balck and white
Black and white probably started as black on white - it is "down in black on white".
black
on white :?: Well, maybe for printed material; but, given the definitions below, it seems to me the modern us(ag)e of the collocation 'black and white' has more to do with the invention of color film, TV, movies than it does with the printing press.
back and white
adjective: "black-and-white film"; "a black-and-white TV"; "the movie was in black and white", "black-and-white photograph or slide".
Mind you, where the term "black and white" came from really has nothing to do with the fact that it is a collocation.
All that aside, I truly owe you for pointing out that "black and white" may have developed from reduced "on": *on -> *n -> *an -> *an' -> and. Now that's cool. thanx
Make refers to making some thing whereas do refers to a process - the student didn't make the test, the teacher did, the student underwent a process, but made a mistake.
Interesting point; however, I don't see how that is related to collocation. I believe the current explanation provided by UsingEnglish is suitable with regards to collocations and need not be altered.
By the way, is it just me or isn't it the case that both "make" and "do" refer to a process as well as to an action?
Based on my experience, speakers generally use "make" to express create X and use "do" elsewhere.
For example:
make my bed
make dinner
make a pot
do the dishes
do my homework
All the best,
Cas