The number of hydrogen bonds that can be formed by each boric acid molecule is

Answer

To determine the number of hydrogen bonds that can be formed by each boric acid molecule, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Structure of Boric Acid
Boric acid has the chemical formula \( H_3BO_3 \). It consists of one boron atom (B) surrounded by three hydroxyl groups (–OH).

### Step 2: Draw the Structure
1. Start by drawing the boron atom in the center.
2. Attach three oxygen atoms to the boron atom, each connected to a hydrogen atom (–OH).
3. The structure will look like this:
```
H
|
O--B--O--H
|
H
```

### Step 3: Identify Potential Hydrogen Bonding Sites
Each hydroxyl group (–OH) can participate in hydrogen bonding:
- The hydrogen atom (H) of one hydroxyl group can form a hydrogen bond with the oxygen atom (O) of another hydroxyl group from a different boric acid molecule.

### Step 4: Count the Hydrogen Bonds
1. Each boric acid molecule has three hydroxyl groups.
2. Each hydroxyl group can potentially form a hydrogen bond with the oxygen of another boric acid molecule.
3. Therefore, each boric acid molecule can form three hydrogen bonds with other boric acid molecules.

### Step 5: Consider Hydrogen Bonding in a Cluster
When multiple boric acid molecules are present, each molecule can interact with others:
- Each of the three hydroxyl groups can bond with the oxygen of another molecule, leading to a total of 6 hydrogen bonds when considering the interactions with neighboring molecules.

### Conclusion
Thus, the number of hydrogen bonds that can be formed by each boric acid molecule is **6**.

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