the greater the restriction of current.
Resistance is measured in Ohms. The measurement of resistance in unpowered circuits may be performed
with a digital multimeter. Like all components, resistors cannot be manufactured to perfection. That is,
there will always be some variance of the true value of the component when compared to its nameplate
or nominal value. For precision resistors, typically 1% tolerance or better, the nominal value is usually
printed directly on the component. Normally, general purpose components, i.e. those worse than 1%,
usually use a color code to indicate their value. The resistor color code typically uses 4 color bands. The
first two bands indicate the precision values (i.e. the mantissa) while the third band indicates the power
of ten applied (i.e. the number of zeroes to add). The fourth band indicates the tolerance. It is possible to
find resistors with five or six bands but they will not be examined in this experiment. Examples are shown
below:

Figure 1.1

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It is important to note that the physical size of the resistor indicates its power dissipation rating, not its
ohmic value.
Digit codes run from Black through White, however, the color Black is not valid as a first color, i.e., no
resistor color code begins with Black.

Carbon Composition Resistor Color Coding:

Figure 1.2

The International Standard Color Code:

Color Significant figures Multiplier Tolerance

Black 0 ×100 –

Brown 1 ×101 ±1%

Red 2 ×102 ±2%

Orange 3 ×103 –

Yellow 4 ×104 –

Green 5 ×105 –

Blue 6 ×106 –

Violet 7 ×107 –

Gray 8 ×108 –

White 9 ×109 –

Gold – ×10−1 ±5%

Silver – ×10−2 ±10%

None – – ±20%

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For example, a resistor with the color code brown-red-orange-silver would correspond to 1 2 followed by
3 zeroes, or 12,000 Ohms (more conveniently, 12 k Ohms). It would have a tolerance of 10% of 12 k Ohms
or 1200 Ohms. This means that the actual value of any particular resistor with this code could be anywhere
between 12,000 - 1200 = 10,800, to 12,000 + 1200 = 13,200. That is, 10.8 k to 13.2 k Ohms. Note, the IEC
standard replaces the decimal point with the engineering prefix, thus 1.2 k is alternately written 1k2.
Similarly, a 470 k 5% resistor would have the color code yellow-violet-yellow-gold. To help remember the
color code many mnemonics have been created using the first letter of the colors to create a sentence.
One example is the mnemonic Bad Boy Rape Our Young Girl But Violeta Gave Willingly God Said No.

Measurement of resistors with a DMM is a very straightforward process. Run the Electronics Workbench
application software simulator by simply double clicking the icon installed from Desktop PC/Laptop. Click
and drag the resistor from basic parts bin to the simulation area or window. Rotate the resistor in vertical
position. Double click the body of the resistor to view the resistor properties. Provide the value of
resistance with the corresponding unit. Uncheck the check box of “Use global tolerance” to encode the
value of resistance tolerance. Click OK to finish. Then, click and drag the multimeter from instruments
parts bin to the simulation area or window. Connect the negative terminal of multimeter to the bottom
leg of resistor and positive terminal to the top leg of resistor. Press 1 to activate simulation as located in
the top right portion of EWB. Double click the body of multimeter. Select the ohm (Ω) scale to read the
value of resistance as shown in Figure 1.4 for measuring the 1.46 kΩ resistor. Do this in step number 3 of
the procedure for the measuring of different values of resistors.

Figure 1.3

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 Figure 1.4

Procedure
1. Given the nominal values and tolerances in Table 1.1, determine and record the corresponding color
code bands.

2. Given the color codes in Table 1.2, determine and record the nominal value, tolerance and the
minimum and maximum acceptable values.

3. Obtain a resistor equal to the first value listed in Table 1.3. Determine the minimum and maximum
acceptable values based on the nominal value and tolerance. Record these values in Table 1.3. Using
the Multimeter, measured the actual value of the resistor and record it in Table 1.3. Determine the
deviation percentage of this component and record it in Table 1.3. The deviation percentage may be
found via: Deviation = 100 * (measured-nominal)/nominal. Circle the deviation if the resistor is out of
tolerance.

4. Repeat Step 3 for the remaining resistor in Table 1.3.

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Data and Results

Value Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4

27 Ω @ 10% Red Violet Black Silver

56 Ω @ 10% Green Blue Black Silver

180 Ω @ 5% Brown Gray Brown Gold

390 Ω @ 10% Orange White Brown Silver

680 Ω @ 5% Blue Gray Brown Gold

1.5 k Ω @ 20% Brown Green Red None

3.6 k Ω @ 10% Orange Blue Red Silver

7.5 k Ω @ 5% Violet Green Red Gold

10 k Ω @ 5% Brown Black Orange Gold

47 k Ω @ 10% Yellow Violet Orange Silver

820 k Ω @ 10% Gray Red Yellow Silver

2.2 M Ω @ 20 % Red Red Green None

Table 1.1

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 Colors Nominal Tolerance Minimum Maximum
22 Ω 10% 19.8 Ω 24.2 Ω
red-red-black-silver
68 Ω 5% 64.6 Ω 71.4 Ω
blue-gray-black-gold
150 Ω 5% 142.5 Ω 157.5 Ω
brown-green-brown-gold
330 Ω 10% 297 Ω 363 Ω
orange-orange-brown-silver
560 Ω 5% 532 Ω 588 Ω
green-blue-brown –gold
1.2 kΩ 10% 1.08 kΩ 1.32 kΩ
brown-red-red–silver
2.7 kΩ 10% 2.43 kΩ 2.97 kΩ
red-violet-red–silver
8.2 kΩ 5% 7.79 kΩ 8.61 kΩ
gray-red-red–gold
10 kΩ 5% 9.5 kΩ 10.5 kΩ
brown-black-orange–gold
33 kΩ 10% 29.7 kΩ 36.3 kΩ
orange-orange-orange–silver
680 kΩ 20% 544 kΩ 816 kΩ
blue-gray-yellow–none
5 MΩ 10% 4.5 MΩ 5.5 MΩ
green-black-green-silver

Table 1.2

Value Minimum Maximum Measured Deviation

22 Ω @ 10% 19.8 Ω 24.2 Ω 22 Ω 0
68 Ω @ 5% 64.6 Ω 71.4 Ω 68 Ω 0
150 Ω @ 5% 142.5 Ω 157.5 Ω 150 Ω 0
330 Ω @ 10% 297 Ω 363 Ω 330 Ω 0
560 Ω @ 5% 532 Ω 588 Ω 560 Ω 0
1.2 k Ω @ 5% 1.08 kΩ 1.32 kΩ 1.2 kΩ 0
2.7 k Ω @ 10% 2.43 kΩ 2.97 kΩ 2.7 kΩ 0
8.2 k Ω @ 5% 7.79 kΩ 8.61 kΩ 8.2 kΩ 0
10 k Ω @ 5% 9.5 kΩ 10.5 kΩ 10 kΩ 0
33 k Ω @ 10% 29.7 kΩ 36.3 kΩ 33 kΩ 0
680 k Ω @ 10% 544 kΩ 816 kΩ 680 kΩ 0
5 M Ω @ 20 % 4.5 MΩ 5.5 MΩ 5 MΩ 0

Table 1.3

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Questions
1. What is the largest deviation in Table 1.3? Would it ever be possible to find a value that is outside the
stated tolerance? Why or why not?
There was no largest deviation in table 1.3. the measured numbers were tested thru electronic
workbench application.
It would never be possible to find a value that is outside the stated tolerance because each resistance
has its on value.

2. If Steps 3 and 4 were to be repeated with another batch of resistors, would the final two columns be
identical to the original Table 1.3? Why or why not?
No, because of the numbers are repeated.

3. Do the measured values of Table 3.3 represent the exact values of the resistors tested? Why or why

Yes, because of its tolerance.

Conclusion
Sometimes, the simulator application does not apply to reality. It could be applied, but for
approximation for electrical projects. As said in the Theory of this experiment, “resistors cannot be
manufactured to perfection. That is, there will always be some variance of the true value of the
component when compared to its nameplate or nominal value.”.

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