The retina of the eye has rods and cones which play a crucial function in sight. Which statement explains how rods and cones work to help us see things?

Question

1. Cones detect light; rods detect green, blue, and red light; and the brain combines the three colors.
2. Rods detect light; cones detect color; and the brain decomposes the color into green, blue, and red.
3. Cones detect light; rods detect color; and the brain decomposes the color into green, blue, and red.
4. Rods detect light; cones detect green, blue, and red light; and the brain combines the three colors.

Answer 1

The correct statement that explains how rods and cones work to help us see things is:

2. Rods detect light; cones detect color; and the brain decomposes the color into green, blue, and red.

Rods are responsible for vision in low light (scotopic vision) and do not detect color, while cones are responsible for color vision (photopic vision) and come in three types sensitive to red, green, and blue light. The brain processes the input from the cones to perceive a wide range of colors.