Study of electronic components

Resistor & Capacitor Color Code Lab

Resistor Color Coding

Resistor color coding is a standardized system used to denote resistance value, tolerance, and sometimes reliability. Color bands are read from left to right. Usually, 4-band and 5-band codes are used.

How to Read the Color Code

• 1st Band: First digit
• 2nd Band: Second digit
• Multiplier: Power of ten
• Tolerance Band: Accuracy

Standard Resistor Color Code Chart

Color	Digit	Multiplier	Tolerance
Black	0	×1	-
Brown	1	×10	±1%
Red	2	×100	±2%
Orange	3	×1,000	-
Yellow	4	×10,000	-
Green	5	×100,000	±0.5%
Blue	6	×1,000,000	±0.25%
Violet	7	×10,000,000	±0.1%
Gray	8	×100,000,000	±0.05%
White	9	×1,000,000,000	-
Gold	-	×0.1	±5%
Silver	-	×0.01	±10%

Capacitor Color Coding

Capacitor coding typically uses a 3-digit code. First two digits are significant figures, third is multiplier (power of 10). For example:

• 104 → 10 × 10⁴ = 100,000 pF = 0.1 µF
• 472 → 47 × 10² = 4,700 pF = 4.7 nF

Resistor & Capacitor Color Code Calculator

Select Resistor Bands

Band 1: Band 2: Multiplier: Tolerance:

- Ω

Select Capacitor Code

Capacitor Code:

- pF

Resistor & Capacitor Color Coding Quiz

1. What is the value of a resistor with the color bands Brown, Black, Red, Gold?

1 kΩ ±5% 10 Ω ±10% 100 Ω ±5% 1 Ω ±10%