The resistor's resistance limits the flow of electrons through a circuit. Resistor units The electrical resistance of a resistor is measured in ohms . Schematic symbol All resistors have two terminals , one connection on each end of the resistor. When modeled on a schematic, a resistor will show up as one of these two symbols Resistor color code chart The chart below shows how to determine the resistance and tolerance for resistors. The table can also be used to specify the color of the bands when the values are known. An automatic resistor calculator can be used to quickly find the resistor values.