findOrFail vs find
find($id) takes an id and returns a single model. If no matching model exist, it returns null.
findOrFail($id) takes an id and returns a single model. If no matching model exist, it throws an error1.
first() returns the first record found in the database. If no matching model exist, it returns null.
firstOrFail() returns the first record found in the database. If no matching model exist, it throws an error1.
get() returns a collection of models matching the query.
pluck($column) returns a collection of just the values in the given column. In previous versions of Laravel this method was called lists.
toArray() converts the model/collection into a simple PHP array.