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The issue is precedence. You have to know the rules of precedence to read such equations. Those rules are arbitrary. Everyone has to agree on them. Just like laws people have to obey, even when the laws seem silly.
If the rules of precedence say multiplication and division are equal precedence, and the precedence is from left to right, the 48/2(9+3) is read as if it were written (48/2)(9+3).
So the whole debate is about how to read the equation. And that depends only on the rules. So it's a debate about rules. But the debate question doesn't say whether the issue is what the rules should be, or what the rules are, or what. In other words, what are we debating? Or is this even a debate at all? It looks more like a poll.
The issue is precedence. You have to know the rules of precedence to read such equations. Those rules are arbitrary. Everyone has to agree on them. Just like laws people have to obey, even when the laws seem silly.
If the rules of precedence say multiplication and division are equal precedence, and the precedence is from left to right, the 48/2(9+3) is read as if it were written (48/2)(9+3).
So the whole debate is about how to read the equation. And that depends only on the rules. So it's a debate about rules. But the debate question doesn't say whether the issue is what the rules should be, or what the rules are, or what. In other words, what are we debating? Or is this even a debate at all? It looks more like a poll.
The topic is asking what the answer to the equation is according to the existing rules, not according to what anyone wants them to be. lol
If I remember correctly, parenthesis are always solved first. So the answer is 2.
"scarecrow" did solve the equation in parenthesis first. S/he got 288. It's about what you do after you solve the parenthetical equation first.
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