Final answer:
The ClO₃OH molecule features resonance structures that fulfill the octet rule for chlorine and minimize formal charges. In the structure that satisfies the octet rule, the hydrogen (H) and the oxygen (O) bonded to H have a formal charge of zero, while the chlorine (Cl) and the other oxygens have nonzero formal charges. Option b.
Step-by-step explanation:
To address the question regarding ClO₃OH, we need to consider two resonance structures: one that satisfies the octet rule for the central atom and another that minimizes formal charges.
In the resonance structure that satisfies the octet rule, the central chlorine atom (Cl) is bonded to three oxygen atoms through single bonds and to one oxygen atom through a double bond.
This setup is required to fulfill the octet for chlorine. Because of the equivalence of the oxygen atoms, there are indeed three resonance forms with the double bond located at each different oxygen in turn, making them equivalent in the resonance hybrid. The hydrogen atom is bonded to one of the oxygen atoms. When we apply the rules for calculating formal charges, we find that the chlorine atom and the oxygen atoms connected by single bonds have nonzero formal charges, while the hydrogen atom and the oxygen atom with the double bond have a formal charge of zero.
In the resonance structure that minimizes formal charges, the formal charges on every atom are as close to zero as possible, which might require some of the oxygen atoms to have double bonds with the chlorine, thereby reducing the formal charge on chlorine, while still keeping a single bond between chlorine and the oxygen attached to the hydrogen to ensure the octet is satisfied for all atoms.