Diverging lens is best described as

• A. A lens that is thicker in the middle causing light rays to converge
• B. A lens that blocks all light
• C. A lens that is thinnest in the middle causing light rays to spread apart
• D. A lens with a plane surface that does not bend light

Answer: (C)

A diverging lens is a concave lens that is thinner at the center than at the edges, so its surfaces bend light outward. Parallel rays spread apart after passing through the lens, and if you extend those rays backward, they appear to originate from a point on the same side of the lens. That spreading, due to the thinner center, matches the description of being thinnest in the middle and causing light rays to diverge. The other ideas don’t fit: blocking all light is not refraction, a lens thicker in the middle would converge light, and a plane surface would not bend light at all.