What does 6 / 2 (2+1) =

Question

This has been an ongoing debate that I have seen lately that me and my wife and friends have been talking about. The way I was taught was using the PEMDAS method (P)(E)(MD)(AS). However, my wife and some of her elementary school teacher friends are absolutely sure that multiplication come before division and addition comes before subtraction. I was taught that multiplication and division are equal and are done from left to right in the equation. The same thing with addition and subtraction. Which is right?

Answer 1

6/2(2+1)

do what is in the grouping symbols first

multiply and divide in order from left to right, whichever occurs first

6/2(3)

3(3)

9 is the answer

 

if it were written as 6/[2(2+1)], then it would be 6/[2(3)]=6/6=1