alleryStart learning →How do conductors, semiconductors and insulators rank by resistivity?
AConductors lowest, insulators highest
BInsulators lowest, conductors highest
CSemiconductors lowest, metals highest
DAll three groups share one value range
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Conductors lowest, insulators highest
1. Materials are grouped into three broad bands by the size of their resistivity.
2. Conductors have the smallest resistivities because they carry large free charge densities.
3. Insulators have the largest, because almost all their charges are bound to atoms.
4. Semiconductors sit between the two, with far fewer free charges than a conductor.
5. Reversing the order, as in option two, would make copper an insulator and rubber a wire.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 20 "Electric Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law", section 20.3 Resistance and Resistivity_
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