The intended answer was C, but without knowing what type of lens is being used, either A or C can be true. A diverging lens will always produce a virtual image, regardless of where the object is placed. A converging lens will form a real image of an object placed outside of its focal length. Figure 12.38 pg. Light passing through the center of a lens does not bend.
Parallel light passing through a lens at any point is bent through the lens's focal point.
Any image produced with a concave lens is a virtual image. A convex lens cannot produce a virtual image. Notes 11-28 Using a convex lens, the distance of an object is at a position greater than the focal point. The image is a virtual image. The image is minimized.