Step 1: HCl, being a strong acid, undergoes complete dissociation, resulting in \( [\text{H}^+] = 0.01 \, \text{M} \).
Step 2: The pH is computed using the equation: \[ \text{pH} = -\log_{10} [\text{H}^+] \] Given that \( [\text{H}^+] = 0.01 = 10^{-2} \), the calculation proceeds as: \[ \text{pH} = -\log_{10} (10^{-2}) = 2 \] Step 3: Verification confirms that for strong acids, pH is solely determined by concentration, aligning with option (2).