Why's that?

 

Fixed.

 

As it is written in the thread title, the numerator is [48] and the denominator is [2*(9+3)]. The denominator should be simplified first following the order of operations. (9+3)=12, 2*12=24. Therefore, 48/2(9+3)=48/24=2.

 

Unless, of course, it isn't.

 

I don't understand. Care to elaborate?

 

Haha... why are people still arguing this? It's not a fraction. Or if it is, then the only fraction portion is 48/2, as illustrated in this post. The "/" is simply a division operator. In order for the "2(9+3)" to be the denominator, the entire term would have to be in parenteses, like this: 48/(2(9+3)). But it's not. So, standard operator order prevails.

 

I don't understand. Care to elaborate?[/quote]
The title of the thread is "48/2(9+3)".

Standard order of operations interprets that as (48/2)(9+3), not 48/[2(9+3)].

It isn't a numerator of 48 and a denominator of [2*(9+3)]; it's a dividend of 48, a divisor of 2, and a multiplicand of (9+3). Any other interpretation requires additional parentheses/brackets/braces, such as you supplied.

 

I will respectfully disagree. Thank you for your explaination.

 

For what reason (exactly)?

My pleasure.

 

That's like saying, "I will respectfully disagree" when somebody says, "The sky is blue." Sure, the sky is not blue if you use different words or rules to define colors, but when you use the commonly used and widely known definitions of colors, then you'll have to agree that the sky is blue. Same thing with math. If you use some hokey definitions that you make up, then sure... you can disagree. But if you follow the same basic math rules as everybody else on the planet, then there's no other way to interpret it.

But, yeah... I think we'd all like to hear your interpretation.