What Is Tolerance? Understanding Resistors & Caps

[trashman]

I usually see it when I'm looking at stuff with with caps and resistors, but have no idea what it is, and i can't respect a value if i don't know what it is. i did a quick google and didnt find anything, maybe I am just not looking hard enough, but i thought i would ask

 

[DaveC426913]

I usually see it when I'm looking at stuff with with caps and resistors, but have no idea what it is, and i can't respect a value if i don't know what it is. i did a quick google and didnt find anything, maybe I am just not looking hard enough, but i thought i would ask

A resistor has a resistance with a margin of error called tolerance. It is usually 5, 10 or 20%. So, a 100 Ohm resistor with a tolerance of 10% might have an actual resistance anywhere from 90 to 110 Ohms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_color_code#Resistor.2C_capacitor_and_inductor"