What happens to a thermistor's resistance when the temperature increases?

A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance varies significantly with temperature changes. Specifically, for a most common type, the Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) thermistor, the resistance decreases when the temperature increases. This is due to the increased thermal energy, which allows charge carriers (such as electrons) to move more freely, thus reducing resistance.

When the temperature rises, the increased kinetic energy helps to overcome the energy barrier for conduction, resulting in more charge carriers being available. This leads to a lower resistance in the thermistor.

In contrast, there are Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) thermistors where resistance increases with temperature, but they operate differently. The question likely pertains to the more common scenario of NTC thermistors. Therefore, when considering the behavior of an NTC thermistor, the correct understanding is that as the temperature increases, the resistance decreases.