Already been here, done this.
48÷2(9+3) = ? - OwnagePranks Forum
There are about a kajillion posts in there so I'll condense it.
Basically it's a ****ty problem. It can go either way. The notation is bad and therefore it could be 288 or 2. Using PEMDAS/BEMDAS whatever you call it, multiplications and division are on par with each other, as are addition and subtraction, so when it comes to those, it goes from left to right, not necessarily multiplication before division.
NOW, if you distribute the 2 into the parentheses, which you may do, you'll get 2, but if you do NOT distribute, by order of P/BEMDAS, you should get 288.
So what it really comes down to is notation. If they answer they were looking for was 2, it should've been 48/(2(9+3))
And if they were looking for 288 the notation should've been
(48/2)(9+3).
That's the "answer", there is nothing left to say about this. You can argue with me, but that would make you a dumbass.
Edit: Also for the acronyms, PEMDAS, BEMDAS, PEDMAS, BEDMAS, they're all correct. The way they teach it around here is "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" and seeing as it's taught all these different ways only reinforces the fact that division and multiplication are on part with each other.
