What are pigments?

• A. Intense colored compounds used to create paint
• B. A binder for the paint
• C. A solvent
• D. A type of brush

Answer: (A)

Pigments are the colored particles that give paint its color. They are tiny, intensely colored compounds that are typically insoluble in the paint medium, so they stay as particles when dispersed in a binder. When light shines on the paint, pigments absorb certain wavelengths and reflect others, which is what we perceive as color. This is different from dyes, which dissolve in the medium and color things by solution rather than as dispersed particles.

The binder’s job is to hold those pigment particles in place on a surface, forming a film as the paint dries. The binder is not the source of color itself. The solvent, on the other hand, is used to adjust the paint’s consistency and help apply it, but it doesn’t provide the color. The brush is simply a tool used to apply the paint.

So the best choice identifies pigments as the colored compounds responsible for the paint’s color.