Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) Practice Exam

What type of colors is created by absorbing some light wavelengths and reflecting others?

1. Additive

2. Subtractive

3. Monochromatic

4. Polychromatic

The correct answer is: Subtractive

The correct answer is Subtractive colors. Subtractive color refers to the process where colors are created by absorbing certain wavelengths of light and reflecting others. This is typically the method used in pigments and dyes. For example, when mixing paints, specific colors absorb wavelengths corresponding to certain colors while reflecting others, which produces the desired color. In a subtractive color model, such as the traditional CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow) model, combining these colors can create a wide range of hues by altering the wavelengths that are absorbed or reflected. For instance, mixing cyan and yellow paints will absorb red wavelengths and reflect blue and green wavelengths, creating green. The other choices represent different color systems: additive color refers to colors created by mixing light itself (like on a computer screen), monochromatic uses variations of a single color, and polychromatic refers to multiple colors existing together but doesn't specifically address the absorption and reflection of light wavelengths in the way that subtractive color does.