Band C on a resistor color code represents which part of the value?

• A. Decimal multiplier
• B. First digit
• C. Second digit
• D. Tolerance

Answer: (A)

In resistor color coding, the value is built from digits and a multiplier. The first two bands give the significant digits, and the third band is the multiplier of the figures—it tells you where the decimal point lands by multiplying the two digits by a power of ten. So the third band represents the decimal multiplier.

For example, if the first two bands read 4 and 7 (giving 47) and the third band indicates ×100, the resistance is 47 × 100 = 4700 Ω (4.7 kΩ). The fourth band (if present) would be the tolerance, which is separate from the numeric value.