Understanding Multiplication

As your class is practicing multiplication, a disagreement breaks out at one table. Jamie says that [latex]2(3\times 4)[/latex] is 48 because “you need to distribute the 2 to get 2 times 3 and 2 times 4.” Carter disagrees, saying “the answer is 24 because you need to do parentheses first: 3 times 4 is 12 and 12 times 2 is 24.” Who is correct? What mistake is the other student making?

/**/