Mastering Java: The Ultimate Quiz for 'Thinking in Java'

What effect does passing an object to a method have on the original object in Java?

1. The original object cannot be altered

2. The method receives a copy, leaving the original unchanged

3. Any changes made in the method affect the original object

4. The original object is cloned

The correct answer is: Any changes made in the method affect the original object

When passing an object to a method in Java, the method actually receives a reference to the original object, not a copy. This means that any changes made to the object in the method will also affect the original object, as they both refer to the same object in memory. Option A is incorrect because the original object can still be altered by the method. Option B is incorrect because a copy is not created and the original object is still accessible. Option D is incorrect because cloning creates a completely separate copy of the object.