Module no.

4
Contents:
The Resistance
The Effect of Temperature on the
Resistance
Resistor Color Coding
Work, Power, and Energy
Topic Objectives:
To define the meaning of resistance
To explain the effect of temperature on the
resistance of the wire
To identify the values of resistor using color
codes
To solve problems dealing resistor color coding
To differentiate energy from work and power
RESISTANCE = the opposition to the flow of current (char

opposition due to collisions and friction between fre

electrons

collision and friction converts electrical energy into

FACTORS affecting resistance of material

1. Type of material ()
L_
2. Length (L) R =
3. Cross sectional Area (A) A
4. Temperature of the material (T)
where:
= CM / ft at T = 20oC (room temp)
= resistivity constant
L = length in feet
A = area in circular mils (CM)
CIRCULAR MILS (CM)
mil = a unit of measurement for length

1 mil = 1__ inch (or 0.001inch)

1000
1000 mils = 1 inch

Circular mil vs. Square mil

By definition;
1 mil d = 1 mil
A wire with a diameter
1 mil A = 1CM of 1 mil has an area
of 1 CM.
Applying the definition to a wire having a diameter of 1 m

A = d 2

= (1) 2
= sq. mil = 1 CM
4 4 4

Since 1 CM = sq. mils

4
4
Therefore; 1 sq. mil = CM

So for a wire with a diameter of N mils,

A = (N)2 sq. mils
4

= (N)2 4[ CM ]
4
A = N2 CM or ACM = (dmils)2
since d = N
Sample Problems:

1. Find the area of a wire with a diameter of 1/8 inch.

2. What is the resistance of a 100ft length of copper wire

0.020 inch diameter at 20oC? ( at 20o = 10.37 CM /

3. An undetermined number of feet of wire have been us

with a diameter of 1/16 inch and the resistance is 0.5
What is the length of the wire? (same )

4. What is the diameter of a wire in inch, with an area of

6925CM?
 Temperature Effects on the Resistance of a copper wire

For good conductors, an

increase in temperature
will result in an increase in
the resistance level
R
(+) Temperature
coefficient

Temp
R
(-)Temperature
coefficient

Temp

http://www.electriccircuits.net/book,6,chapter,319,lesson,1470,thermoelectricity.aspx
 Resistance Curve R
R2
R1

X
(Absolute Zero)
-273.15oC

-234.5oC 0C
o
T1 T2
(Inferred Absolute Zero)
Y
Using Similar Triangles

X = Y /234.5/ + T1 /234.5/ + T2
=
R1 R2 R1 R2

Note: Inferred absolute temp varies depending on material

Initial Temperature (Ti) of selected materials in oC

Silver - 234
Copper - 234.5
Gold - 274
Aluminum - 236
Tungsten - 204
Nickel - 147
Iron - 162
General Equation:

/Ti / + T1 /Ti / + T2
=
R1 R2
Sample Problems:

1. If the resistance of a copper wire is 50 at 20oC, what

resistance at 100oC?

2. If the resistance of a copper wire at freezing

temperature is
30, what is its resistance at -40 o C?
3. If the resistance of an aluminum at room
temperature
(20 oC) is 100m, at what temperature will it
become 120m?
Temperature coefficient of resistance

Example: Observe how wire temperature affect wire

resistance

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_12/5.html
At 20o Celsius, we get 12.5 volts across the load and a total of 1.5
volts (0.75 + 0.75) dropped across the wire resistance.
If the temperature were to rise to 35o Celsius, we could easily
determine the change of resistance for each piece of wire. Assuming
the use of copper wire ( = 0.004041) we get:

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_12/5.html
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_12/5.html
TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENTS OF RESISTANCE, AT 20 DEGREES C

Material Element/Alloy "alpha" per degree Celsius

==========================================================

Nickel -------- Element --------------- 0.005866

Iron ---------- Element --------------- 0.005671
Molybdenum ---- Element --------------- 0.004579
Tungsten ------ Element --------------- 0.004403
Aluminum ------ Element --------------- 0.004308
Copper -------- Element --------------- 0.004041
Silver -------- Element --------------- 0.003819
Platinum ------ Element --------------- 0.003729
Gold ---------- Element --------------- 0.003715
Zinc ---------- Element --------------- 0.003847
Steel* --------- Alloy ---------------- 0.003
Nichrome ------- Alloy ---------------- 0.00017
Nichrome V ----- Alloy ---------------- 0.00013
Manganin ------- Alloy ------------ +/- 0.000015
Constantan ----- Alloy --------------- -0.000074
 Resistor Color Coding
Scheme

There are three types of resistor color coding. They have

different number of color bands and hence provide
different information. This is illustrated by the next table.
You can calculate the value of an unknown resistor by
entering its color code in the fields below the table.

4-band color code 5-band color code 6-band color code

2 digits, multiplier, 3 digits, multiplier, 3 digits, multiplier,
tolerance tolerance tolerance,
thermal coefficient

http://www.breakup.de/resources/resistor.html
How to read Resistor Color Codes

Black Brown Red OrangeYellow Green Blue Violet Gray

White
0 1 2 3 4 5 67 8
9 THE MNEMONIC Tolerance%

B - Bad 0 (Black) Go
B - Boy 1 (Brown) Sil
R - Ravish 2 (Red) No color - (20%)
O - Our 3 (Orange)
Y - Young 4 (Yellow)
G - Girls 5 (Green)
B - But 6 (Blue)
V- Violeta 7 (Violet)
G - Gave 8 (Gray)
W - Willingly9 (White)

http://xtronics.com/kits/rcode.htm
http://users.etech.fh-hamburg.de/users/gelab/Html/Inhalte/resistor-color-code.htm
Sample Problems:

Find the resistance value in ohms and the percent

tolerance of:
a) Red, Violet, Orange, Silver
b) Brown, Black, Brown, Silver
c) Green, Blue, Green, Gold
d) Red, Violet, Gold, Silver
e) Red, Violet, Black, Gold, Red
f) Yellow, Black, Red, Black, Brown
g) Orange, Orange, Red, Orange, Green

Give the color code for each value of resistor

a) 3305%
b) 2.2k10%
c) 100k5%
d) 510%
We are now ready to analyze
circuits of different configurations