As shown below, the acetoacetic ester synthesis is a method for preparing a methyl ketone from an alkyl halide. This method involves alkylation followed by hydrolysis and decarboxylation upon heating.
(1) Show the mechanism for the following reaction, which is the first step of preparing 2-heptanone with the acetoacetic ester synthesis, using curved arrows to indicate the flow of electrons.
(2) What ketone can be prepared from 3-bromo-1-propene using the above acetoacetic ester synthesis? Draw the skeletal structure of this ketone.
(3) Ethyl acetoacetate used in the above reaction can be prepared from the following Claisen condensation of an ester. Draw the structure of this ester.