Tania Carlin

Physics 300 Lab

11/09/15
Lab Report 20: COLORS
Purpose: To understand how the additive and subtractive primary colors combine to produce
different colors.
Materials: Color filters [red, green, blue], magnifying glass, chromatography paper, color
markers, 500ml beaker.
Procedure:
1. Look at the following combinations of colored lights and describe the resulting colors:
1. a. Red and blue when combine make purple
2. b. Red and green when combine make dark gray
3. c. Blue and green when combine make cyan
4. d. Blue, red, and green when combine make dark brown/black
2. Look at color images from any printed material under a magnifying glass and describe how
each color is produced and identify the colors of each tiny dot composing the color.
The orange star is produced by red and yellow tiny dots.

The brown star is produced by red, yellow and green tiny dots.
3. Fill a beaker with water about inch deep. Cut filter paper strips about 3 inches long and fold
lengthwise. Select a marker and make a dot about 1 inch from the strip and let dry. Repeat for
every color. Immerse the paper with the dot side down in the beaker. Wait until different colors
are separated from each dot and identify them.
a. The red dot only produces red.
b. The orange dot produces orange and yellow.
c. The yellow dot produces yellow.
d. The green dot produces blue, green and yellow.
e. The blue dot produces blue, cyan and pink.
f. The purple dot produces purple and pink.
g. The brown dot produces blue, purple, black and orange.
h. The black dot produces blue, brown and gray.

4. a.
paper

When looking at a sheet of white

through a red filter, red color
comes through.
When looking at a sheet of white

b.
paper through a blue filter, blue color comes through.
c. When looking at a sheet of white paper through a green filter, green color comes through.
d. When looking at a sheet of white paper through a red and blue filter, magenta is seen.
e. Looking at the paper through a combination of all three filters, no color comes through.
5. a.Looking at a green leaf using a green filter one sees yellow details in the leaf.
b. Looking at the green lead using a red filter one sees black.
c. Looking at a green leaf using a blue filter one sees darker details.

Questions:
1. We are able to see color in clothes because of pigments, fine particles that selectively absorb
light of particular frequencies and selectively transmit others. When a place is dimly lit, there
isn't a lot of light to be reflected there isn't a lot of color.
2. If red, blue and green pigments are mixed, the resulting color will be black.
3. The resulting color of the combination of cyan and red light is white.