Expert: Richard J. Raridon - 11/10/2011

Question
6÷2(1+2) =?

I think the answer is 1. My peers disagree. They think the answer is 9. The problem seems too occur with the distribution of the 2. Following PEMDAS, does a(b) have precedence over a*b?

Help in this debate would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Answer
First of all, a(b) is the same as a*b if you mean to multiply the quantities together.  
Actually, you should never use *.  
The way your problem is written, the answer is 9 since you divide 6 by 2 to get 3 and then you multiply it by 3.  If it had been written 6/[2(1+2)] then the answer would have been 1.