In PHP, you can encode an array into a JSON object using the json_encode() ______.

In PHP, you can encode an array into a JSON object using the json_encode() function. It is a standalone function, not a method, property, or class. The json_encode() function takes a PHP value, such as an array or an object, and converts it into a JSON-encoded string. The correct option is "function." For further details, refer to the PHP documentation on json_encode(): http://php.net/manual/en/function.json-encode.php