Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) Practice Exam

Which term describes a mixture of two primary colors?

1. Hue

2. Tertiary

3. Shade

4. Secondary

The correct answer is: Secondary

The term that describes a mixture of two primary colors is "secondary." When two primary colors are combined, they create a new color that is classified as a secondary color. For example, mixing red and blue produces purple, while mixing yellow and blue yields green. This concept is fundamental in color theory, as it highlights how primary colors serve as the building blocks for creating a wide array of other colors. In contrast, other terms such as hue refer to the attribute of colors that enables them to be classified as red, blue, yellow, etc. Tertiary colors are created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color, which is a step beyond the basic combination of primary colors. A shade refers to a color that has had black added to it, making it darker. Thus, secondary is the appropriate term for a color resulting from the mixture of two primary colors.