Which of the following is NOT a primary color of light?

Which of the following is NOT a primary color of light?

• A. Magenta
• B. Red
• C. Green
• D. Blue

Answer: (A)

Light combines through additive mixing, so the colors you start with are the primaries of light: red, green, and blue. Magenta isn’t one of these primaries because it isn’t produced by a single wavelength of light. It’s what you get when red and blue light are combined. In the additive system, magenta is a secondary color, not a primary, and it sits alongside a spectrum of colors produced by mixing the primaries. When all three primaries are mixed, you get white; red plus green gives yellow; green plus blue gives cyan; red plus blue gives magenta. So magenta isn’t a primary color of light because it arises from combining two primaries rather than standing as an independent, fundamental light color.

Light combines through additive mixing, so the colors you start with are the primaries of light: red, green, and blue. Magenta isn’t one of these primaries because it isn’t produced by a single wavelength of light. It’s what you get when red and blue light are combined. In the additive system, magenta is a secondary color, not a primary, and it sits alongside a spectrum of colors produced by mixing the primaries. When all three primaries are mixed, you get white; red plus green gives yellow; green plus blue gives cyan; red plus blue gives magenta. So magenta isn’t a primary color of light because it arises from combining two primaries rather than standing as an independent, fundamental light color.