Which of the following compounds undergoes sulfonation most easily?

Arrange the following in decreasing order of the rate of electrophilic aromatic substitution:

Which of the following compounds is used for the laboratory preparation of benzene?

The addition of $Cl_2$ to benzene in the presence of $AlCl_3$ is an example of:

Match the following reactions in List-$I$ with their corresponding products in List-$II$:
List-$I$ (Reaction):
$A$. $\text{Benzene} + Cl_2 \xrightarrow{AlCl_3}$
$B$. $\text{Benzene} + CH_3Cl \xrightarrow{\text{anhyd. } AlCl_3}$
$C$. $\text{Benzene} + R-CO-Cl \xrightarrow{\text{anhyd. } AlCl_3}$
$D$. $\text{Toluene} \xrightarrow{(i) KMnO_4/KOH, (ii) H_3O^+}$
List-$II$ (Product):
$I$. $\text{Benzoic acid}$
$II$. $\text{Alkyl phenyl ketone}$
$III$. $\text{Chlorobenzene}$
$IV$. $\text{Toluene}$

What is meant by a meta-directing group? Give examples of it and explain the meta-directing effect of $-NO_2$.