Which band of color on a resistor indicates tolerance?

• A. First
• B. Second
• C. Fourth
• D. Third

Answer: (C)

Tolerance is shown by the last color band on a standard 4-band resistor. The first two bands give the significant digits, the third band is the multiplier, and the fourth band tells you how much the actual resistance can vary from its stated value. Common tolerance colors map to numbers like brown 1%, red 2%, gold 5%, and silver 10%. So a resistor with bands red, violet, yellow, gold would be read as 27 × 10^4 ohms (270 kΩ) with 5% tolerance. On five-band resistors, the last band is still the tolerance, while the first four bands provide the digits and multiplier.