[masraum]

Originally Posted by romad

2(9+3) is one term. the parenthesis do not drop off after you work 9+3

so 48/2(9+3)
48/2(12)
48/24
2

2(12) means 2x12

48 divided by 2 times (12) does not imply that the 12 is somehow attached to the 2. Actually, yes, once the math inside () is done, you can drop them because they don't mean/do/change anything any more.

the question is easy to read as 48/(2(9+3)), but that's NOT what is written, or what 48 divided by 2 times (9+3)

I've had a lot of math. Tons of it. Maybe not as much as some of you, but probably more than most. I just don't see how we can still be discussing this. It's pretty much black and white.

When I first looked at the problem, I did the same thing that lots of other folks have done. "That's written really weird, the person must have meant 48/(2(9+3))". But that is absolutely not how it's written. Based on the order of operations, the answer is 288. As has been stated, it's poorly written. Part of the problem is written like grade school math, and part of the problem is written the way it would be written in algebra or calculus. The two really don't mix well.

As I see it, there are two ways to do the problem, the way it's written (the right way) that gives the answer 288 and the way that you ASS-U-ME the person writing it meant for it to be done (the wrong way unless you can ask the person to clarify and confirm) and that way gives the answer 2.