Physics

Resistance in a conductor depends on resistivity, which increases with temperature for metals like copper. The key insight is that as temperature rises, the lattice vibrations intensify, causing more collisions between charge carriers and atoms—this scatters electrons more frequently and reduces their drift velocity. Since $R = \rho \frac{L}{A}$ and $L$ and $A$ are fixed, you only need to track how resistivity $\rho$ changes with temperature. Higher temperature means higher resistivity, which means higher resistance.

Resistance in a conductor depends on resistivity, which increases with temperature for metals like copper. The key insight is that as temperature rises, the lattice vibrations intensify, causing more collisions between charge carriers and atoms—this scatters electrons more frequently and reduces their drift velocity. Since $R = \rho \frac{L}{A}$ and $L$ and $A$ are fixed, you only need to track how resistivity $\rho$ changes with temperature. Higher temperature means higher resistivity, which means higher resistance.