Tracks
/
Python
Python
/
Exercises
/
Resistor Color Expert
Resistor Color Expert

Resistor Color Expert

Easy

Introduction

If you want to build something using a Raspberry Pi, you'll probably use resistors. Like the previous Resistor Color Duo and Resistor Color Trio exercises, you will be translating resistor color bands to human-readable labels.

  • Each resistor has a resistance value.
  • Resistors are small - so small in fact that if you printed the resistance value on them, it would be hard to read. To get around this problem, manufacturers print color-coded bands onto the resistors to denote their resistance values.
  • Each band acts as a digit of a number. For example, if they printed a brown band (value 1) followed by a green band (value 5), it would translate to the number 15.

Instructions

In this exercise, you are going to create a helpful program so that you don't have to remember the values of the bands. The program will take 1, 4, or 5 colors as input and output the correct value in ohms. The color bands are encoded as follows:

  • black: 0
  • brown: 1
  • red: 2
  • orange: 3
  • yellow: 4
  • green: 5
  • blue: 6
  • violet: 7
  • grey: 8
  • white: 9

In Resistor Color Trio you decoded the first three color bands. For instance: orange-orange-brown translated to the main value 330. In this exercise you will need to add tolerance to the mix. Tolerance is the maximum amount that a value can be above or below the main value. For example, if the last band is green, the maximum tolerance will be ±0.5%.

The tolerance band will have one of these values:

  • grey - 0.05%
  • violet - 0.1%
  • blue - 0.25%
  • green - 0.5%
  • brown - 1%
  • red - 2%
  • gold - 5%
  • silver - 10%

The four-band resistor is built up like this:

Band_1 Band_2 Band_3 band_4
Value_1 Value_2 Multiplier Tolerance

Examples:

  • orange-orange-brown-green would be 330 ohms with a ±0.5% tolerance.
  • orange-orange-red-grey would be 3300 ohms with ±0.05% tolerance.

The difference between a four and five-band resistor is that the five-band resistor has an extra band to indicate a more precise value.

Band_1 Band_2 Band_3 Band_4 band_5
Value_1 Value_2 Value_3 Multiplier Tolerance

Examples:

  • orange-orange-orange-black-green would be 333 ohms with a ±0.5% tolerance.
  • orange-red-orange-blue-violet would be 323M ohms with a ±0.10 tolerance.

There are also one band resistors. One band resistors only have the color black with a value of 0.

Your program should translate an input list of resistor band colors into a label:

"... ohms ...%"

So an input list of ["orange", "orange", "black", "green"] should return:

"33 ohms ±0.5%"

When there are more than a thousand ohms, we say "kiloohms". That's similar to saying "kilometer" for 1000 meters, and "kilograms" for 1000 grams.

So an input list of ["orange", "orange", "orange", "grey"] should return:

"33 kiloohms ±0.05%"

When there are more than a million ohms, we say "megaohms".

So an input list of ["orange", "orange", "blue", "red"] should return:

"33 megaohms ±2%"

Edit via GitHub The link opens in a new window or tab
Python Exercism

Ready to start Resistor Color Expert?

Sign up to Exercism to learn and master Python with 17 concepts, 140 exercises, and real human mentoring, all for free.