It does not change the value of a determinant to multiply a row by a constant and add it to another row.Multiply the 2nd row by -x and add it to the 3rd row: Multiply the 1st row by -x and add it to the 2nd row: Multiply the 2nd row by -y and add it to the 3rd row: The bottom row has all 0's, so the value of the determinant is 0. Edwin