Query with ROWNUM - does it scan the entire table? or returns once the limit is reached?

Question

Suppose I have a table with 50k records.
I am running a query like the one below
select *
from sometable
where ROWNUM < 10 AND AnotherCondition='y'
In the above query, I can think of two possible ways to come up with the answer
1. Scan and apply filter condition on ALL the rows, and return the first 10
2. Do the things mentioned in option (1) but stop scanning once the record limit of 10 is reached. Don't scan the rest since it is not required.
I would like to know which of the following approaches does Oracle follow?  Or, does it follow any other strategy that is not mentioned above?
Has anyone done any tests to find out the answer for the above question?  If so, could you please share the findings?
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Vivek Ganesan

Answer 1

Thanks! But where would I run the sql statement. When anyone launches the application it creates the database files in their user directory. How would I connect to the database after that to execute the statement?
I see the create table statements in the files I have pulled into NetBeans in both the source folder and the distribution folder. Could I add the statement there before the table is created in the jar file in the distribution folder and then re-compile it for distribution? OR would I need to add it to the file in source directory and recompile those to create a new distribution?
Thanks!