The first color lost in the spectrum upon descent during diving is ___.

• A. Red
• B. Blue
• C. Green
• D. Yellow

Answer: (A)

Red is the first color lost as you descend because water absorbs light wavelengths in order of wavelength, with red (the longest wavelength) being absorbed most quickly. As you go deeper, red drops out of the visible spectrum first, followed by orange and yellow, while blue remains visible longer and becomes the dominant color. This is why underwater scenes look increasingly blue with depth unless you introduce artificial light or color-correcting methods to restore colors. Understanding this helps explain why colors disappear from view as you descend.