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c h a p t e r

Resistance
No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross,
2
no crown.
William Penn

Historical Profiles
Georg Simon Ohm (17871854), a German physicist, in 1826
experimentally determined the most basic law relating voltage and cur-
rent for a resistor. Ohms work was initially denied by critics.
Born of humble beginnings in Erlangen, Bavaria, Ohm threw him-
self into electrical research. Ohms major interest was current electric-
ity, which had recently been advanced by Alessandro Voltas invention
of the battery. Using the results of his experiments, Ohm was able to
define the fundamental relationship among voltage, current, and resist-
ance. This resulted in his famous lawOhms lawwhich will be cov-
ered in this chapter. He was awarded the Copley Medal in 1841 by the
Royal Society of London. He was also given the Professor of Physics Georg Simon Ohm
SSPL via Getty Images
chair in 1849 by the University of Munich. To honor him, the unit of
resistance is named the ohm.

Ernst Werner von Siemens (18161892) was a German electrical

engineer and industrialist who played an important role in the devel-
opment of the telegraph.
Siemens was born at Lenthe in Hanover, Germany, the oldest of
four brothersall of whom were distinguished engineers and industri-
alists. After attending grammar school at Lbeck, Siemens joined the
Prussian artillery at age 17 for the training in engineering that his father
could not afford. Looking at an early model of an electric telegraph,
invented by Charles Wheatstone in 1837, Siemens realized its possi-
bilities for making improvements and for international communication.
He invented a telegraph that used a needle to point to the right letter,
Ernst Werner von Siemens
instead of using Morse code. He laid the first telegraph line in Germany Hulton Archive/Getty
with his brothers, William Siemens and Carl von Siemens. The unit of
conductance is named in his honor.

23
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24 Chapter 2 Resistance

2.1 Introduction
In the last chapter, we introduced some basic concepts such as current,
voltage, and power in an electric circuit. To actually determine the val-
ues of these variables in a given circuit requires that we understand some
fundamental laws that govern electric circuits. These lawsknown as
Ohms law and Kirchhoffs lawsform the foundation upon which
electric circuit analysis is built. Ohms law will be covered in this chap-
ter, while Kirchhoffs laws will be covered in Chapters 4 and 5.
We begin the chapter by first discussing resistanceits nature and
characteristics. We then cover Ohms law, conductance, and circular
wires. We present color coding for physically small resistors. We will
finally apply the concepts covered in this chapter to dc measurements.

2.2 Resistance
Materials in general have a characteristic behavior of opposing the flow
of electric charge. This opposition is due to the collisions between elec-
trons that make up the materials. This physical property, or ability to
resist current, is known as resistance and is represented by the symbol
R. Resistance is expressed in ohms (after Georg Simon Ohm), which
is symbolized by the capital Greek letter omega (). The schematic
symbol for resistance or resistor is shown in Fig. 2.1, where R stands
for the resistance of the resistor.

The resistance R of an element denotes its ability to resist the flow

R
of electric current; it is measured in ohms ().

The resistance of any material is dictated by four factors:

1. Material propertyeach material will oppose the flow of current
Figure 2.1 differently.
Circuit symbol for resistance. 2. Lengththe longer the length , the more is the probability of col-
lisions and, hence, the larger the resistance.
3. Cross-sectional areathe larger the area A, the easier it becomes
for electrons to flow and, hence, the lower the resistance.
4. Temperaturetypically, for metals, as temperature increases, the
l
resistance increases.
Thus, the resistance R of any material with a uniform cross-sectional area
A and length  (as shown in Fig. 2.2) is directly proportional to the length
and inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area. In mathematical form,
Material with
resistivity
/
Cross-sectional Rr (2.1)
area A A
Figure 2.2
A conductor with uniform cross section. where the Greek letter rho r is known as the resistivity of the mate-
rial. Resistivity is a physical property of the material and is measured
in ohm-meters (-m).
The cross section of an element can be circular, square, rectangu-
lar, and so on. Because most conductors are circular in cross-section,
the cross-sectional area may be determined in terms of the radius r or
diameter d of the conductor as
d 2 pd2
A  pr2  pa b  (2.2)
2 4
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2.2 Resistance 25

TABLE 2.1

Resistivities of common materials.

Material Resistivity (-m) Usage
8
Silver 1.64  10 Conductor
Copper 1.72  108 Conductor
Aluminum 2.8  108 Conductor
Gold 2.45  108 Conductor
Iron 1.23  107 Conductor
Lead 2.2  107 Conductor
Germanium 4.7  101 Semiconductor
Silicon 6.4  102 Semiconductor
Paper 1010 Insulator
Mica 5  1011 Insulator
Glass 1012 Insulator
Teflon 3  1012 Insulator

The resisitivity r varies with temperature and is often specified for

room temperature.
Table 2.1 presents the values of r for some common materials at
room temperature (20C). The table also shows that materials can be
classified into three groups according to their usage: conductors, insu-
lators, and semiconductors. Good conductors, such as copper and alu-
minum, have low resistivities. Of those materials shown in Table 2.1,
silver is the best conductor. However, a lot of wires are made of cop-
per because copper is almost as good and is much cheaper. In general,
the resistance of a conductor increases with a rise in temperature. Insu-
lators, such as mica and paper, have high resistivities. They are used
in forming the insulating coating of copper wires. Semiconductors,
such as germanium and silicon, have resistivities that are neither high
nor low. They are used in making transistors and integrated circuits.
There is even a considerable range within the conductor group.
Nichrome (an alloy of nickel, chrome, and iron) has resistivity roughly
58 times greater than that of copper. For this reason, Nichrome is used
in making resistors and heating elements.
The circuit element used to model the current-resisting behavior
of a material is the resistor. For the purpose of constructing circuits,
resistors shown in Fig. 2.3 are usually made from metallic alloys and
carbon compounds. The resistor is the simplest passive element.

Figure 2.3
From top to bottom 14-W, 12 -W, and 1-W resistors.
Sarhan M. Musa
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26 Chapter 2 Resistance

Example 2.1 Calculate the resistance of an aluminum wire that is 2 m long and of
circular cross section with a diameter of 1.5 mm.

Solution:
We first calculate the cross-sectional area:

pd 2 p(1.5  10 3 ) 2
A   1.767  106 m2
4 4
From Table 2.1, we obtain the resistivity of aluminum as r 
2.8  108 -m. Thus,
r/ 2.8  108  2
R 
A 1.767  106
 31.69 m

Practice Problem 2.1 Determine the resistance of an iron wire having a diameter of 2 mm
and a length of 30 m.

Answer: 1.174 

Example 2.2 A copper bus bar is shown in Fig. 2.4. Calculate the length of the bar
that will produce a resistance of 0.5 .

Solution:
The bus bar has a uniform cross section so that Eq. (2.1) applies. But
the cross section is rectangular so that the cross-sectional area is
A  Width  Breadth  (2  103 )  (3  103 )
 6  106 m2  6 mm2

3 mm

2 mm
Figure 2.4
A copper bus bar; for Example 2.2.

From Table 2.1, the resistivity of copper is obtained as r 

1.72  108 -m. Thus,

/ RA
Rr /
A r

0.5  6  106
/  174.4 m
1.72  10 8
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2.3 Ohms Law 27

A conducting bar with triangular cross section is shown in Fig. 2.5. If Practice Problem 2.2
the bar is made of lead, determine the length of the bar that will pro-
duce a resistance of 1.25 m.

4 mm

6 mm

Figure 2.5
For Practice Problem 2.2.

Answer: 6.82 cm

2.3 Ohms Law

Georg Simon Ohm (17871854), a German physicist, is credited with
finding the relationship between current and voltage for a resistor. This
relationship is known as Ohms law. That is,

V r I (2.3)

Ohms law states that the voltage V across a resistor is directly pro-
portional to the current I flowing through the resistor.

Ohm defined the constant of proportionality for a resistor to be the

resistance R. (The resistance is a material property that could change
if the internal or external conditions of the element were altered, e.g.,
if there were changes in the temperature.) Thus, Eq. (2.3) becomes

V  IR (2.4)

which is the mathematical form of Ohms law. In Eq. (2.4), we recall

that the voltage V is measured in volts, the current I is measured in
amperes, and the resistance R is measured in ohms. We may deduce
from Eq. (2.4) that
V
R (2.5)
I
so that
1   1 V1 A (2.6) I
We may also deduce from Eq. (2.4) that
V +
I (2.7)
R V R

Thus, Ohms law can be stated in three different ways, as in Eqs. (2.4),
(2.5), and (2.7).
To apply Ohms law as stated in Eq. (2.4), for example, we must
pay careful attention to the current direction and voltage polarity. The Figure 2.6
direction of current I and the polarity of voltage V must conform with Direction of current I and polarity of volt-
the convention shown in Fig. 2.6. This implies that current flows from age V across a resistor R.
sad28078_ch02_023-046.qxd 12/5/11 4:54 PM Page 28

28 Chapter 2 Resistance

a higher potential to a lower potential in order for V  IR. If current

flows from a lower potential to a higher potential, then V  IR.
+ I
(When the polarity of the voltage across the resistor is not specified,
always place the plus sign at the terminal where the current enters.)
Source V=0 R=0
Because the value of R can range from zero to infinity, it is impor-
tant that we consider the two extreme possible values of R. An element

with R  0 is called a short circuit, as shown in Fig. 2.7(a). For a short
circuit,
(a)
V  IR  0 (2.8)

showing that the voltage is zero but the current could be anything. In
+ I=0 practice, a short circuit is usually a connecting wire assumed to be a
perfect conductor. Thus
Source V R=

A short circuit is a circuit element with resistance approaching zero.

Similarly, an element with R   is known as an open circuit, as

(b) shown in Fig. 2.7(b). For an open circuit,
Figure 2.7
(a) Short circuit (R  0); (b) open circuit V V
I  0 (2.9)
(R   ). R 
indicating that the current is zero though the voltage could be anything.
Thus,

An open circuit is a circuit element with resistance approaching infinity.

Example 2.3 An electric iron draws 2 A at 120 V. Find its resistance.

Solution:
From Ohms law,
V 120
R   60 
I 2

Practice Problem 2.3 The essential component of a toaster is an electrical element (a resis-
tor) that converts electrical energy to heat energy. How much current
is drawn by a toaster with resistance of 12  at 110 V?

Answer: 9.17 A

Example 2.4 In the circuit shown in Fig. 2.8, calculate the current I.

I Solution:
+ The voltage across the resistor is the same as the source voltage (30 V)
30 V V 5 k because the resistor and the voltage source are connected to the same

pair of terminals. Hence,
V 30
Figure 2.8 I   6 mA
For Example 2.4. R 5  103
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2.4 Conductance 29

If I  8 mA in the circuit shown in Fig. 2.9, determine the value of Practice Problem 2.4
resistance R.
I
Answer: 1.5 k
12 V R

2.4 Conductance Figure 2.9

A useful quantity in circuit analysis is the reciprocal of resistance R, For Practice Problem 2.4.
known as conductance and denoted by G:

1 I
G  (2.10)
R V

The conductance is a measure of how well an element will conduct

electric current. The old unit of conductance is the mho (ohm spelled

backward) with symbol , the inverted omega. Although engineers
still use mhos, in this book we will prefer to use the SI unit of con-
ductance, the siemens (S), in honor of Werner von Siemens:

1S1  1 A1 V (2.11)

Thus,

Conductance is the ability of an element to conduct electric current;

it is measured in siemens (S).

[We should not confuse S for siemens with s (seconds) for time.] The
same resistance can be expressed in ohms or siemens. For example,
10  is the same as 0.1 S. From Eqs. (2.1) and (2.10), we may write

A sA
G  (2.12)
r/ /
where the Greek letter sigma s  1r  conductivity of the material
(in S/m).

Find the conductance of the following resistors: (a) 125  (b) 42 k Example 2.5
Solution:
(a) G  1R  1 (125 )  8 mS
(b) G  1R  1 (42  103 )  23.8 mS

Determine the conductance of the following resistors: Practice Problem 2.5

(a) 120 
(b) 25 M

Answers: (a) 8.33 mS (b) 40 nS

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30 Chapter 2 Resistance

2.5 Circular Wires

Circular wires are commonly used in several applications. We use wires
to connect elements, but those wires have resistance and a maximum
allowable current. So we need to choose the right size. Wires are
arranged in standard gauge numbers, known as AWG (American Wire
Gauge). This designation of cables and wires is in the English system.
In the English system,
1,000 mils  1 in (2.13a)
or
1
1 mil  in  0.001 in (2.13b)
1000
A unit of cross-sectional area used for wires is the circular mil (CM),
which is the area of a circle having diameter of 1 mil. From Eq. (2.2),

pd2 p(1 mil) 2 p

A   sq mil (2.14)
4 4 4

Thus,
p
1 CM  sq mil (2.15a)
4
or
4
1 sq mil  CM (2.15b)
p
If the diameter of a circular wire is in mils, the area in circular mils is

ACM  d 2mil (2.16)

A listing of data for standard bare copper wires is provided in

Table 2.2, where d is the diameter and R is the resistance for 1000 ft.
(Notice the wire diameter decreases as the gauge number increases.)
As you might guess, the maximum allowable currents are just a rule
of thumb. The steel industry uses a different numbering system for their
wire thickness gages (e.g., U.S. Steel Wire Gauge) so that the data in
Table 2.2 do not apply to steel wire. See Fig. 2.10 for different sizes
of wires. Typical household wiring is AWG number 12 or 14. Tele-
phone wire is usually 22, 24, or 26 gauge. The following examples will
illustrate how to use the table.

Figure 2.10
Insulated wires of different gauges.
Sarhan M. Musa
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2.5 Circular Wires 31

TABLE 2.2

American wire gauge (AWG) sizes at 20C.

Maximum
allowable
AWG # d(mil) Area (CM) R (/1000 ft) current (A)
0000 460 211,600 0.0490 230
000 409.6 167,810 0.0618 200
00 364.8 133,080 0.0780 175
0 324.9 105,530 0.0983 150
1 289.3 83,694 0.1240 130
2 257.8 66,373 0.1563 115
3 229.4 52,634 0.1970 100
4 204.3 41,740 0.2485 85
5 181.9 33,102 0.3133
6 162 26,250 0.3951 65
7 144 20,820 0.4982
8 128.5 16,510 0.6282 50
9 114.4 13,090 0.7921
10 101.9 10,381 0.9989 30
11 90.74 8,234 1.260
12 80.81 6,530 1.588 20
13 71.96 5,178 2.003
14 64.08 4,107 2.525 15
15 57.07 3,257 3.184
16 50.82 2,583 4.016
17 45.26 2,048 5.064
18 40.30 1,624 6.385
19 35.89 1,288 8.051
20 31.96 1,022 10.15
21 28.46 810.10 12.80
22 25.3 642.40 16.14
23 22.6 509.5 20.36
24 20.1 404.01 25.67
25 17.9 320.40 32.37
26 15.94 254.10 40.81
27 14.2 201.50 51.57
28 12.6 159.79 64.90
29 11.26 126.72 81.83
30 10.03 100.50 103.2
31 8.928 79.70 130.1
32 7.95 63.21 164.1
33 7.08 50.13 206.9
34 6.305 39.75 260.9
35 5.6 31.52 329.0
36 5 25 414.8
37 4.5 19.83 523.1
38 3.965 15.72 659.6
39 3.531 12.47 831.8
40 3.145 9.89 1049
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32 Chapter 2 Resistance

Example 2.6 Calculate the resistance of 840 ft of AWG #6 copper wire.

Solution:
From Table 2.2, the resistance of 1000 ft of AWG #6 is 0.3951 .
Hence, for a length of 840 ft,

0.3951 
R  840 ft a b  0.3319 
1000 ft

Practice Problem 2.6 Find the resistance of 1200 ft of AWG #10 copper wire.

Answer: 199 

Example 2.7 Find the cross-sectional area of a AWG #9 having a diameter of

114.4 mil.

ACM  (114.4) 2  13,087 CM

Practice Problem 2.7 What is the cross-sectional area in CM of a wire with a diameter of
0.0036 in.?

Answer: 12.96 CM

2.6 Types of Resistors

Different types of resistors have been created to meet different require-
ments. Some resistors are shown in Fig. 2.11. The primary functions
of resistors are to limit current, divide voltage, and dissipate heat.
A resistor is either fixed or variable. Most resistors are of the fixed
type; that is, their resistance remains constant. The two common types

Figure 2.11
Different types of resistors.
Sarhan M. Musa
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2.6 Types of Resistors 33

of fixed resistors (wirewound and composition) are shown in Fig. 2.12.

Wirewound resistors are used when there is a need to dissipate a large
amount of heat, while the composition resistors are used when large
resistance is needed. The circuit symbol in Fig. 2.1 is for a fixed resis-
tor. Variable resistors have adjustable resistance. The symbol for a vari-
able resistor is shown in Fig. 2.13. There are two main types of variable
resistors: potentiometer and rheostat. The potentiometer or pot for
(a)
short, is a three-terminal element with a sliding contact or wiper. By
sliding the wiper, the resistances between the wiper terminal and the
fixed terminals vary. The potentiometer is used to adjust the amount of
voltage provided to a circuit, as typically shown in Fig. 2.14. A poten-
tiometer with its adjuster is shown in Fig. 2.15. The rheostat is a two-
or three-terminal device that is used to control the amount of current
within a circuit, as typically shown in Fig. 2.16. As the rheostat is
adjusted for more resistance and less current flow, and the motor slows (b)
down and vice versa. It is possible to use the same variable resistor as Figure 2.12
a potentiometer or a rheostat, depending on how it is connected. Like Fixed resistors: (a) wirewound type;
fixed resistors, variable resistors can either be of wirewound or com- (b) carbon film type.
Courtesy of Tech America
position type, as shown in Fig. 2.17. Although fixed resistors shown in
Fig. 2.12 are used in circuit designs, today, most circuit components
(including resistors) are either surface mounted or integrated, as typi-
cally shown in Fig. 2.18. Surface mount technology (SMT) is being
used to implement both digital and analog circuits. An SMT resistor is
shown in Fig. 2.19.
It should be pointed out that not all resistors obey Ohms law. A
(a) (b)
resistor that obeys Ohms law is known as a linear resistor. It has a con-
stant resistance, and thus its voltage-current characteristic is as illus- Figure 2.13
Circuit symbols for a variable resistor.
trated in Fig. 2.20(a); that is, its V-I graph is a straight line passing
through the origin. A nonlinear resistor does not obey Ohms law. Its
resistance varies with current and its V-I characteristic is typically shown

V R

Figure 2.14
Variable resistor used as a potentiometer.

Figure 2.15
Potentiometers with their adjusters.
Sarhan M. Musa

R
V Motor
(a) (b)

Figure 2.16 Figure 2.17

Variable resistor used as a rheostat. Variable resistors: (a) composition type; (b) slider pot.
Courtesy of Tech America
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34 Chapter 2 Resistance

Figure 2.18
Resistors in an integrated circuit board.
Eric Tomey/Alamy RF

Slope = R

I
(a)

Slope = R

I
(b)

Figure 2.20
The V-I characteristics of a Figure 2.21
Figure 2.19 (a) linear resistor; Diodes.
Surface mount resistor. (b) nonlinear resistor. Sarhan M. Musa
Greg Ordy
in Fig. 2.20(b). Examples of devices with nonlinear resistance are the
lightbulb and the diode1 (see Fig. 2.21). Although all practical resistors
may exhibit nonlinear behavior under certain conditions, we will assume
in this book that all objects actually designated as resistors are linear.

1
A diode is a semiconductor device that acts like a switch; it allows charge/current to
flow in only one direction.
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2.7 Resistor Color Code 35

2.7 Resistor Color Code

Some resistors are physically large enough to have their values printed
on them. Other resistors are too small to have their values printed on
them. For such small resistors, color coding provides a way of deter- A B C D E
mining the value of resistance. As shown in Fig. 2.22, the color cod- Figure 2.22
ing consists of three, four, or five bands of color around the resistor. Resistor color codes.
The bands are illustrated in Table 2.3 and explained as follows:

0 Black Big
A  First significant figure of resistance value 1 Brown Boys
B  Second significant figure of resistance value 2 Red Race
3 Orange Our
C  Multiplier of resistance for resistance value 4 Yellow Young
D  Tolerance rating (in %) 5 Green Girls
E  Reliability factor (in %) 6 Blue But
7 Violet Violet
*We read the bands from left to right. 8 Gray Generally
9 White Wins

The first three bands (A, B, and C) specify the value of the resistance. Figure 2.23
Memory aid for color codes.
Bands A and B represent the first and second digits of the resistance
value. Band C is usually given as a power of 10 as in Table 2.3. If
present, the fourth band (D) indicates the tolerance percentage. For
example, a 5 percent tolerance indicates that the actual value of the
resistance is within 5 of the color-coded value. When the fourth band
is absent, the tolerance is taken by default to be 20 percent. The fifth
band (E), if present, is used to indicate a reliability factor, which is a
statistical indication of the expected number of components that will
fail to have the indicated resistance after working for 1,000 hours. As
shown in Fig. 2.23, the statement Big Boys Race Our Young Girls,
But Violet Generally Wins can serve as a memory aid in remember-
ing the color code.

TABLE 2.3

Resistor color code.

Band A Band B
significant significant Band C Band D Band E
Color figure figure multiplier tolerance reliability
Black N/A 0 100
Brown 1 1 101 1%
Red 2 2 102 0.1%
Orange 3 3 103 0.01%
Yellow 4 4 104 0.001%
Green 5 5 105
Blue 6 6 106
Violet 7 7 107
Gray 8 8 108
White 9 9 109
Gold 0.1 5%
Silver 0.01 10%
No color 20%
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36 Chapter 2 Resistance

Example 2.8 Determine the resistance value of the color-coded resistor shown in
Fig. 2.24.

Solution:
Band A is blue (6); band B is red (2); band C is orange (3); band D is
Figure 2.24 gold (5%); and band E is red (0.1%). Hence,
For Example 2.8.
R  62  103   5% tolerance with a reliability of 0.1%
 62 k  3.1 k with a reliability of 0.1%
This means that the actual resistance of the color-coded resistor will
fall between 58.9 k (62  3.1) k and 65.1 k (62  3.1) k. The
reliability of 0.1% indicates that 1 out of 1,000 will fail to fall within
the tolerance range after 1,000 hours of service.

Practice Problem 2.8 What is the resistance value, tolerance, and reliability of the color-
coded resistor shown in Fig. 2.25?

Answer: 3.3 M  10% with a reliability of 1%

Figure 2.25
For Practice Problem 2.8.

Example 2.9 A resistor has three bands onlyin order green, black, and silver. Find
the resistance value and tolerance of the resistor.

Solution:
Band A is green (5); band B is black (0); and band C is silver (0.01).
Hence
R  50  0.01  0.5 
Because the fourth band is absent, the tolerance is, by default, 20 percent.

Practice Problem 2.9 What is the resistance value and tolerance of a resistor having bands
colored in the order yellow, violet, white, and gold?

Answer: 47 G  5%

Example 2.10 A company manufactures resistors of 5.4 k with a tolerance of

10 percent. Determine the color code of the resistor.

Solution:
R  5.4  103  54  102
From Table 2.3, green represents 5; yellow stands for 4; while red
stands for102. The tolerance of 10 percent corresponds to silver. Hence,
the color code of the resistor is:
Green, yellow, red, silver
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2.8 Standard Resistor Values 37

If the company in Example 2.10 also produces resistors of 7.2 M Practice Problem 2.10
with a tolerance of 5 percent and reliability of 1 percent, what will be
the color codes on the resistor?

Answer: Violet, red, green, gold, brown

2.8 Standard Resistor Values

One would expect resistor values are commercially available in all val-
ues. For practical reasons, this would not make sense. Only a limited
number of resistor values are commercially available at reasonable cost.
The list of standard values of commercially available resistors is pre-
sented in Table 2.4. These are the standard values that have been agreed
to for carbon composition resistors. Notice that the values range from
0.1  to 22 M. While 10 percent tolerance resistors are available only
for those values in bold type at reasonable cost, 5 percent tolerance
resistors are available in all values. For example, a 330- resistor could
be available either as a 5 or 10 percent tolerance component, while a
110-k resistor is available only as 5 percent tolerance component.
When designing a circuit, the calculated values are seldom stan-
dard. One may select the nearest standard values or combine the stan-
dard values. In most cases, selecting the nearest standard value may

TABLE 2.4

Standard values of commercially available resistors.

Ohms Kilohms Megohms
() (k) (M)
0.10 1.0 10 100 1000 10 100 1.0 10.0
0.11 1.1 11 110 1100 11 110 1.1 11.0
0.12 1.2 12 120 1200 12 120 1.2 12.0
0.13 1.3 13 130 1300 13 130 1.3 13.0
0.15 1.5 15 150 1500 15 150 1.5 15.0
0.16 1.6 16 160 1600 16 160 1.6 16.0
0.18 1.8 18 180 1800 18 180 1.8 18.0
0.20 2.0 20 200 2000 20 200 2.0 20.0
0.22 2.2 22 220 2200 22 220 2.2 22.0
0.24 2.4 24 240 2400 24 240 2.4
0.27 2.7 27 270 2700 27 270 2.7
0.30 3.0 30 300 3000 30 300 3.0
0.33 3.3 33 330 3300 33 330 3.3
0.36 3.6 36 360 3600 36 360 3.6
0.39 3.9 39 390 3900 39 390 3.9
0.43 4.3 43 430 4300 43 430 4.3
0.47 4.7 47 470 4700 47 470 4.7
0.51 5.1 51 510 5100 51 510 5.1
0.56 5.6 56 560 5600 56 560 5.6
0.62 6.2 62 620 6200 62 620 6.2
0.68 6.8 68 680 6800 68 680 6.8
0.75 7.5 75 750 7500 75 750 7.5
0.82 8.2 82 820 8200 82 820 8.2
0.91 9.1 92 910 9100 91 910 9.1
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38 Chapter 2 Resistance

provide adequate performance. To ease calculations, most of the resis-

tor values used in this book are nonstandard.

2.9 Applications: Measurements

Resistors are often used to model devices that convert electrical energy
into heat or other forms of energy. Such devices include conducting
wires, lightbulbs, electric heaters, stoves, ovens, and loudspeakers.
Also, by their nature, resistors are used to control the flow of current.
We take advantage of this property in several applications such as in
potentiometers and meters. In this section, we will consider meters
the ammeter, voltmeter, and ohmmeter, which measure current, volt-
age, and resistance, respectively. Being able to measure current I,
voltage V, and resistance R is very important.

The voltmeter is the instrument used to measure voltage; the ammeter

is the instrument used to measure current; and the ohmmeter is the
instrument used to measure resistance.

It is common these days to have the three instruments combined into

one instrument known as a multimeter, which may be analog or digital.
An analog meter is one that uses a needle and calibrated meter to display
the measured value; that is, the measured value is indicated by the pointer
of the meter. A digital meter is one in which the measured valued is shown
in form of a digital display. The digital meters are more commonly used
today. Because both analog and digital meters are used in the industry,
one should be familiar with both. Figure 2.26 illustrates a typical analog
multimeter (combining voltmeter, ammeter, and ohmmeter) and a typical
digital multimeter. The digital multimeter (DMM) is the most widely used
instrument. Its analog counterpart is the volt-ohm-milliammeter (VOM).
To measure voltage, we connect the voltmeter/multimeter across
the element for which the voltage is desired, as shown in Fig. 2.27.
The voltmeter measures the voltage across the load and is therefore
connected in parallel2 with the element.

(a) (b)
Figure 2.26
(a) Analog multimeter; (b) digital multimeter.
(a) iStock; (b) Oleksy Maksymenko/Alamy RF

2
Two elements are in parallel if they are connected to the same two points.
sad28078_ch02_023-046.qxd 12/5/11 4:57 PM Page 39

2.9 Applications: Measurements 39

V
+
+
V R + Voltmeter


+

Figure 2.27
Measuring voltage.

To measure current, we connect the ammeter/multimeter in series3

with the element under test, as shown in Fig. 2.28. The meter must be
connected such that the current enters through the positive terminal to
get a positive reading. The circuit must be broken; that is, the cur-
rent path must be interrupted so that the current must flow through the
ammeter. (The ampclamp is another device for measuring ac current.)

I Ammeter
+
mA
+
+ R + Ohmmeter

V R +

Figure 2.29
Figure 2.28 Measuring resistance.
Measuring current.

To measure resistance of an element, connect the ohmmeter/

multimeter across it, as shown in Fig. 2.29. If the element is connected
to a circuit, one end of the element must first be disconnected from the
circuit before we measure its resistance. Because the resistance of a
wire with no breaks is zero, the ohmmeter can be used to test for con-
tinuity. If the wire has a break, the ohmmeter connected across it will
read infinity. Thus, the ohmmeter can be used to detect a short circuit
(low resistance) and an open circuit (high resistance).
When working with any of the meters mentioned in this section,
it is good practice to observe the following:
1. If possible, turn the circuit power off before connecting the meter.
2. To avoid damaging the instrument, it is best to always set the meter
on the highest range and then move down to the appropriate range.
(Most DMMs are auto-ranging.)
3. When measuring dc current or voltage, observe proper polarity.
4. When using a multimeter, make sure you set the meter in the cor-
rect mode (ac, dc, V, A, ), including moving the test idea to the
appropriate jacks.
5. When the measurement is completed, turn off the meter to avoid
draining the internal battery of the meter.
This leads to the issue of safety in electrical measurement.

3
Two elements are in series if they are cascaded or connected sequentially.
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40 Chapter 2 Resistance

2.10 Electrical Safety Precautions

Now that we have learned how to measure current, voltage, and resist-
ance, we need to be careful how we handle the instruments so as to
avoid electric shock or harm. Because electricity can kill, being able
to make safe and accurate measurements is an integral part of the
knowledge that you must acquire.

2.10.1 Electric Shock

When working on electric circuits, there is the possibility of receiving
an electric shock. The shock is due to the passage of current through
your body. An electric shock can startle you and cause you to fall down
or be thrown down. It may cause severe, rigid contractions of the mus-
cles, which in turn may result in fractures, dislocations, and loss of
consciousness. The respiratory system may be paralyzed and the
heart may beat irregularly or even stop beating altogether. Electrical
burns may be present on the skin and extend into deeper tissue. High
current may cause death of tissues between the entry and exit point of
the current. Massive swelling of the tissues may follow as the blood in
the veins coagulates and the muscles swell. Thus, electric shock can
cause muscle spasms, weakness, shallow breathing, rapid pulse, severe
burns, unconsciousness, or death.

Electric shock is an injury caused by an electrical current passing

through the body.

The human body has resistance that depends on several factors

such as body mass, skin moisture, and points of contact of the body
with the electric appliance. The effects of various amounts of current
in milliamperes (mA) is shown in Table 2.5.

2.10.2 Precautions
Working with electricity can be dangerous unless you adhere strictly
to certain rules. The following safety rules should be followed when-
ever you are working with electricity:
Always make sure that the circuit is actually dead before you begin
working on it.
Always unplug any appliance or lamp before repairing it.
Always tape over the main switch, empty fuse socket, or circuit
breaker when youre working. Leave a note there so no one will
accidentally turn on the electricity. Keep any fuses youve removed
in your pocket.

TABLE 2.5

Electric shock
Electric Current Physiological effect
Less than 1mA No sensation or feeling
1 mA Tingling sensation
520 mA Involuntary muscle contraction
20100 mA Loss of breathing, fatal if continued
sad28078_ch02_023-046.qxd 12/5/11 4:57 PM Page 41

2.11 Summary 41

Handle tools properly and make sure that the insulation on metal
tools is in good condition.
If measuring V or I, turn on the power and record reading. If meas-
uring R, do not turn on power.
Refrain from wearing loose clothing. Loose clothes can get caught
in an operating appliance.
Always wear long-legged and long-sleeved clothes and shoes and
keep them dry.
Do not stand on a metal or wet floor. (Electricity and water do not
mix.)
Make sure there is adequate illumination around the work area.
Do not work while wearing rings, watches, bracelets, or other
jewelry.
Do not work by yourself.
Discharge any capacitor that may retain high voltage.
Work with only one hand a time in areas where voltage may be high.
Protecting yourself from injury and harm is absolutely imperative. If
we follow these safety rules, we can avoid shock and related accidents.
Thus, our rule should always be safety first.

2.11 Summary
1. A resistor is an element in which the voltage, V, across it is directly
proportional to the current, I, through it. That is, a resistor is an
element that obeys Ohms law.
V  IR
where R is the resistance of the resistor.
2. The resistance R of an object with uniform cross-sectional area A
is evaluated as resistivity r times length  divided by the cross-
section area A, that is,

r/
R
A

3. A short circuit is a resistor (a perfectly conducting wire) with zero

resistance (R  0). An open circuit is a resistor with infinite resist-
ance (R   ) .
4. The conductance G of a resistor is the reciprocal of its resistance R:
1
G
R
5. For a circular wire, the cross-sectional area is measured in circu-
lar mils (CM). The diameter in mils is related to the area in CM as

ACM  d2mil

6. American Wire Gauge is a standard system for designating the

diameter of wires.
7. There are different types of resistors: fixed or variable, linear or
nonlinear. Potentiometer and rheostat are variable resistors that are
used to adjust voltage and current, respectively. Common types of
sad28078_ch02_023-046.qxd 12/5/11 4:57 PM Page 42

42 Chapter 2 Resistance

resistors include carbon or composition resistors, wirewound resis-

tors, chip resistors, film resistors, and power resistors.
8. A resistor is usually color coded when it is not physically large
enough to print the numerical value of the resistor on it. The state-
ment Big Boys Race Our Young Girls, But Violet Generally
Wins is a memory aid for the color code: black, brown, red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, gray, and white.
9. For carbon composition resistors, standard values are commer-
cially available in the range of 0.1  to 22 M.
10. Voltage, current, and resistance are measured using a voltmeter,
ammeter, and ohmmeter, respectively. The three are measured
using a multimeter such as a digital multimeter (DMM) or a
volt-ohm-milliammeter (VOM).
11. Safety is all about preventing accidents. If we follow some safety
precautions, we should have no problems working on electric
circuits.

Review Questions
2.1 Which of the following materials is not a conductor? 2.6 The conductance of a 10-m resistor is:
(a) Copper (b) Silver (c) Mica (a) 0.1 mS (b) 0.1 S
(d) Gold (e) Lead (c ) 10 S (d) 100 S
2.2 The main purpose of a resistor in a circuit is to: 2.7 Potentiometers are types of:
(a) resist change in current (a) fixed resistors (b) variable resistors
(b) produce heat (c) meters (d) voltage regulators
(c) increase current 2.8 What is the area in circular mils of a wire that has a
(d) limit current diameter of 0.03 in.?
2.3 An element draws 10 A from a 120-V line. The (a) 0.0009 (b) 9
resistance of the element is: (c ) 90 (d) 900
(a) 1200  (b) 120  2.9 All resistors are color coded.
(c) 12  (d) 1.2 
(a) True (b) False
2.4 The reciprocal of resistance is:
2.10 Digital multimeters (DMM) are the most widely
(a) voltage (b) current used type of electronic measuring instrument.
(c) conductance (d) power
(a) True (b) False
2.5 Which of these is not the unit of conductance?
(a) ohm (b) Siemen Answers: 2.1c, 2.2d, 2.3c, 2.4c, 2.5a, 2.6d, 2.7b, 2.8d,

(c) mho (d) 2.9b, 2.10a

Problems
Section 2.2 Resistance 2.2 Find the length of a copper wire that has a resistance
of 0.5  and a diameter of 2 mm.
2.1 A 250-m-long copper wire has a diameter of 2.2 mm.
Calculate the resistance of wire. 2.3 A 2-in.  2-in. square bar of copper is 4 ft long. Find
its resistance.
sad28078_ch02_023-046.qxd 12/5/11 4:57 PM Page 43

Problems 43

2.4 If an electrical hotplate has a power rating of 1200 W V

and draws a current of 6 A, determine the resistance
of the hotplate.
2.5 A Nichrome (r  100  108 m) wire is used
to construct heating elements. What length of a
2-mm-diameter wire will produce a resistance
of 1.2  ?
I
2.6 An aluminum wire of radius 3 mm has a resistance (a)
of 6 . How long is the wire?
V
2.7 A graphite cylinder with a diameter of 0.4 mm and a
length of 4 cm has resistance of 2.1 . Determine
the resistivity of the cylinder.
2.8 A certain circular wire of length 50 m and diameter
0.5 m has a resistance of 410  at room temperature.
Determine the material the wire is made of.
I
2.9 If we shorten the length of a conductor, why does the (b)
conductor decrease in resistance?
V
2.10 Two wires are made of the same material. The first
wire has a resistance of 0.2 . The second wire is
twice as long as the first wire and has a radius that is
half of the first wire. Determine the resistance of the
second wire.
2.11 Two wires have the same resistance and length. The
first wire is made of copper, while the second wire is I
made of aluminum. Find the ratio of the cross- (c)
sectional area of the copper wire to that of the
aluminum wire. Figure 2.30
For Problem 2.13.
2.12 High-voltage power lines are used in transmitting
large amounts of power over long distances.
Aluminum cable is preferred over copper cable due
to low cost. Assume that the aluminum wire used for
high-voltage power lines has a cross-sectional area
of 4.7  104 m2. Find the resistance of 20 km of 2.19 If a current of 30 mA flows through a 5.4-M
this wire. resistor, what is the voltage?
2.20 A current of 2 mA flows through a 25- resistor.
Section 2.3 Ohms Law Find the voltage drop across it.
2.21 An element allows 28 mA of current to flow through
2.13 Which of the graphs in Fig. 2.30 represent Ohms law?
it when a 12-V battery is connected to its terminals.
2.14 When the voltage across a resistor is 60 V, the Calculate the resistance of the element.
current through it is 50 mA. Determine its
2.22 Find the voltage of a source which produces a
resistance.
current of 10 mA in a 50- resistor.
2.15 The voltage across a 5-k resistor is 16 V. Find the
2.23 A nonlinear resistor has I  4  102 V2. Find I for
current through the resistor.
V  10, 20, and 50 V.
2.16 A resistor is connected to a 12-V battery. Calculate
2.24 Determine the magnitude and direction of the current
the current if the resistor is:
associated with the resistor in each of the circuits in
(a) 2 k (b) 6.2 k Fig. 2.31.
2.17 An air-conditioning compressor has resistance 6 . 2.25 Determine the magnitude and polarity of the voltage
When the compressor is connected to a 240-V across the resistor in each of the circuits in Fig. 2.32.
source, determine the current through the circuit.
2.26 A flashlight uses two 3-V batteries in series to
2.18 A source of 12 V is connected to a purely resistive provide a current of 0.7 A in the filament. (a) Find
lamp and draws 3 A. What is the resistance of the the potential difference across the flashlight bulb.
lamp? (b) Calculate the resistance of the filament.
sad28078_ch02_023-046.qxd 12/5/11 4:57 PM Page 44

44 Chapter 2 Resistance

15 V +
10 9V + 10 30 V + 6

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 2.31
For Problem 2.24.

4A 10 20 mA 10 6 mA 2

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 2.32
For Problem 2.25.

Section 2.4 Conductance 2.34 Find the diameter in inches for wires having the
following cross-sectional areas:
2.27 Determine the conductance of each of the following
resistances: (a) 420 CM (b) 980 CM

(a) 2.5  (b) 40 k (c) 12 M 2.35 Calculate the area in circular mils of the following
conductors:
2.28 Find the resistance for each of the following
conductances: (a) circular wire with diameter 0.012 in.
(b) rectangular bus bar with dimensions
(a) 10 mS (b) 0.25 S (c) 50 S
0.2 in.  0.5 in.
2.29 When the voltage across a resistor is 120 V, the
2.36 How much current will flow in a #16 copper wire
current through it is 2.5 mA. Calculate its
1 mi long connected to a 1.5-V battery?
conductance.
2.30 A copper rod has a length of 4 cm and a conductance Section 2.7 Resistor Color Code
of 500 mS. Find its diameter.
2.37 Find the resistance value having the following color
2.31 Determine the battery voltage V in the circuit shown
codes:
in Fig. 2.33.
I = 4 mA
(a) blue, red, violet, silver
(b) green, black, orange, gold

+ 2.38 Determine the range (in ohms) in which a resistor

V 5 mS having the following bands must exist.

Band A Band B Band C Band D
(a) Brown Violet Green Silver
(b) Red Black Orange Gold
Figure 2.33 (c) White Red Gray
For Problem 2.31.

Section 2.5 Circular Wires 2.39 Determine the color codes of the following resistors
with 5 percent tolerance.
2.32 Using Table 2.2, determine the resistance of 600 ft of
#10 and #16 AWG copper. (a) 52  (b) 320 
2.33 The resistance of a copper transmission line cannot (c) 6.8 k (d) 3.2 M
exceed 0.001 , and the maximum current drawn by 2.40 Find the color codes of the following resistors:
the load is 120 A. What gauge wire is appropriate?
Assume a length of 10 ft. (a) 240  (b) 45 k (c) 5.6 M
sad28078_ch02_023-046.qxd 12/5/11 4:57 PM Page 45

Problems 45

2.41 For each of the resistors in Problem 2.37, find the

4
minimum and maximum resistance within the MS 10
5 3
2 OH
MS
OH
tolerance limits. 20
100
150
30
200
1

20 6 40
50 4 8 25
0 50 0
2.42 Give the color coding for the following resistors: 1k
20 10
2 10
15
20
50
10

0
6 8
4 3
5 2 4 2
0 10 5

30 0 DC
(a) 10 , 10 percent tolerance 0 2

0 AC
6 2
0 6 5
AC C 1 4 8

1
2 3
D 0 0 10 12 0
0 2
AC S 0 4 11 dB 6

AC PS
(b) 7.4 k, 5 percent tolerance P 10 m

AM
AM

20
m
dB
(c) 12 M, 20 percent tolerance

Analog Multimeter
Section 2.9 Applications: Measurements
OFF

AC
600 600

lts
2.43 How much voltage is the multimeter in Fig. 2.34 300 300

DC Vo
60

Volt
reading? 12 60
12

s
3
0.3 3
5 4 3
MS 10 2 OH
MS
OH 0.06 x1
20 150 1
200 x10

mA

Ohm
100 30 1.2
40
50
20
4
6
8 25 x100
0 50 0 12 x1K

DC
20 10 15 50

s
10 20 10
1k 2 0
4
6
3
8
25
120 x100K
0 5 2 4
30 0 DC

0 2 10
0 AC
6 2

6
AC C
0 1 4 8 5 Ohms
1

D 0 0
2
10 3
12 0
+
0
AC S 0 4
2
11 dB 6 Adj
AC PS

P 10 m
AM

AM
20
m
dB

Analog Multimeter Figure 2.35

OFF
For Problem 2.44.
AC

600 600
lts

300 300
DC Vo

60
Volt

12 60 V
12
s

3
0.3 3

0.06 x1 +
x10
mA

1.2
Ohm

x100 Vs Lamp A
12 x1K
DC

120 x100K

Ohms +
Adj

Figure 2.36
For Problem 2.46.
Figure 2.34
For Problem 2.43. R1

2.44 Determine the voltage reading for the multimeter in

Fig. 2.35.
+
2.45 You are supposed to check a lightbulb to see whether V1 R2
is burned out or not. Using an ohmmeter, how would
you do this?
2.46 What is wrong with the measuring scheme in
Fig. 2.36? Figure 2.37
2.47 Show how you would place a voltmeter to measure For Problems 2.47, 2.48, and 2.49.
the voltage across resistor R1 in Fig. 2.37.
2.48 Show how you would place an ammeter to measure
the current through resistor R2 in Fig. 2.37. Section 2.10 Electrical Safety Precautions
2.49 Explain how you would connect an ohmmeter to 2.51 What causes electric shock?
measure the resistance R2 in Fig. 2.37. 2.52 Mention at least four safety precautions you would
2.50 How would you use an ohmmeter to determine the take when taking measurements.
on and off states of a switch?
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