Introduction
Resistors are electrical components that limit the flow of current in a circuit. They are passive devices with two terminals and are common in almost every electronic circuit. Resistors are identified by color-coded bands that indicate their resistance value in ohms. A 470 K ohm resistor has a resistance of 470,000 ohms. Identifying the color bands on a resistor can be tricky, but with some basic knowledge it’s easy to determine the value.
Resistor Color Code
The resistor color code uses colored stripes to indicate the resistor’s value. Each color represents a numerical digit. Here is how the color code works:
- The first two bands represent the first two digits of the resistor value.
- The third band represents a multiplier or number of zeros to follow the first two digits.
- The fourth band represents the tolerance or accuracy of the resistor value.
Sometimes there is also a fifth band representing the temperature coefficient, which indicates how the resistance changes with temperature. This fifth band is mostly seen in precision or very low value resistors.
For the 470 K ohm resistor, here is what the color bands represent:
- First band: Yellow – indicates 4
- Second band: Violet – indicates 7
- Third band: Yellow – multiplier, indicates 4 zeros following 47 to make 470,000 ohms or 470 K ohms
- Fourth band: Gold – tolerance of ±5%
So a 470 K ohm resistor will have yellow, violet, yellow, and gold color bands. Easy!
Resistor Color Chart
Here is a resistor color chart showing the numerical values for each color:
| Color | Digit |
|---|---|
| Black | 0 |
| Brown | 1 |
| Red | 2 |
| Orange | 3 |
| Yellow | 4 |
| Green | 5 |
| Blue | 6 |
| Violet | 7 |
| Gray | 8 |
| White | 9 |
And here is the multiplier color chart:
| Color | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Black | 1 |
| Brown | 10 |
| Red | 100 |
| Orange | 1,000 |
| Yellow | 10,000 |
| Green | 100,000 |
| Blue | 1,000,000 |
| Violet | 10,000,000 |
| Gray | 100,000,000 |
| White | 1,000,000,000 |
| Gold | 0.1 |
| Silver | 0.01 |
As you can see, the yellow third band represents 10,000, so 470K ohms has yellow as the multiplier color band.
Tolerance Bands
The fourth band on the resistor indicates the tolerance, or precision of the resistance value. Here are common tolerance colors:
- Gold: ±5% tolerance
- Silver: ±10% tolerance
- No band: ±20% tolerance
Higher quality resistors will have tighter tolerance bands like gold or silver. Cheaper resistors may have no fourth band, indicating a loose ±20% tolerance.
For the 470K ohm resistor example, a gold tolerance band means the actual resistance should be within 470,000 ± 5% ohms. So anywhere from 446,500 to 493,500 ohms is acceptable.
Identifying 470 K Ohm Resistors
Now that you understand the resistor color code, identifying a 470 K ohm resistor is easy:
- Yellow – Digit 4
- Violet – Digit 7
- Yellow – 10,000 multiplier, makes 470,000 ohms
- Gold – ±5% tolerance
So a 470 K ohm resistor will have color bands in order: yellow, violet, yellow, gold.
You can double check your interpretation by looking at the physical spacing of the bands:
- 1st and 2nd bands close together – digits 47
- 3rd band separated – multiplier
- 4th band separated – tolerance
This physical spacing matches our decoding of the 470 K ohm resistor code.
Conclusion
Identifying resistor values from the color codes is a handy skill for anyone working with electronics. With some basic knowledge of the color chart and multiplier values, you can easily figure out the resistance of resistors even if the colors are faint or unclear. For the 470 K ohm resistor, look for color bands in order: yellow, violet, yellow, gold. This decodes to digits 47, multiplier 10,000 for 470,000 ohms, with a ±5% tolerance. Knowing how to read resistor color codes saves time and prevents mistakes in circuit building and testing.
