What happens to light waves when they pass through a convex lens?

Light waves passing through a convex lens are refracted and converge because of the lens's specific shape and material properties. A convex lens is thicker in the center than at the edges, which causes incoming parallel light rays to bend inward as they pass through it. This bending, or refraction, occurs due to the change in speed of light as it moves from one medium (air) to another (the glass or transparent material of the lens).

As the light rays are refracted, they meet at a point known as the focal point, which is located on the side of the lens opposite the incoming light. This convergence of light rays is what allows convex lenses to focus images, making them useful in various optical devices like cameras, magnifying glasses, and eyeglasses for correcting hyperopia (farsightedness).

In contrast, light rays that would pass through a concave lens would diverge, and a flat or perfectly transparent medium would not change the light's path at all, illustrating why the other options do not accurately describe the behavior of light in relation to a convex lens.