Final answer:
The visual system is responsible for detecting light and interpreting it as images. Two theories of color vision, the trichromatic theory, and the opponent-process theory, help explain different aspects of how we perceive colors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Visual System
The visual system is responsible for detecting light patterns from the environment and interpreting them into images. It allows us to see in three dimensions and perceive colors. Two theories that explain different aspects of color vision are the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory states that there are three types of cones in the retina that are responsive to different wavelengths of light, representing red, blue, and green. The opponent-process theory, on the other hand, suggests that cells beyond the retina respond in a way consistent with color opposition, where colors are perceived as opposite pairs (e.g., red vs. green, blue vs. yellow). Both theories contribute to our understanding of color vision at different levels of the visual system.