All the colours of the rainbow

They are everywhere that there is light, but not all of us see them in the same way

Everybody has a favourite colour. Colours mean different things to different people. Some people see more colours than others. Some cultures have words for more colours than others.

What makes colour

Colour is made by light. If there is no light there is no colour. Light rays strike an object. Some rays are sucked into the object. Other rays bounce off the object. The rays that bounce off the object give it its colour.

The spectrum

Scientists divide light into seven colours. They are the colours that make up the rainbow. They are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

Primary colours

Certain colours can be mixed to make other colours. These colours are called 'primary colours'. The primary colours are red, blue and yellow. If you mix two primary colours you will get a secondary colour. Red and yellow make orange. Yellow and blue make green and red and blue make purple.

Printed hues

Young Post uses four colours on its pages. Those colours are cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

A matter of culture

People who speak different languages see colours differently. In traditional Welsh, the word glas meant blue, but it could also mean shades of green and grey. In some African languages, and in old Norse, there is only one word for both blue and black.

now do this

Many English words for colour are a kind of food. See if you can link the right colour to the food.

1. Chocolate

2. Lime

3. Salmon

4. Pea

5. Nut

6. Cream

7. Cherry

8. Mushroom

brown, green, pink, white, red

Answers

Now do this: 1. brown, 2. green, 3. pink, 4. green, 5. brown, 6. white, 7. red, 8. brown