If a resistor has the colored bands orange, red, brown, and silver, what is its value?

To determine the value of a resistor using color bands, you start by decoding the color bands according to the standard resistor color code method. The bands represent the following values:

• The first band (orange) denotes the first digit; orange corresponds to 3.
• The second band (red) represents the second digit; red corresponds to 2.

• The third band (brown) is the multiplier; brown corresponds to a factor of 10^1, or simply a multiplication by 10.

Putting this together, you have:

1. The first digit (from the first band) is 3.
2. The second digit (from the second band) is 2.
3. The combined digits from the first and second bands give us 32.
4. The final value is obtained by multiplying this combination (32) by the multiplier indicated by the third band (10). Therefore, 32 multiplied by 10 yields 320 Ohms.

The fourth band (silver) indicates the tolerance of the resistor value, which is not needed for calculating the resistance value but provides information about the accuracy of the resistor.

Thus, the resistor value is correctly identified as 320 Ohms.