Give chemical reactions for the following conversions:
$(1)$ Nitrobenzene from phenol
$(2)$ $p$-methylacetophenone from benzene

(N/A) $(1)$ Conversion of phenol to nitrobenzene:
Phenol is first reduced to benzene using zinc dust,followed by nitration.
$\text{Phenol}$ $\xrightarrow{\text{Zn dust}, \Delta} \text{Benzene}$ $\xrightarrow{\text{Conc. } HNO_3, \text{Conc. } H_2SO_4, \Delta} \text{Nitrobenzene}$
$(2)$ Conversion of benzene to $p$-methylacetophenone:
Benzene undergoes Friedel-Crafts alkylation to form toluene,followed by Friedel-Crafts acylation.
$\text{Benzene}$ $\xrightarrow{\text{CH}_3\text{Cl, anhy. AlCl}_3} \text{Toluene}$ $\xrightarrow{\text{CH}_3\text{COCl, anhy. AlCl}_3} p\text{-methylacetophenone}$