Part 103-108: Resistors and Resistance Colour Codes Assignment - Answers with Commentary
Question 1
Give the colour codes for the following values of resistors ( ignore tolerance):
A chart of resistor colour codes is shown below.

The answers for four-band colour codes are given below in bold.
The five-band version will also be shown.
| Value | Band 1 | Band 2 | Multiplier | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 680 Ω | blue | grey | brown | 68 · 10 |
| 470 kΩ | yellow | violet | yellow | 47 · 10000 |
| 4M7 | yellow | violet | yellow | 47 · 100000. 4M7 is another way of writing 4.7 MΩ. |
| 470 MΩ | yellow | violet | violet | 47 · 10000000 |
| 0.22 Ω | red | red | silver | 22 · 0.01 |
| 8.2 Ω | grey | red | gold | 82 · 0.1 |
| 180 Ω | brown | grey | brown | 18 · 10 |
| 150 kΩ | brown | green | yellow | 15 · 10000 |
| 8k2 | grey | red | red | 82 · 100. 8k2 is another way of writing 8.2 kΩ. |
| 3.3 Ω | orange | orange | gold | 33 · 0.1 |
The answers for five-band colour codes are given below in bold.
For two significant digit resistances, the third band is always black, except for resistances less than 1 Ω. These have a first band that is black.
| Value | Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Multiplier | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 680 Ω | blue | grey | black | black | 680 · 1 |
| 470 kΩ | yellow | violet | black | orange | 470 · 1000 |
| 4M7 | yellow | violet | black | yellow | 470 · 10000. 4M7 is another way of writing 4.7 MΩ. |
| 470 MΩ | yellow | violet | black | blue | 470 · 1000000 |
| 0.22 Ω | black | red | red | silver | 022 · 0.01 |
| 8.2 Ω | grey | red | black | silver | 820 · 0.01 |
| 180 Ω | brown | grey | black | black | 180 · 1 |
| 150 kΩ | brown | green | black | orange | 150 · 1000 |
| 8k2 | grey | red | black | brown | 820 · 10. 8k2 is another way of writing 8.2 kΩ. |
| 3.3 Ω | orange | orange | black | silver | 330 · 0.01 |
Question 2
State the nominal resistance values of the following colour coded resistors. Answers to be in the appropriate S.I. engineering units. e.g. 15 kΩ and not 15000Ω or 1.5 · 104 Ω.
A chart of resistor colour codes is shown below.

The table of answers is shown below.
The RKM code version is also used. This version uses R, K, or M as the "decimal point". It avoids using the ohm symbol Ω, which has been difficult to find in "ordinary" character sets. R means ohms, so 4R7 means 4.7 Ω. K means kΩ, so 47K means 47 kΩ. M means megohms, so 3M9 means 3.9 MΩ. The RKM code is used where the decimal point may be difficult to read.
| Band 1 | Band 2 | Multiplier | Value | Value | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| orange | orange | brown | 330 Ω | 330R | 33 · 10 |
| brown | red | yellow | 120 kΩ | 120K | 12 · 10000 |
| brown | green | brown | 150 Ω | 150R | 15 · 10 |
| orange | white | blue | 39 MΩ | 39M | 39 · 1000000 |
| brown | black | green | 1 MΩ | 1M | 10 · 100000 |
| brown | grey | orange | 18 kΩ | 18K | 18 · 1000 |
| green | blue | gold | 5.6 Ω | 5R6 | 56 · 0.1 |
| blue | grey | silver | 0.68 Ω | R68 | 68 · 0.01. 0R68 would also be acceptable. |
| red | violet | green | 2.7 MΩ | 2M7 | 27 · 100000 |
| yellow | violet | orange | 47 kΩ | 47K | 47 · 1000 |