What it shows
Three paints, red, yellow and blue, can be mixed to make many other colours. Mixing shows how colours relate to each other.
The science
Red, yellow and blue are called primary colours because we cannot make them by mixing others. Mixing two primaries makes a secondary colour: red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, blue and red make purple. Adding more of one colour changes the shade.
Materials
Cost: under Rs 50. Many items come from home or from waste; spare parts such as LEDs, motors and wire are in the store.
- Poster paints in red, yellow and blue (under Rs 50, or use water colours)
- A white paper plate or a circle of white paper
- A paint brush
- A small cup of water
- A paper towel
- A ruler and pencil
Safety
For this project: Wear old clothes and use only child-safe paints. An adult must help with spills. Wash hands after painting.
Never use mains electricity: power models with cells, batteries or a low-voltage adapter. Sharp and hot tools, flames and lab chemicals need an adult or your teacher beside you. Keep magnets, button cells and small parts away from young children, and wash your hands after making.
Step by step
8 steps. Do them in order, and test each part before you go on to the next. Write what you notice in a notebook as you go.
Use a pencil and ruler to draw three lines through the centre of the plate, like a clock’s 12 to 6, 2 to 8 and 4 to 10, to make six equal slices.
Paint one slice red, one yellow and one blue, leaving a slice between each pair.
Mix a little red and yellow on a spare part of the plate and paint the slice between them.
Mix yellow and blue and paint the slice between those two.
Mix blue and red and paint the last slice.
Wash the brush in the water cup and dab it dry on the paper towel after each mixing.
Let the wheel dry and write the name of each colour on its slice.
Try making a lighter or darker shade of orange and write which paint you added more of.
What you should see
A six-slice colour wheel with three primary and three secondary colours in their right places.
Viva questions
A teacher or a judge will ask how it works. Try to answer each question before you open it, then compare.
01Name the three primary colours.
Red, yellow and blue.
02What do you get by mixing blue and yellow?
Green.
03Why do we wash the brush between colours?
So the old colour does not spoil the new one.
04How can you make a lighter shade?
Add a little water or white paint.
Take it further
Mix all three paints together in equal parts and see what colour comes out.
Change one thing, measure what happens, and add a table or chart of your readings: that is what turns a model into your own investigation.
Free ebooks for this project
Science projects
Easy Science Projects for Class 1 to 5
Simple, safe projects young children can make with a little help
Science projects
Physics Working Models Explained
Twenty classic models, how each works and how to make it
Find out more about physics
Free, well-known places to explore the subject further. Ask a grown-up before you sign up for anything or type your name anywhere.