You're almost there! The statement about hydrogen atoms orienting themselves as far away as possible in HCl is not due to an arrangement. It's more about the bond itself.

Here's the breakdown:

* HCl is a covalent bond: The hydrogen and chlorine atoms share electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration.

* Electronegativity: Chlorine is much more electronegative than hydrogen, meaning it pulls the shared electrons closer to itself. This creates a polar covalent bond.

* Partial charges: As a result of the unequal sharing, the chlorine atom gains a partial negative charge (δ-) and the hydrogen atom gains a partial positive charge (δ+).

* Repulsion: The positive hydrogen atoms will naturally repel each other due to their like charges.

So, while the hydrogen atoms aren't actively arranging themselves, the nature of the polar covalent bond and the resulting electrostatic repulsion between the positive hydrogen atoms causes them to be as far apart as possible.