06. Seeing colour

How can our eyes tell one colour from another?

Activity - Complete the following questions in your exercise book.

1. This drawing shows a magnified image of part of the retina in a human eye.

Make a copy of this diagram in your exercise book and:

a Shade the rods in grey.

b State what the rods do?

c Shade the cones in red.

d How many different kinds of cone do you have in your eyes?

e Which colours do these different types of cone detect?

2. a Use the simulations below to help you to make a colour copy of this diagram.

b Label the diagram using the following words:

blue cyan green magenta red white yellow

c Underline the labels that show primary colours.

3. A TV screen can only emit three colours of light.

a What are the three colours?

b Why are only three colours necessary?

Simulations

The colour of objects

Human eyes are capable of detecting in the region of 10 million different colours

But sometimes they can be deceived

Seeing colours

Can you...

> recall the functions of retina cells

> recall the primary and secondary colours of light

> explain why TVs only produce three different colours