Light and colour

When we look around, we don’t just see things in black and white. We see lots of different colours.  We know that white objects reflect all the white light that hits them and black objects absorb all the white light that hits them. What about the other colours?

Why do we see colours?

White light is made up of all the colours that we can see.  If we shine white light through a prism, we can see the different colours that it is made up of. In the picture below, white light is split into different colours as it passes through the prism. What colours can you see?

We see different colours because of the way objects reflect and absorb light. When white light hits most objects, some of the light is reflected and some is absorbed. Look at the picture below. What colour is the flower? What colour are the leaves?

The flower looks red because it reflects red light and absorbs all the other colours in the white light. The leaves look green because they reflect green light and absorb the other colours. When we look at objects, we see the colours of the light that they reflect. Look at the picture below. What is the colour of the bird? Can you explain why it is this colour?