Ohmic vs Non-Ohmic Conductors
This deep dive covers Ohmic vs Non-Ohmic Conductors within Resistance & Ohm's Law for GCSE Physics. Revise Resistance & Ohm's Law in Electricity for GCSE Physics with 16 exam-style questions and 30 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 5 of 16 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 5 of 16
Practice
16 questions
Recall
30 flashcards
⚡ Ohmic vs Non-Ohmic Conductors
Ohmic conductors: Resistance stays CONSTANT
- Examples: Fixed resistors, metal wires (at constant temperature)
- V-I graph is a straight line through the origin
- Obey Ohm's Law: V = IR with constant R
Non-ohmic components: Resistance CHANGES
- Filament lamp — R increases as it heats up (curved V-I graph)
- Diode — very high R in one direction, low R in the other (only allows current one way)
- Thermistor — R decreases as temperature increases
- LDR (light-dependent resistor) — R decreases as light intensity increases
Keep building this topic
Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Resistance & Ohm's Law. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.
Practice Questions for Resistance & Ohm's Law
Which of the following best describes electrical resistance?
Explain what is meant by an ohmic conductor.
Quick Recall Flashcards
16 questions on Resistance & Ohm's Law — practise free
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