Q&A Hero

Q: A red crab very deep in water, where sunlight is dim, appears A) red. B) orange. C) cyan. D) brown. E) no color"black.

Q: A white boat sunk in water where sunlight is dim appears A) red. B) yellow. C) cyan. D) no color"black.

Q: The extraordinary blueness in lakes in the Canadian Rockies is the result of A) high-altitude refraction of light. B) glacial silt in the water scattering blue light. C) the unique temperatures of these lakes throughout most of the year. D) none of the above

Q: The part of the visible spectrum most absorbed by water is A) infrared. B) red. C) cyan. D) all about equally.

Q: The part of the electromagnetic spectrum most absorbed by water is A) infrared. B) red. C) cyan. D) all about equally.

Q: The greenish blue of water is evidence for the A) reflection of greenish-blue light. B) reflection of red light. C) absorption of greenish-blue light. D) absorption of red light. E) interaction between green and blue frequencies of light.

Q: The darkness of clouds is due to A) absorption. B) often being in the shadow of another cloud. C) both of these D) neither of these

Q: Compared to smaller clouds with small droplets, a big cloud with large droplets A) absorbs more light. B) is darker. C) is more likely to produce rain. D) all the above E) none of the above

Q: The whiteness of clouds, unlike the blueness of the sky, primarily involves A) medium sized particles. B) reflection and refraction of sunlight. C) seeds upon which condensation of cloud material forms. D) water prisms.

Q: The redness of the lunar eclipse is due to A) refraction of sunsets and sunrises all around Earth. B) infrared light continually emitted by the Moon. C) scattering of lower frequencies of light by the Moon. D) dim light that is incident upon the Moon by Jupiter and other planets.

Q: On a planet where atmospheric gases are yellow, distant snow covered hills would look A) bluish. B) greenish. C) yellowish. D) reddish. E) untinted.

Q: On a planet where atmospheric gases are red, distant dark mountains would appear A) bluish. B) greenish. C) yellowish. D) reddish. E) untinted.

Q: On a planet in the solar system where the sky normally scatters light of lower frequencies, its sunsets would be A) reddish. B) yellow-greenish. C) bluish. D) whitish.

Q: If molecules in the sky scattered orange light instead of blue light, sunsets would be colored A) orange. B) yellow. C) green. D) blue. E) none of the above

Q: Red sunsets are due to light of lower frequencies that A) are scattered from larger particles in the air. B) are scattered from smaller particles in the air. C) survive being scattered in the air. D) are reflected by clouds and relatively large particles in the air. E) appear reddish-orange to the eye.

Q: A setting Sun appears red due to A) scattering of lower frequencies by larger particles in the air. B) light's longer path through air at sunset. C) lower frequencies of light emitted during sunset. D) absorption by smaller particles in the air.

Q: Light travels slightly slower in the A) upper atmosphere. B) lower atmosphere. C) neither of these

Q: The atmosphere of Jupiter is more than 1000 km thick. From Jupiter's surface, the Sun at noon would appear A) white. B) faintly white. C) not at all. D) none of the above

Q: If the atmosphere were about 40 times thicker, the Sun at noon would appear A) red-orange. B) orange-green. C) green-blue. D) blue-violet.

Q: If Earth's atmosphere were appreciably thicker, snow would appear A) still white. B) yellow. C) blue. D) ultraviolet.

Q: Distant bright snowy mountains appear yellowish because A) they are far away. B) blue has been scattered away from light reflected from the mountains. C) the color yellow looks just right. D) of nature's wonderful preferences.

Q: Distant dark mountains appear bluish because A) they are far away. B) yellow is being scattered. C) you're looking at low-level blue sky between you and the mountain. D) of nature's wonderful preferences.

Q: A whitish sky is evidence that the atmosphere contains A) predominantly small particles. B) predominantly large particles. C) a mixture of particle sizes. D) water vapor. E) pollutants.

Q: The sky is blue because air molecules in the sky act as tiny A) mirrors which reflect only blue light. B) optical tuning forks that scatter blue light. C) sources of white light. D) prisms. E) none of the above

Q: The sky is usually the deepest blue A) just before a rainstorm. B) during a rainstorm. C) just after a rainstorm. D) just before sunset. E) when the air is humid.

Q: The physics underlying the redness of sunsets and the color of blue jays involves A) scattered sunlight. B) absorbed sunlight. C) different processes for sunsets and blue jays.

Q: The dimmest part of sunlight is A) red. B) yellow. C) yellow-green. D) green. E) violet.

Q: Which interacts more with high-frequency light? A) large particles B) small particles C) both the same

Q: Which interacts more with high-frequency sounds? A) large bells B) small bells C) both the same

Q: A mixture of cyan and yellow pigments appears A) orange. B) green. C) magenta. D) blue. E) blackish-brown.

Q: Magenta light is a mixture of A) red and blue light. B) red and cyan light. C) red and yellow light. D) yellow and green light. E) none of the above

Q: A mixture of red and green pigments appears A) orange. B) yellow. C) magenta. D) blue. E) muddy-brown.

Q: Look at full-color photos in your textbook with a magnifying glass and you'll see inks of A) red, green, and blue. B) red, green, blue, and black. C) magenta, cyan, and yellow. D) magenta, cyan, yellow, and black. E) none of these

Q: How many colors of ink are used to print full-color pictures? A) one plus black B) two plus black C) three plus black D) four plus black E) six plus black

Q: If only one color is absorbed in the pigment of a particular blue paint, that color would be A) red. B) yellow. C) green. D) blue.

Q: Colors seen on the cover of your physics book are due to color A) addition. B) subtraction. C) either of these D) neither of these

Q: The complementary color of blue is A) red. B) green. C) yellow. D) cyan. E) magenta.

Q: Complementary colors are two colors that A) blend together. B) are additive primary colors. C) produce white light when subtracted. D) produce white light when added. E) are right for each other.

Q: Stare at a red wall for a few minutes and then gaze at a white wall. Due to retina fatigue you see A) more red. B) cyan. C) black.

Q: The Sun is not seen as yellow-green because A) it is not yellow-green. B) it is small part of a mixture of other colors in sunlight. C) its brightness is only slightly greater than the other colors. D) our vision is not adapted to yellow-green.

Q: The brightest color in sunlight is A) red. B) yellow. C) yellow-green. D) green. E) violet.

Q: When red, green, and blue lights shine on a golf ball, the shadows cast are A) red, green, and blue. B) black. C) magenta, cyan, and yellow. D) none of the above

Q: Which is not a color? A) yellow-green B) black C) both of these D) neither of these

Q: If three primary colors of light shine on a white wall and produce a white spot, the primaries must be A) additive. B) subtractive. C) multiplicative. D) divisive.

Q: Colors seen on some TV screens result from color A) addition. B) subtraction. C) either of these D) neither of these

Q: The LEDs that make up the color on some TV screens are A) red, blue, yellow. B) red, blue, green. C) yellow, blue, green. D) magenta, cyan, yellow. E) red, green, yellow.

Q: The solar radiation curve is A) a dent in the spherical Sun. B) the path of the Sun as it circles Earth. C) a plot of Sun's brightness versus frequency of emission. D) a plot of sunlight colors versus their frequencies. E) a plot of light intensity versus temperature of the Sun.

Q: A fast-moving ball is more easily seen if it is A) red. B) orange. C) yellow-green. D) green-blue. E) violet.

Q: Light shines on a pane of green glass and a pane of clear glass. The temperature will be higher in the A) clear glass. B) green glass. C) both the same

Q: Which piece of glass will warm up quicker in sunlight? A) colored glass B) clear glass C) both the same

Q: A piece of glass that appears red A) absorbs or reflects all colors except red. B) transmits red. C) both of these D) neither of these

Q: What color is fully transmitted in common window glass? A) red B) yellow C) green D) blue E) all of the above

Q: What color light is transmitted by a piece of blue glass? A) red B) white C) blue D) yellow E) orange

Q: If sunlight were green instead of white, the most comfortable color to wear on a cold day would be A) magenta. B) yellow. C) green. D) blue. E) violet.

Q: If sunlight were green instead of white, the most comfortable color to wear on a hot day would be A) magenta. B) yellow. C) green. D) blue. E) violet.

Q: A banana will appear black when illuminated with A) black light. B) blue light. C) red light. D) green light.

Q: A red apple will appear black when illuminated with A) blue light. B) cyan light. C) yellow light. D) magenta light. E) none of the above

Q: A blueberry will look black when illuminated with A) red light. B) yellow light. C) magenta light. D) cyan light. E) none of the above

Q: You can get a sunburn while under the "shade" of a beach umbrella due to A) reflected sunlight from the sand. B) refracted sunlight from the water. C) light scattering in the air. D) none of the above

Q: The color of an opaque object is the same as the light that is A) transmitted. B) absorbed. C) reflected. D) all of the above E) none of the above

Q: When the frequency of light matches the natural frequency of molecules in a material, light is A) absorbed. B) transmitted. C) reflected. D) none of the above

Q: Different colors of light correspond to different light A) velocities. B) intensities. C) polarities. D) frequencies. E) none of the above

Q: What characteristic of light mostly relates to color? A) frequency B) amplitude C) both of these

Q: Strictly speaking, to say that an apple is red means that A) an apple is red. B) it appears red. C) is, or appears makes no difference"red is red.

Q: Isaac Newton first became famous for his contributions to the understanding of A) the laws of mechanics. B) the law of gravity. C) light.

Q: Colors are barely seen or not at all in nighttime because moonlight A) has almost no colors in it. B) is too dim to activate the retina's cones. C) photons don't have enough energy to activate the retina's cones. D) is primarily yellow light. E) is only semi-transparent in Earth's atmosphere.

Q: The main difference between the retina of a human eye and that of a dog's eye is the A) predominance of cones in a dog's retina. B) absence of cones in a dog's retina. C) more intricate optic nerve in a human's eye. D) small number of cones in a human's eye. E) none of the above

Q: Our eyes are not very good at seeing A) motion at our peripheries. B) differences in brightness. C) color in dim light. D) all of the above E) none of the above

Q: The size of the pupil of your eye depends on A) the brightness of light in the room. B) your mood. C) both of these D) neither of these

Q: Information-carrying nerves are connected to the retina at the A) fovea. B) blind spot. C) cornea. D) iris. E) periphery.

Q: In the periphery of our vision, we are A) more sensitive to low frequencies than high ones. B) insensitive to color and movement. C) sensitive to movement, but cannot see color. D) sensitive to both movement and color. E) none of the above

Q: Red-hot and blue-hot stars appear white to the eye because A) the eye has difficulty seeing color at night. B) they are too dim to fire the cones. C) they are too dim to fire the rods. D) they are overwhelmed by the blackness of the nighttime sky. E) eye receptivity peaks in the yellow-green part of the spectrum.

Q: The cones in the retina of the eye are A) most densely packed at the center of vision. B) uniformly spread along the visual field. C) concentrated along the periphery of vision.

Q: The sensation of color is seen when light falls on the eye's A) rods. B) cones. C) both of these D) neither of these

Q: When an astronaut on the Moon experiences a solar eclipse, observers on Earth see A) a lunar eclipse. B) a solar eclipse. C) no eclipse at all.

Q: A new Moon appears in the sky just before the time of a A) solar eclipse. B) lunar eclipse. C) both of these D) neither of these

Q: The Moon would be at its fullest just before the time of a A) solar eclipse. B) lunar eclipse. C) both of these D) neither of these

Q: The crescent shapes of spots of light cast through openings in trees occurs with a A) partial eclipse of the Sun. B) total eclipse of the Sun. C) lunar eclipse, partial or total. D) partial lunar eclipse.

Q: The round spots of light on the ground beneath a tree on a sunny day are images of A) the openings between leaves above. B) nothing in particular. C) the Sun.

Q: An annular eclipse of the Sun occurs when the Moon doesn't quite cover the Sun in the zone of totality. This means that the Moon is A) closer than usual to Earth. B) farther than usual from Earth. C) none of these