Find the Discriminant 3x^2-x-12=0

$3 x^{2} - x - 12 = 0$

Step 1

The discriminant of a quadratic is the expression inside the radical of the quadratic formula.

$b^{2} - 4 (a c)$

Step 2

Substitute in the values of $a$ , $b$ , and $c$ .

${(- 1)}^{2} - 4 (3 \cdot - 12)$

Step 3

Evaluate the result to find the discriminant.

Simplify each term.

Raise $- 1$ to the power of $2$ .

$1 - 4 (3 \cdot - 12)$

Multiply $- 4 (3 \cdot - 12)$ .

Multiply $3$ by $- 12$ .

$1 - 4 \cdot - 36$

Multiply $- 4$ by $- 36$ .

$1 + 144$

Add $1$ and $144$ .

$145$