[Tim n Texas]

2.... math eggheads would solve the juxtaposed 2(9+3) first. Another way to express this would be (2(9)+2(3)).

[DesertSapper]

Standard order of operations:

terms inside brackets & parentheses
exponents and roots
multiplication and division
addition and subtraction

The parentheses rule does NOT apply to numbers outside the parentheses.
Calculations at the same operations level must be worked left-to-right. Thus, the correct answer is 288.