I work in a 4th grade classroom and we do this sort of problem all the time. The way we teach the kids:
48/2(9+3).....order of operations = PEMDAS or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally...
1. parenthesis 9+3 = 12
2.multiplication and division are equal so you start at the left and work right......48/2 = 24
3. 24*12=288
That's how we teach our 4th graders.
It’s exciting to see that the Order of Operations is still being properly taught somewhere in our failed school system in America!
Can you teach your 4th graders the aritmetic properties of fractions? Way too many students do not understand that multiplication/division rules do NOT apply to addition/ subtraction (& visa versa) and totally fail algebra when they get to simplifying rational expressions & solving eational equations.
That is a sad statement about the the teaching of math in our schools.