Since so many here have been all grumpy and irritating about how this is just basic grade school math, I decided to ask an actual basic grade schooler (i.e., my 12 yo kid) to solve the problem.
My kid got an answer that no one else on the thread has proposed yet.
48/2(9+3)
48/18+6
2.66666+6
8.666666....
I got a chuckle out of that and he looked again and said, "oh wait, duh, I have to distribute the whole 48/2, not just the 2".
48/2(9+3)
24(9+3)
216+72=288
Must be that California public education. But it is interesting that he totally saw it as a distribution equation.