Lesson 4

Resistance
and
Resisitivity
Sophia Faye S. Biong
Resistance
• is the hindrance to the flow of charge
• The symbol for resistance is an uppercase
italic R.
• The unit of resistance is the ohm.
• The symbol for ohm is an uppercase Greek
letter Ω (omega)
• Resistance is something like friction for
electric current.
 Variables
Affecting
Electrical
Resistance
 Total Length Of The Wires
Will Affect The Amount Of
Resistance.
• The longer the wire, the more resistance
that there will be. There is a direct
relationship between the amount of
resistance encountered by charge and the
length of wire it must traverse.
• After all, if resistance occurs as the result
of collisions between charge carriers and
the atoms of the wire, then there is likely
to be more collisions in a longer wire.
More collisions mean more resistance.
The Cross-sectional Area Of
The Wires Will Affect The
Amount Of Resistance.
• Wider wires have a greater cross-sectional
area. Water will flow through a wider pipe
at a higher rate than it will flow through
a narrow pipe.
• This can be attributed to the lower amount of
resistance that is present in the wider pipe. In the
same manner, the wider the wire, the less
resistance that there will be to the flow of electric
charge. When all other variables are the same,
charge will flow at higher rates through wider
wires with greater cross-sectional areas than
through thinner wires.
 The Material That A
Wire Is Made Of.
• Not all materials are created equal in
terms of their conductive ability. Some
materials are better conductors than
others and offer less resistance to the flow
of charge.
• The conducting ability of a material is often
indicated by its resistivity. The resistivity of a
material is dependent upon the material's
electronic structure and its temperature. For
most (but not all) materials, resistivity
increases with increasing temperature.
 Resisitivities 𝜌 of various materials at 20℃
Materials Coefficient ᵨ (Ω - m)
Conductors
Silver 1.59 x 10−8
Copper 1.72 x 10−8
Gold 2.44 x 10−8
Aluminum 2.65 x 10−8
Tungsten 5. 6 x 10−8
Iron 9.71 x 10−8
Lead 22 x 10−8
Mercury 96 x 10−8
Manganin (Cu, Mn, Ni alloy) 44 x 10−8
Semiconductors
Carbon (pure) 3.5 x 105
Germanium (pure 600 x 10−3
Silicon (pure) 2300
Mathematical
Nature of
Resistance
• Resistance is a numerical quantity that can be
measured and expressed mathematically.
• The standard metric unit for resistance is the ohm,
represented by the Greek letter omega (Ω)
• The equation representing the dependency of the
resistance (R) of a cylindrically shaped conductor
(e.g., a wire) upon the variables that affect it is
 𝜌𝑙
• R=
𝐴
• where L represents the length of the wire (in
meters), A represents the cross-sectional area
of the wire (in meters ), and represents the
2

resistivity of the material (in ohm•meter).

 Temperature
Variation of
Resistance
• Resistance depends on the geometry of a
conductor as well as on what the
conductor is made from, but it also
depends on temperature
• The resistivity of conductors increases
with increasing temperature
• For small temperature changes the resistivity
varies linearly with temperature:
ρ = 𝜌0 1 + α∆𝑇
• where a is the temperature coefficient of
resistivity.
• We often write this in terms of resistance
instead:
• R = Ro (1 + α∆𝑇)
 Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity
1
Material Coefficient α ( )
℃
Conductors
Silver 3.8 x 10−3
Copper 3.9 x 10−3
Gold 3.4 x 10−3
Aluminum 3.9 x 10−3
Tungsten 4.5 x 10−3
Iron 5.0 x 10−3
Lead 3.9 x 10−3
Mercury 0.89 x 10−3
Semicondutors
Carbon (pure) -0.5 x 10−3
Germanium (pure) -50 x 10−3
Silicon (pure) -70 x 10−3