Read the text. Write the names of colours 1–6 on the colour wheel. Which colours are primary and which are secondary?
1. yellow – primary
The Colour Wheel
Have you ever thought about how colours are related? Why do some colour combinations look good and others don’t ?
According to Isaac Newton, white light consists of all the colours of the rainbow. Newton then arranged them in a circle of warm and cool categories.
Red, blue and yellow are the three primary colours on the colour wheel. By mixing two primary colours, we’ve got the secondary colours green, orange and purple.
Colours can also be harmonious or complementary. Complementary colours are directly opposite each other, like red and green. Harmonious colours sit next to each other on the wheel.
Famous artists and decorators have used the colour wheel to choose the right colours ever since then. Everyone agrees that colours can affect our feelings. A vibrant red, for example, is often associated with anger or danger, while yellow is a happy colour. Blue can make people feel calm; pastel pink, which is a gentle pink, sometimes makes them think of romance, and green is the colour of nature.
What’s your favourite colour? What do you associate it with?
1. yellow - primary
2. orange - secondary
3. red - primary
4. purple - secondary
5. blue - primary
6. green - secondary
