Which statement describes the image produced by a concave lens?

Which statement describes the image produced by a concave lens?

• A. The image is real
• B. The image can be projected onto a screen
• C. The image is inverted
• D. The image is virtual

Answer: (D)

A concave (diverging) lens spreads light rays, so they don’t actually meet to form a real image. Instead, the rays appear to come from a point on the same side of the lens as the object, creating a virtual image. Because the image is virtual, it cannot be projected onto a screen. The image is also upright and smaller than the object. So the statement that best describes the image is that it is virtual. The other options are incorrect because a concave lens does not produce real images that can be projected, and the image is not inverted—it is upright.

A concave (diverging) lens spreads light rays, so they don’t actually meet to form a real image. Instead, the rays appear to come from a point on the same side of the lens as the object, creating a virtual image. Because the image is virtual, it cannot be projected onto a screen. The image is also upright and smaller than the object.

So the statement that best describes the image is that it is virtual. The other options are incorrect because a concave lens does not produce real images that can be projected, and the image is not inverted—it is upright.