Addition table of colours: additive and subtractive mixtures described using a single reasoning model

Abstract

Students’ misconceptions concerning colour phenomena and the apparent complexity of the underlying concepts—due to the different domains of knowledge involved—make its teaching very difficult. We have developed and tested a teaching device, the addition table of colours (ATC), that encompasses additive and subtractive mixtures in a single conceptual model and presents colour as a perceptual response to light. The ATC was used as the focus of an introduction to colour phenomena in a middle class setting, showing significant educational gains among the students.