Arizona State University (ASU) CSE110 Principles of Programming Exam 1 Practice

In Java, the keyword used to define a class is "class." When you create a class in Java, you start the declaration with this keyword, followed by the name of the class. This is fundamental to object-oriented programming in Java, as classes are templates used to create objects, which can encapsulate data and methods.

Using "class" indicates to the Java compiler that you are declaring a blueprint for a certain type of object, allowing you to define attributes (variables) and behaviors (methods) that the objects created from this class will have. The structure typically looks like this:

```java

class MyClass {

// attributes and methods

}

```

The other keywords, such as "define," "public," and "object," do not serve the purpose of declaring a class in Java. "Public" is an access modifier that can be used in the class declaration to determine who can access the class, while "object" refers to an instance of a class rather than the class itself. The term "define" does not have relevance in this context for class definition in Java.