Final answer:
The statement likely to return the same results as SELECT * FROM orders JOIN customers is SELECT * FROM orders INNER JOIN customers ON orders.order_id = customers.order_id, assuming a typical interpretation of JOIN as an INNER JOIN by SQL databases.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct SQL statement that will return the same results as SELECT * FROM orders JOIN customers depends on the specific behavior and SQL syntax of the JOIN operation in the provided statement. Given options B, C, and D:
- Option B: SELECT * FROM orders INNER JOIN customers ON orders.order_id = customers.order_id will match 'orders' with 'customers' based on the 'order_id' and include only the pairs that have corresponding values in both tables.
- Option C: SELECT * FROM orders CROSS JOIN customers will return all possible combinations of 'orders' and 'customers' records, which is not likely the intended result of a simple JOIN without any ON condition.
- Option D: SELECT * FROM orders LEFT JOIN customers ON orders.order_id = customers.order_id will return all records from 'orders' and the matched records from 'customers', and if there is no match, NULL will be returned for the 'customers' part.
Typically, the statement SELECT * FROM orders JOIN customers without further clarification would be interpreted as an INNER JOIN by most SQL databases, which means option B would be the correct answer. However, without knowing the database's default behavior or additional context, we cannot be certain.