The answer is 2 because of the distributive property of multiplication.
I'm sure we all agree that 2 ÷ 6x != 2 ÷ 6 * x. Same idea applies, 6x = 6(x).
People falsely assume that a(b + c) = a * (b + c), this is not true altho it does work out most of the time. Imagine a(b + c) expanded to (a * b) + (a * c) and not a * (b + c).
You can rewrite the equation 48 / (9x + 3x) as:
48 / x(9 + 3) => 48 / x(12) => 48 / 12x => 4 * (1 / x) => 4 / x.
and not like:
48 / x * (9 + 3) => 48 / x * 12 => 576 / x <--Wrong!
Arguing over order of operations is a moot point, everyone agrees that BEDMAS (or PEDMAS, etc) applies. The error is that you have to simplify the equation before you you apply BEDMAS.
So 48 / 2(9+3) simplifies to 48 / (18+6), then solve.
Heres a better explanation
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110407104558AAnHvCy