Why is grass green? Oh, and you can't say "Chlorophyll"?

Question

Why do people ask others a question but then immediately say they can't answer with an anticipated response. What do you do if you think that the forbidden response is actually the truth?

Examples:
Atheists: why don't you believe in God...and you can't say lack of evidence?
Christians: if God exists why is there evil in the world...and you can't say free will?

Guys, I don't really want to know why grass is green. I already know that. :)

It's the Chlorophyll's structure that structure allows grass to specifically catch blue and red light thus reflecting the green.

Answer 1

Usually answer that way anyhow. Oh sometimes I change the wording a little, just to piss them off.

Answer 2

It is the reflecting of light waves off the grass. Green is reflected off the grass while the rest of the spectrum is absorbed. Hence, we "see" the grass as green.

Also, We can only see a small part of the light spectrum:

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.
(and all the colors mixing them make).

There are two reasons that come to mind that would make green leaves preferable to black leaves. The first is heat.

If leaves were black, they would absorb a lot more light, but they would also have to figure out a way to dissipate the extra heat. Many plants wilt and die if they get too hot, so this would limit the areas plants could live. Green plants reflect/transmit the wavelengths were there is the most visible energy, thus keeping them cooler. That also makes them more visible.

The second is translucency. If the leaves absorbed all the light, then there would be none transmitted to the leaves below. Every plant would end up being a single layer of leaves. I would suspect that being an imperfect absorber makes it possible for layers upon layers of leaves to effectively survive. I would also think that these layers of leaves that are green are making much more oxygen for us all than a single layer of black leaves could.

Lastly, you could simply say that green leaves are more attractive to the animals and humans that interact with them and promote their survival. The question to then ponder is why the flowers and fruits are not green!

Answer 3

I agree, you either take the answer I give, or don't ask the question. Only a closed minded person would try to justify their life this way (and that goes for both atheists and Christians)

but to answer your question:

Grass contains a biological chemical that absorbs blue light (high energy, short wavelengths) and red light (low energy, longer wavelengths) well, but mostly reflects green light, which accounts for the color of grass.

Answer 4

When someone has heard the "forbidden response" a million times, and still don't find it a satisfying answer, I guess what they really want to hear is an explanation that makes sense to them (ie new information taught in such a way that gels with what they already know/believe).

Sometimes an answer will never make sense until a real life experience suddenly makes it "click". Words just don't suffice to teach in all cases.

Answer 5

Grass reflects specific wavelengths of light that, together, are perceived as "green" by our eyes.

Answer 6

They want more than just a pat answer. They assume that the quick answer is just memorized verse that does not reflect the person's true beliefs; the person asking the question obviously wanted real thought, not off the cuff knee-jerk responses.

Answer 7

It's just them trying to guide you to say what they WANT you to say, so they eliminate what they know you're most likely to say.

(And actually, it's the amount of light reflecting off of an object that determines it's color. That's why as it starts to get dark, everything's a gray color. Notice next time you're in a room that has very little light. You can't see colors. lol)

Answer 8

color is the quality of an object or substance with respect to light reflected by the object, usually determined visually by measurement of hue, saturation, and brightness of the reflected light; saturation or chroma.

We all agree that when light reflects off that plant and hits our eyeballs, we call the resulting neural impression green. It works because it is predictable and consistent.

Answer 9

Why do you call it "green"?

They are trying to get a different reply...

If the reply they don't want is actually the truth... then they are beyond help.

Answer 10

I thought grass was green because all but the green portion of the spectrum was absorbed by the chlor....by the grass stuff.