Final answer:
The false statement among the options is that there are three types of rods and only one type of cone. In reality, there are three types of cones sensitive to different wavelengths of light for color vision, while there is only one type of rod, which is more sensitive to light and detects shades of gray.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that does NOT illustrate the difference between rods and cones is: c. there are three types of rods (for three different wavelengths of light) and only one type of cone.
Rods and cones are types of photoreceptors in the human retina. Rods are sensitive to low light levels and can only detect shades of gray, which is essential for night vision. They are about 1000 times more sensitive to light than cones and their sensitivity peak is at about 500 nm wavelength. On the contrary, cones respond to higher light levels and are responsible for color vision and visual acuity. There are indeed three types of cones, named according to their greatest sensitivity to different wavelengths of light: L (long wavelengths), M (medium wavelengths), and S (short wavelengths). They allow us to perceive colors by their combination of activation. The brain calculates color vision by comparing the activity between these three types of cones. As for visual acuity, cones are most densely packed in the fovea, the central area of the retina, enabling the highest resolution of vision.