EXPERIMENT 4

Resistor measurement

OBJECTIVES:

● Upon completion, students are able to Identify resistors using resistor color coding;
● Identify the actual value of the resistor against the rated value.

THEORY:
Ohm’s Law affirms that the voltage V across the resistance R is directly proportional to
the current I passing through it, this is expresses mathematically as
[Eqn. 1]
V= IR
The unit of resistance is ohm ( Ω ) or volt/ampere. For common conductors such as
metals, the resistance is constant if there is no significant change in temperature. The
resistance of a resistor depends on its resistivity ƿ, length L, and cross sectional area A.
This is expressed mathematically as
[Eqn. 2]

R=
This experiment will study the application of ohm’s Law using a resistor with fixed
resistance. It should also be noted that an ideal ammeter has zero resistance so it
wouldn’t affect the current and current reading. A perfect voltmeter (the DMM for this
experiment), on the other hand, has infinite resistance to prevent itself from becoming an
alternate path of the current flowing through the circuit being measured.
Resistor color coding scheme is used in determining the resistance. The first two bands
identify the first two digits of the resistance, third band is the multiplier (by the power of
ten) of the first two bands, and the fourth gives the tolerance value. Refer to Figure 1
and Table 1 below for the illustrations.

1
 Table 1: Equivalent numerical value
Color Number Multiplier Tolerance
0
Black 0 1 x 10
Brown 1 1 x 101
Red 2 1 x 102
Orange 3 1 x 103
Yellow 4 1 x 104
Green 5 1 x 105
Blue 6 1 x 106
Violet 7 1 x 107
Gray 8 1 x 108
White 9 1 x 109
Gold 5%
Silver 10%
No band 20%

INSTRUMENTAL/MATERIALS NEEDED:
● Set of resistors
● Volt-Ohm-Milli-ammeter tester

2
PROCEDURES:
1. Using the color-coding chart identify the rating to the resistor.
2. Write the value of the resistor
__________________
Provide Picture

__________________
Provide Picture

__________________
Provide Picture

3. Using a VOM measure the individual resistance

4. Write the measured value on each resistor on the table provided.
Resistor Rating _________________
Test Device no. Measured Value

3
Resistor Rating _________________
Test Device no. Measured Value

Resistor Rating _________________

Test Device no. Measured Value

Questions:
1. Explain why deviation occurred between the color code and experimental
values of resistance. Where is it attributed?

2. Why does the resistor with the same indicated rating have different measured
value?

4
3. What will happen if the measured value is way below or way above the actual
value?

Observation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________