If the pKa is larger than the pH are most of the protonated amino groups going to be deprotonated? (No. The equilibrium will shift to the acidic side, that is the protonated form. - GS).

Dr. Sereda, in order to separate a mixture containing a hydrocarbon and an amine, I am thinking you would first want to dissolve the mixture in diethyl ether since they are both soluble in this, transfer this into a separatory funnel, and then add a strong acid which will react with the amine, converting it into an ammonium salt which is soluble in water. So then in the separatory funnel, the organic layer would include the hydrocarbon component and the aqueous layer would include the amine. (The aqueous layer will contain the ammonium salt. - GS).  Is this method correct? (Yes, but not complete. Now you need to get your amine back. - GS).

Is decarboxylation the loss of a carboxy-group in the form of carbon dioxide? (Yes. - GS).

Is it correct to think that diethyl ether will not form a carboxylic acid upon acidic hydrolysis since it does not contain a carbonyl group? (Yes. - GS).

For increasing reactivity of carboxylic acid derivatives in nucleophilic acyl substitution, the order of reactivity goes nitriles<amides<esters and acids<anhydrides< acid chlorides, right? (Almost. Remove the acid from the row, because it forms a salt instead of undergoing acyl substitution. - GS). If so, is that the same reactivity for hydrolysis? (Yes. - GS). Thank you!

Esters make good soaps, right? (Not necessarily. - GS). To look for a soap, do you want to find something that has a long hydrocarbon tail with a polar end? (Yes, and the polar end should better be ionized. - GS).

For the “rule” that weak bases make good leaving groups, does that apply to every type of substitution  reaction? Or just certain ones? (For all reactions when the leaving group leaves with accepting an electron pair. - GS).