| Tutorial to help answer the question:
Your friend asks "Why are plants green?" You
reply, "Plants contain chlorophyll, a green pigment
which ______."
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A.
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absorbs all colors of light
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B.
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reflects all colors of light
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C.
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reflects green light and absorbs other colors
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D.
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reflects red light and absorbs other colors
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Tutorial
A pigment is any substance that absorbs light. White light
is composed of various wavelengths of visible light.
The color of the pigment comes from the wavelengths of
light that are reflected, or in other words, those wavelengths
not absorbed. Chlorophyll, the green pigment common to all
photosynthetic cells, absorbs all wavelengths of visible
light except green, which it reflects. This is why plants
appear green to us. Black pigments absorb all wavelengths
of visible light that strike them. White pigments reflect
the wavelengths striking them.
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