Which of the following best describes hydrocarbons? a. Alkanes in which a hydrogen atom is replaced by a hydroxyl group b. Binary compounds of carbon and hydrogen c. Organic compounds containing water and carbon d. Covalently bonded carbon compounds which have intermolecular force attractions to hydrogen compounds e. Compounds which are formed by the reaction of a naturally occurring carbon-containing substance and water

b. Binary compounds of carbon and hydrogen

Explanation:

Before proceeding, Hydrocarbons refers to organic chemical compounds composed exclusively of hydrogen and carbon atoms. This means the only elements present in an hydrocarbon are;

- Carbon

- Hydrogen

Looking through the options;

- Option A: This is wrong because the hydroxyl group contains oxygen and hydrocarbons contain only hydrogen and carbon.

- option B: This is correct. Binary compounds refers to compounds with just two elements.

- option C: This is wrong because water contains oxygen and hydrocarbons contain only hydrogen and carbon.

- option D: Carbon atoms can contain other elements so this option is wrong.

- option E: This also wrong because we had already gotten the correct option.

c-14 is carbon-14, or radiocarbon.   it is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons.