Chapter 15, Problem 36RQ

Acid-Base Properties of the Elements and Their Oxides

Boric acid is very poisonous and is used in ant bait (to kill ant colonies) and to poison cockroaches. It is a weak acid with a formula often written as ${\text{H}}_{\text{3}}{\text{BO}}_{\text{3}}$, although it is better written as $\text{B}{\left(\text{OH}\right)}_{\text{3}}$. It functions not as a Brønsted- Lowry acid, but as a Lewis acid. Using Lewis structures, show how $\text{B}{\left(\text{OH}\right)}_{\text{3}}$

can bind to a water molecule and cause the resulting product to be a weak Brønsted acid.