Which statement about electrical wire gauge is true?

• A. A smaller gauge number indicates a larger diameter wire
• B. A smaller gauge number indicates a higher resistance
• C. Larger gauge numbers have lower resistance
• D. The gauge number has no relation to wire diameter

Answer: (A)

In this topic, wire size is described using a gauge scale where the numbers move in the opposite direction to the wire’s thickness. As the gauge number gets smaller, the wire diameter gets larger. A larger diameter means more cross-sectional area, so the resistance per unit length decreases. That’s why having a smaller gauge number corresponds to a thicker wire and lower resistance, making this statement the correct one. The other ideas don’t fit because smaller numbers don’t indicate higher resistance, larger numbers don’t indicate lower resistance, and the gauge value does reflect the wire’s diameter. This relationship is why thicker wires are used for higher current and why resistance is lower in those wires.