Final answer:
No light would come through both a green and a blue filter placed consecutively in white light, because there is no overlap in the colors they transmit; they each block the colors that the other one allows to pass through.
Step-by-step explanation:
When white light passes through a color filter, the filter absorbs all colors of light except for the color it is designed to transmit. For instance, a blue filter absorbs all visible light other than blue light, allowing only blue light to pass through. When a green filter is placed next to a blue filter and white light is passed through them consecutively, each filter will absorb its complementary colors — the blue filter absorbs everything but blue, and the green filter absorbs everything but green. As a result, no light can pass through both as there is no overlap in the colors they transmit; hence, the correct answer to the student's question would be C) No, all light would be blocked.
Moving onto other examples, when only blue light is shone onto a blue filter, it passes through because a blue filter is designed to transmit blue light. Likewise, a yellow section of a color wheel will look yellow because it reflects red and green light, which combine to make yellow light, while it absorbs blue light.
Understanding the interaction of colored light with color filters is essential in various real-world applications, such as in astronomy. When observing stars through blue, yellow and red filters, stars that are naturally bluer in color will appear brighter through a blue filter whereas stars with a redder hue will appear brighter through a red filter.