What is the process for forming an alcohol from an alkane?

The formation of an alcohol from an alkane typically involves the process of oxidation, where a hydrogen atom is removed from the alkane, and a hydroxyl (-OH) group is added in its place. This method effectively converts one of the hydrogen atoms attached to the alkane into a functional group that characterizes alcohols.

Specifically, alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons that consist entirely of carbon and hydrogen atoms, and by removing a hydrogen atom and replacing it with a hydroxyl group, you create an alcohol. This alteration transforms the molecule, introducing the -OH functional group that defines alcohols, thus making it a key step in organic synthesis processes where the aim is to create alcohols from simpler hydrocarbons.

The other options imply different reactions or changes that do not accurately represent the transformation of an alkane into an alcohol. For example, merely adding a carbon or substituting groups without the specific removal of a hydrogen atom does not yield the intended alcohol structure.