Art & music · Grades 6–12
Colour theory basics
Study guide for Grades 6 to 12: 2 worked examples and 2 practice questions. In traditional (red, yellow, blue) colour theory, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue; mixing two primaries makes a secondary colour; complementary colours sit opposite each other.
Rule and key idea
In traditional (red, yellow, blue) colour theory, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue; mixing two primaries makes a secondary colour; complementary colours sit opposite each other.
red + yellow = orange · yellow + blue = green · blue + red = purple
Worked examples
On a traditional colour wheel, which colour is the complement (directly opposite) of yellow?
In traditional (red, yellow, blue) colour theory, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue; mixing two primaries makes a secondary colour; complementary colours sit opposite each other.
purple
Which is a cool colour: blue or yellow?
Warm colours are red, orange and yellow; cool colours are blue, green and purple.
blue
Try two questions
Which is a primary colour in traditional colour theory: green or blue?
- blue
- green
On a traditional colour wheel, which colour is the complement (directly opposite) of purple?
- yellow
- blue
- red
- green
Answers and reasoning
Answers and marking notes
- blue
In traditional (red, yellow, blue) colour theory, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue; mixing two primaries makes a secondary colour; complementary colours sit opposite each other.
- yellow
In traditional (red, yellow, blue) colour theory, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue; mixing two primaries makes a secondary colour; complementary colours sit opposite each other.
How this page was made: written for StudyBrix with AI assistance from our own templates. Answers and worked examples are checked by automated tests, and grade bands are approximate, not an official curriculum alignment. See the editorial policy for corrections. Editorial policy