Jessica Bartman

Physics 300 Lab

November 9, 2015
Lab Experiment: Colors
Purpose
To understand how the additive and subtractive primary colors combine to produce different
colors.
Materials
Color console, color filters [red, green, blue], magnifying glass, chromatography paper, color
markers, 500 mL beaker
Procedure
1. Describe the resulting colors
a. Red and blue
The red and blue filters created a shade of purple.
b. Red and green
The red and green filters created a shade of brown.
c. Blue and green
The blue and green filters created cyan.
d. Blue, red, and green
The blue, red, and green filters created black.
2. Describe how each color is produced and identify the colors of each tiny dots
composing the color.
The colors were created by using a variety of colors which collectively created a
recognizable color, our eyes dont see the individual dots, just the product of the dots. I
used a violet star, an orange star, and a brown star. The violet star consisted of very small
red and blue dots. The orange star consisted of red and yellow dots. Lastly, the brown was
created by using red, yellow, and black dots.
3. Identify the colors from each sample
Main Color
Red
Yellow
Blue
Orange

Separated Colors
Red ( different shades)
Yellow (different intensities)
Pink, blue, and teal
Orange and yellow

Green
Violet
Black
Brown

Yellow, light green, and blue

Dark purple, pink, and purple
Purple, yellow, black, and blue
Orange, black, purple, and blue

4. What color is coming through?

a. Red filter
The color coming through is red.
b. Blue filter
The color coming through is blue.
c. Green filter
The green filter portrayed a green image.
d. Two color filters
Using red and blue a shade of purple was created.
e. Three filters
Using all three shades it was a dark brown, almost black color.
5. Color of the green leaf through the green filter
The green leaf through the green filter was a green leaf, with darker green showing the
individual leaf veins and stem. The colors were green, dark green, light green, and
yellow.
a. Color of the green leaf through the blue filter
The green leaf through the blue filter portrayed a leaf that was blue, green, and
dark blue. The leaf looked darker than it was before.
b. Color of the green leaf through the red filter
The red filter displayed an image of a red and black leaf. The leaf was red but it
had black lines for veins and a stem.
Questions
1. In a dimly lit place such as a movie theatre, it is difficult to tell the color of your own
clothes. Explain the reason.
The color you see is the color that isnt being absorbed, when the light is very low, the
light that is being reflected is very minimal so it can be hard to distinguish the color of
your own clothing.
2. If red, blue and green pigments were mixed what would be the resulting color?
The red, blue, and green pigments when mixed results in the color white,
3. What would be the resulting color if cyan and red lights were combined?
Cyan and red lights added together would be the same as green + blue + red, which
results in the color white.