Final answer:
The statement s1.startsWith("art") is equivalent to s1.regionMatches(0, "art", 0, 3) as both perform a case-sensitive comparison of the beginning of the string with the substring "art". The other options provided are not correct equivalents.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement s1.startsWith("art") checks if the string s1 starts with the substring "art". When comparing this to the other options provided, s1.regionMatches(0, "art", 0, 3) is the correct equivalent. This is because regionMatches also tests if s1 starts with a specific region of a string, which in this case is "art". The parameters specify that the comparison should start at index 0 of both s1 and "art" and should compare the first 3 characters.
Option b, s2 = s1.getChars(0, 3); ("art"), is incorrect because this would actually get characters from s1 and is not a comparison. Additionally, this code snippet is not properly formed and would result in a syntax error. Option c, s1.regionMatches(true, 0, "art", 0, 3), would ignore case differences which is not the same behavior as startsWith which is case sensitive. Thus, the equivalent statement is option a.