Adding colours

• You can make all the colours of light

from just three colours: red, green,
and blue. RED

• These are called the primary

colours of light. Your eye detects
these three colours. You can make Magenta
any colour from different amounts
Yellow
of red, green and blue.
White
• When you mix two primary colours
you get secondary colours of light: BLUE GREEN
cyan, yellow, and magenta. You get Cyan
white light when you mix all three
colours of light.
 Adding colours
White light can be split up to make separate colours. These
colours can be added together again.

The primary colours of light are red, blue and green:

Adding blue and red Adding blue and

makes magenta green makes cyan
(purple) (light blue)

Adding red Adding all

and green three makes
makes yellow white again
QUICK CHECK: Adding colours
Describe what colour you see when the following primary
colours are added:

Colour combination Colour seen

Red + blue Magenta

Red + green Yellow

Blue + green Cyan

 Subtracting colours
Coloured lights on a stage can
make a spectacular display.
White light contains all the
colours of light so if you want
blue light you need to get rid of
all the other colours.
Why are objects different colours?
Use the diagram
opposite and the key
words below to help you
answer the question.
White light
Absorbs
Objects look coloured
because they reflect Reflects
certain colours Eye
of light and absorb
others
When the white light from the Sun hits
the leaf, the leaf absorbs all the other
colours except green. The green colour is
reflected into our eyes.
Seeing colour
The colour an object appears depends on the colours
of light it reflects.

For example, a red book only reflects red light:

White Only red light is

light reflected
Seeing colour A pair of purple trousers would reflect purple light
(and red and blue, as purple is made up of red and blue):

Purple light

A white hat would reflect all seven colours:

White
light
TASK: What colour would the following objects look like?
Colour object
Object Colour of light
seems to be
Red Red
Red socks Blue Black
Green Black
Red Black
Blue teddy Blue
Green
Red
Green camel Blue
Green
Red
Magenta book Blue
Green
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH1YH0zEAik
 KEY POINTS
1. Objects look coloured because they reflect certain
colours of light and absorb others.

2.Objects that look white reflect all of the colours of the

spectrum.

3. Objects that look black absorb all of the colours of the

spectrum.
 QUICK CHECK: Seeing colour

1) Why do objects look coloured?

reflect some colours of the spectrum
Objects look coloured because they ________
and ________
absorb other colours of the spectrum.

2) Why does the grass look green?

reflect green light and it ________
The grass looks green because it only ________ absorb all
of the other colours of the spectrum.

3) Why do white objects look white?

Objects look white because they ________
reflect all of the colours of the spectrum.

4) Why do black objects look black?

Objects look black because they ________
absorb all of the colours of the spectrum.

reflect absorb
 What do filters do to light?
A magenta filter
absorbs all colours…

…apart from red and blue.

A cyan filter
absorbs all colours…

…apart from green and blue.

A yellow filter
absorbs all colours...

…apart from red and

green.
 SUMMARY QUESTIONS
1. Copy the sentences below, choosing the correct bold words.

When white light goes through a prism, red light is reflected/refracted the
most/least and violet light is refracted the most/least. This is called
dispersion/refraction. A green filter absorbs/transmits green light and
absorbs/transmits the rest. A cyan object absorbs/reflects red light,
absorbs/reflects blue light, and absorbs/reflects green light. A magenta object
would look black in blue/green light. (10 marks)

2. Explain why a green shirt looks black in red light. (2 marks)

3. Explain in detail why you cannot have a white filter or a black filter. (6 marks)
EXTENSION: Can you make white light?

1. Colour the 8 segments in with the 7 colours of the

White Red
spectrum, (leave one section white) 
Violet Orange
2. Make a small hole in the center of the circle.
Indigo
Yellow
3. Push a pencil through the hole and twist it to spin
Blue Green your spectrum.

1. What colour does your disc make when you spin in?
2. Why did it make this colour and is it what you expected?
 Splitting white light into colours
White light is made up of seven different colours of light.
A prism splits a ray of white light into a spectrum of colours.
This is known as dispersion. Low
frequency

This is how rainbows

are formed: sunlight is
High “split up” by raindrops.
frequency

When white light is split, the colours always follow the same order. The
spectrum of white light is continuous. There are no gaps between the colours.
Use this phrase to remember the order of colours:

Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain

TASK Write one sentence about each diagram explaining what is happening

 A red filter subtracts colours from

white light. It transmits red light
and absorbs the rest.

 A blue filter subtracts colours

from white light. It transmits blue
light and absorbs the rest.

 If you put a blue and a red filter

together no light would get through
them.
 What do filters do to light?
A red filter
absorbs all
colours…

…apart from red light.

A blue filter absorbs
all colours…

…apart from blue light.

A green filter
absorbs all colours...

…apart from green

light.
 What do filters do to light?
If we shine white light on a colour filter, the light coming out of the filter is the
same colour as the filter.
Can you explain why?
The filter will absorb all colours of light apart from the colour of the filter. e.g.
a blue filter will absorb all the components of white light and allow blue light to
go through.

Only blue light goes through. The

White light made other components are absorbed.
of the “7 colours”
of the rainbow.

Blue filter
 QUICK CHECK: DISPERSION
Fill the gap:

white light goes through a prism it ____

When ____ splits____
up into all the colours of the

spectrum
rainbow. This is called a ________.

White light is made up of a mixture of colours. Each of these colours is

bent different amounts by the ____
refracted (____) prism because they ____
Slow down
____ by
different amounts when they get to the glass.

rainbows
This is how we get ________.
prism bent white
rainbows spectrum splits up slow down
 Dispersion
Dispersion happens because different colours of light are refracted by
different amounts.

Each of the colours

of the spectrum
[ROYGBIV] has a
slightly different
wave. What is the
difference?

Each colour has a different wavelength ().

 Dispersion
The different colours of light have different wavelengths, this means they are
bent (refracted) by different amounts.

Which colour is refracted the most?

Red light is refracted least because

it has the longest wavelength (lower
frequency).

Violet light is refracted the most

because it has the shortest
wavelength (high frequency).