If you wrote 8/2 vertically and then put the parenthesis (2x2) next to that, it’s a multiply. If you wrote 8/2 diagonally and put (2x2) next to that, it could be a divide, but I would specify an operator in that case because it’s ambiguous.
You wouldn’t write 2x if the x was supposed to be on top of the fraction. Implicit multiplication takes priority, PEMDAS is a relatively new and imperfect rule.
If you wrote 8/2 vertically and then put the parenthesis (2x2) next to that, it’s a multiply. If you wrote 8/2 diagonally and put (2x2) next to that, it could be a divide, but I would specify an operator in that case because it’s ambiguous.
For the record I think the answer should be 16.
Replace (2+2) with x.
8 / 2x = 4 / x = 4 / (2+2) = 1
You wouldn’t write 2x if the x was supposed to be on top of the fraction. Implicit multiplication takes priority, PEMDAS is a relatively new and imperfect rule.