Resistor Color Code Chart and Resistance Calculator
Resistors have standard colors for identification of the resistance value. In order, the colors are: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, gray, and white. Reading resistors is a very simple procedure if you use the chart and formula below.
Hold the resistor with the gold or silver band to the right and read the resistor from the left to the right.
|COLOR||1st DIGIT||2nd DIGIT||MULTIPLIER||TOLERANCE|
|Black||0||0||1||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Brown||1||1||10||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Red||2||2||100||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Orange||3||3||1,000||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Yellow||4||4||10,000||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Green||5||5||100,000||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Blue||6||6||1,000,000||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Violet||7||7||10,000,000||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|Gray||8||8||100,000,000||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
|White||9||9||1,000,000,000||Silver +/-10%; Gold +/-5%|
Resistance is calculated this way:
Resistance = (1st Digit x 10 + 2nd Digit) x Multiplier
Example: This resistor, read from left to right, has the colored bands of RED, VIOLET, YELLOW, SILVER.
Using the formula and chart above, the resistance would be:
R = 1st Digit x 10 + 2nd Digit) x Multiplier
R = (RED X 10 + VIOLET) x YELLOW
R = (2 x 10 + 7) x 10,000
R = 27 x 10,000
R = 270,000 ohm (270 K ohms)
Since the final band is silver, the tolerance is 10%.