When parallel light rays exit a concave lens, they ______.

When parallel light rays exit a concave lens, they ______.

• A. Converge
• B. Diverge
• C. Remain parallel
• D. Reflect

Answer: (B)

A concave lens spreads light; it’s a diverging lens. When light rays that are parallel to the optical axis pass through it, the lens bends them outward, so after refraction the rays diverge from each other. If you traced the paths backward, the extensions would appear to come from a single point on the same side of the lens as the incoming light—the virtual focal point. That’s why parallel rays exiting a concave lens diverge. The other possibilities don’t fit: they don’t converge because the lens design forces outward bending, they don’t remain parallel because the rays are refracted, and reflection isn’t the mechanism at play here.

A concave lens spreads light; it’s a diverging lens. When light rays that are parallel to the optical axis pass through it, the lens bends them outward, so after refraction the rays diverge from each other. If you traced the paths backward, the extensions would appear to come from a single point on the same side of the lens as the incoming light—the virtual focal point. That’s why parallel rays exiting a concave lens diverge. The other possibilities don’t fit: they don’t converge because the lens design forces outward bending, they don’t remain parallel because the rays are refracted, and reflection isn’t the mechanism at play here.