CHAPTER 3 : RESISTOR

Definition of resistor
- The resistor is defined as a component or material that may prevent or limit the current flow
in the circuit. It also produces a voltage drop and dissipate energy.
- The symbol for resistance is R.
- Unit is ohm ().
- Symbol of resistance

Fixed resistor

Variable resistor

- Types of Resistors
In general, the resistor can be divided into two groups:
i)
fixed resistors
ii)
variable resistor
i) Fixed Resistors
Fixed resistor - the value of a resistor can be obtained from the color code
Tolerance is the relief of actual value. The smaller of tolerance value, the more
accurate reading of the resistor.
Rated power is the maximum power that can be accepted by the resistance without
incurring damage. If the power is exceeded, the resistor will be damaged by excessive
heat.
Stability is the ability of a resistor to maintain the resistance value even the ambient
temperature are change.

ii) Variable resistor

Variable resistor is a resistor that can be changed by moving the contact resistance
elements. Variable resistor is used in circuits that require changes in current and voltage.
There are two major types :
a) Rotary: The most common for of variable resistor or potentiometer is a rotary version.
This versions of potentiometer uses a rotary motion to move the slider around a track that
compromises most of a circle, with contacts at either end of the track in the area where
part of the circle is missing. This form is widely used with knobs on a spindle for the actual

control, and they are found in many applications from providing adjustments on test
equipment through to being used for volume controls on domestic radios.
b) Slider: Slider controls are those variable resistors that slide in a linear fashion, i.e. in a
straight line. These controls take up more front panel space, but are much easier to use
under some circumstances. For example they are widely used for audio mixers and
lighting desks. The advantage of sliders is that it is easier to control them quite precisely
and compare the relative positions of a number of sliders. It is also possible to control a
number of sliders together.

- Factor affecting resistance

The value of resistance is influenced by several factors as follows;
a)

The length of the conductor (wire) (L)

Unit of length is meter (m).
The resistance is proportional to the length of conductor.
R L

b)

Cross-sectional area of conductor (A)

Unit of Cross-sectional area is in square meters (m2).
The resistance is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area (A) of conductor R .
R

L
A

Which is the smaller cross-sectional area (A) of conductor, may effect the higher resistance
value.
c)

Type of substances/material
or resistivity is representing the nature or type of conducting material.
R

d)

Temperature (T)
FORMULA

R L
A

EXERCISE :
1.
Given a resistance copper wire is 21 . The length of wire is 200m and the thick of wire is
0.4mm. Calculate a resistance (p) for this wire .
2. The resistance of conductor wire is 20 . The cross-sectional area of the conductor is 0.043m2
and a resistance is 0.491 m. Calculate how long the conductor.

Resistor color code

Resistor color code used in a small resistor. Resistor value is found by reading the lines on the
resistor color code. The table below shows the resistor color code table. Most resistors have four
bands. The first three lines give the reading of a nominal value of the resistor, while the fourth band
indicates the tolerance.
Resistor commonly has four bands. Table 1 shows the value of colour band for a resistor.

RESISTOR COLOR CODE

Colours
BLACK
BROWN
RED
ORANGE
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
VIOLET
GREY
WHITE
GOLD
SILVER
NONE

Band 1
Digit 1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Band 2
Digit 2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Band 3
Multiplier
1
10
100
1000
10000
100000
1000000
10000000
100000000
1000000000
0.1
0.01

Table 1

Band 4
Tolerance
5%
10%
20%

Example
Satu perintang mempunyai jaluran warna berikut : kuning, ungu, merah dan emas.
Tentukan :
i) Nilai namaan
ii) Julat nilai sebenar rintangan

Penyelesaian:
i)

Kuning
4

Ungu

Merah

Had terima

100 = 4700 atau 4.7 k

ii) Jalur had terima ialah emas iaitu 5%.

had terima

4700 0.05
=

235

Oleh itu, julat nilai rintangan = (4700 + 235) = 4935 (had atas)
hingga
=(4700 - 235) = 4465 (had bawah)

Series, parallel and series parallel connections

There are two basic ways in which to connect more than two circuit components: series and
parallel.
a)

SERIES CONNECTION

The basic idea of a "series" connection is that components are connected end-to-end in a line
to form a single path for electrons to flow:

The properties of series circuits

a. Resistance total
Rt =R1 +R2 +R3

Example:
Let's start with a series circuit consisting of three resistors and a single battery:

the total resistance of any series circuit is equal to the sum of the individual resistances

b)

PARALLEL CIRCUITS

The basic idea of a "parallel" connection, is that all components are connected across each other's
leads.

Now, let's look at the other type of circuit, a parallel configuration:

If two or more components are connected in parallel they have the same potential difference (voltage)
across their ends.
The total current I is the sum of the currents through the individual components, in accordance with
Kirchhoffs current law.
The current in each individual resistor is found by Ohm's law. Factoring out the voltage gives

.
To find the total resistance of all components, add the reciprocals of the resistances Ri of each

component and take the reciprocal of the sum.

For only two resistors, the unreciprocated expression is reasonably simple:

This sometimes goes by the mnemonic "product over sum".

For N equal resistors in parallel, the reciprocal sum expression simplifies to:
.
and therefore to:
.
c)

COMPLEX CIRCUIT
Terdapat dua kaedah penyelesaian bagi litar komplek:
i)

Kaedah satu persatu

Example 1
Find the resistor total is shown the circuit below

3
B

150

200
1

Ra

Rb

Solution

Ra 2 // 1

2 1 2
0.667
2 1 3

Rb 3 // 2

3 2 6
1.2
3 2 5

RT 150 Ra 200 Rb
RT 150 0.667 200 1.2
RT 351.667
Example 2

A more complex example of a series-parallel resistor circuit is shown below

Solution
Using the same procedure as above we first work out the equivalent resistance of each of the
parallel combinations to get the effective resistance in series with R1. We begin with the
resistors R4 and R5
R5-4 = 1/(1/37 + 1/45) = 20.3
Now we work out the resistance in each of the parallel branches. For the top branch the
resistance is equal to the sum of the resistors R2 andR3
R3-2 = 49 + 51 = 100
for the bottom branch it is equal to the sum of the resistors R6 andR5-4
R6-5-4 = 75 + 20.3 = 95.3
Now we are left with a circuit equivalent to the figure below

So all that is left is to work out the effective resistance of the parallel combination R6-5-4 and
R3-2
R6-5-4-3-2 = 1/(1/100 + 1/95.3) = 48.8
So the total circuit resistance is
RT = 80 + 48.8 = 128.8

b)

Transformation of Delta Star

A resistor network is arranged in the form of Delta can be converted to the form and
arrangement of stars instead of easy calculation.
A resistive network consisting of three impedances can be connected together to form a T or
"Tee" configuration but the network can also be redrawn to form a Star or type network as shown
below.
T-connected and Equivalent Star Network

As we have already seen, we can redraw the T resistor network to produce an equivalent Star or
type network. But we can also convert a Pi or type resistor network into an equivalent Delta or
type network as shown below.

Pi-connected and Equivalent Delta Network.

Formula from Delta to Star Conversion

A

R3

Ra

R1
Rc

R2

Rb

C
Figure 3.16 (b)

Figure 3.16 (a)

Figure 3.16 (a) shows three resistors, and connected by a delta between the terminals A, B and C.
The three resistors can be replaced by resistors Ra, Rb and Rc are joined by a star (Figure 3.16 (b).
R AB = R1

( R2 + R3 )

R BC = R2

( R1

+ R3 )

R1 x( R2 R3 )
R1 ( R2 R3 )

R1R2 R1R3
.. (i)
R1 R2 R3

R2 x( R1 R3 )
R2 ( R1 R3 )

R1 R2 R2 R3
(ii)
R1 R2 R3

and

10

R AC = R3

( R1

+ R2 )

R3 x ( R1 R2 )
R3 ( R1 R2 )

R1 R3 R2 R3
(iii)
R1 R2 R3

Figure 3.16 (b), the resistance between terminals A and B are

R AB

= Ra + Rb .. (iv)

R BC

= Rb + Rc

R AC

= Ra

...(v)

+ Rc (vi)

Connect the equations from Figure 3.16 (a) and (b), then
R1 R2 R1 R3
Ra + Rb =
R1 R2 R3

(1)

Rb + Rc =

R1 R2 R2 R3
R1 R2 R3

.(2)

Ra + Rc =

R1 R3 R2 R3
R1 R2 R3

.(3)

Equation (1) - (2)

Ra - Rc

R1 R3 R2 R3
R1 R2 R3

.(4)

Equation (3) + (4)

2Ra

and

2 R1 R3
R1 R2 R3
Ra

Rb

Rc

R1 R3
..(1.1)
R1 R2 R3
R1 R2
R1 R2 R3

R2 R3
..(1.3)
R1 R2 R3

Conversion formula from Star to Delta

Equation (1.1) (1.3)

Equation (1.2) (1.3)

..(1.2)

Ra
Rc

R2

Rb
Rc

11

R1
R2
R1 Rc
Ra

R1
R3

R3
Tukargantikan R 2

dan R 3

R1 Rc

Rb

ke dalam persamaan (1)

R1 ( R1 Rc / Ra ) R1 ( R1 Rc / Rb)

Ra + Rb =

=
=

R1 ( R1 Rc / Ra ) ( R1 Rc / Rb)
R1 [( R1 Rc / Ra ) ( R1 Rc / Rb)]
R1 [1 ( Rc / Ra) ( Rc / Rb)]

[( R1 RbRc) ( R1 RaRc)]
RaRb RbRc RaRc

R1 ( RbRc RaRc )
RaRb RbRc RaRc

R1

( Ra Rb)( RaRb RbRc RaRc)

Rc ( Ra Rb)

R1

R2

R3

Ra + Rb + Ra Rb
Rc
RbRc
Rb + Rc +
Ra
Ra + Rc +

RaRc
Rb

Ra
R3

R1

Rc

Rb
B
R2

Figure 3.17

12

R1 R3
R1 R2 R3

Ra =

R 1 = Ra + Rb + Ra Rb
Rc

Rb =

R1 R2
R1 R2 R3

R 2 = Rb + Rc +

RbRc
Ra

Rc =

R2 R3
R1 R2 R3

R3

RaRc
Rb

= Ra + Rc +

Example
Find the value of resistance for this circuit

Solution

Rb
Ra

Rc

Ra =

58
= 2.105
586

Rb =

5 6
= 1.579
586

Rc =

8 6
= 2.526
586

13

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