Final answer:
Primary colors red, yellow, and blue are the basis for creating secondary and tertiary colors through mixing. Secondary colors are made by combining two primary colors, and tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary with a secondary. The additive color system (using light) has different primary colors: red, green, and blue, which combine to create white light.
Step-by-step explanation:
Primary colors, which include red, yellow, and blue serve as the foundation for creating a myriad of other colors. By mixing these primary hues, you can produce secondary colors such as orange, green, and violet. For example, combining red and yellow yields orange, while blue and red create violet. These secondary colors exist on the traditional artist's color wheel, where they lie in between the primary colors that combine to make them.
Tertiary colors result from the mixture of a primary color with a secondary color, leading to colors such as red-orange or yellow-green. However, the range of colors that can be obtained also includes neutral colors like browns and grays, which can be mixed using different quantities of the three primary colors.
It's important to note that the additive color system, which is based on light (like that used in computer screens), has a different set of primary colors: red, green, and blue. This system operates under the principle that combining all these light colors results in white, whereas in pigment mixing, combining all colors results in black. Understanding these principles is essential for applications in various fields such as art, design, and technology.