Final answer:
In physics, when a light bulb is placed at a distance greater than a lens' focal length, an inverted image is formed on the opposite side. The size of the image can be calculated using the magnification formula, resulting in a smaller, inverted letter C being projected onto the screen in the described setup.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the subject of optics in physics, specifically involving the formation of images through a lens system. When a light bulb is placed in front of a lens at a distance that is greater than the lens' focal length, ray tracing or the thin lens formula can be used to determine the location and size of the real image formed on the screen. A converging lens will produce an inverted image on the opposite side of the lens if the object is located further from the lens than the focal length (f).
According to the given details, we have an object-light bulb with a focal length (f) of 0.500 m and the distance of the object from the lens (do) is 0.750 m. Using the thin lens equation 1/f = 1/do + 1/di, where di is the image distance, we can solve for di and use ray tracing to determine its location precisely behind the lens.
In this scenario, as the light passes through the mask with an upright letter C cut into it, only the light that goes through the cutout will form an image. Therefore, the image formed on the screen will be an inverted, smaller version of the letter C. The exact image size can be calculated using the magnification formula m = -di/do, where m represents the magnification.