TJames

I left something important out and unfortunately I cannot edit this post. The source of electrons can be either a lone pair or a double bond but (almost) never a single bond. Therefore your arrow will always begin at a lone pair of electrons, or a double/triple bond between two atoms. I find it much easier to do these correctly if you always circle the electrons that will be doing the moving. Don't merely start your arrow at the atom. You don't want to get into the habit of thinking that the arrows show ATOMS moving - there are many reactions in which the atoms barely move at all.

As you surmised correctly the sulfuric acid will pull as much water as it can from these sorts of compounds. Take as many H2Os away as you can and what are you left with? Mostly carbon and some random hydrocarbons. If you add concentrated sulfuric acid to pure table sugar, the sugar gradually turns into a black spongy mass that will expand to a much larger volume than the original sugar. It is basically carbon.

The first compound is 2-phenyl-1-(1,2-diphenylethylidene)hydrazine. The second is 3-ethylheptan-4-ol.

This is correct. When you react a 1,2-diol with PBr3 you get the corresponding 1,2-dibromide.

1) Move pairs of electrons. Never + charges. 2) Because you are moving pairs of electrons, the source of the electrons must be an atom with a lone pair. 3) Whenever you push two electrons into an atom, if that atom already had 8 electrons, you must push two out. The exception is H+.

Is there any particular reason why you can't just buy it?