What relationship does the lens formula describe?

The lens formula is a critical relationship in optics that connects three important quantities: the object distance (the distance from the object to the lens), the image distance (the distance from the lens to the image formed), and the focal length (the distance from the lens to its focal point). This relationship can be mathematically expressed as:

1/f = 1/do + 1/di

where f is the focal length, do is the object distance, and di is the image distance.

This formula is essential in understanding how lenses focus light and form images. It allows one to determine the position of an image based on where the object is placed relative to the lens and how the lens is constructed (its focal length). This understanding is foundational in the study of optics, particularly in applications involving lenses, such as cameras, glasses, and microscopes.

The other options relate to different aspects of lenses but do not convey this specific relationship. The shape of the lens may influence the focal length, but it does not describe the fundamental relationship outlined by the lens formula. The color of light is relevant to the behavior of lenses (like chromatic aberration), but it is not part of the lens formula's focus. The thickness of the lens is a