In Java, which of the following is NOT impacted by whitespace?

In Java, whitespace is not significant for many elements of the syntax, which means that you can use spaces, tabs, and newlines freely in several contexts without affecting the functionality of the code. Access modifiers, such as public, private, and protected, are examples of elements that adhere to this rule because they are part of the keywords that define the visibility of classes, methods, and variables.

Access modifiers function independently of whitespace; for example, you can write public class MyClass { ... } or public class MyClass { ... } and the whitespace will not change the meaning of the code. This means that as long as the key terms are intact and correctly placed according to Java's syntax rules, the presence or absence of whitespace does not have any effect on the access modifiers themselves.

In contrast, variable declarations and arithmetic expressions can be sensitive to whitespace concerning readability but functionally maintain their integrity regardless of spacing. Comments are entirely skipped by the Java compiler, meaning their placement does not affect the execution of the surrounding code. Thus, only access modifiers among the choices provided exhibit complete independence from the effects of whitespace, affirming that they are not influenced by it.