Let's use the quadratic formula to solve for x:
Starting with the general quadratic
the general solution using the quadratic equation is:
So lets solve ( notice , , and )
Plug in a=-1, b=-6, and c=-12
Negate -6 to get 6
Square -6 to get 36 (note: remember when you square -6, you must square the negative as well. This is because .)
Multiply to get
Combine like terms in the radicand (everything under the square root)
Simplify the square root (note: If you need help with simplifying the square root, check out this solver)
Multiply 2 and -1 to get -2
After simplifying, the quadratic has roots of
or
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