What will the following statement output as (1.23e+02)?

The correct choice utilizes the formatting capabilities of the printf function to display a floating-point number in scientific notation. The specific format codes in the printf string dictate how the number is presented.

In the case of this question, we are looking at a format specifier that includes:

• % which indicates the start of a format specifier.
• 5 which indicates the minimum width of the output field. If the number is shorter, it will be padded with spaces.
• .2 which indicates that two digits will be displayed after the decimal point.
• e indicates that the number will be displayed in scientific notation (with 'e' representing the exponent).

The critical component that affects the output in this scenario is the negative sign (-123.0), as it will affect how the output is aligned and displayed. In this instance, it will show -1.23e+02 with a minimum width of 5 characters, including the negative sign.

Choosing the format specifier that demonstrates scientific notation results in the output of -1.23e+02, which is a correctly formatted output for the negative value used in scientific notation.

The other options contain errors in formatting, such as a