next up previous index
Next: More explorations Up: What are the chances Previous: De Méré's problem   Index

Mutually Exclusive events

Example:
What happens if we want to throw 1 and 6 in any order? This now means that we do not mind if the first die is either 1 or 6, as we are still in with a chance. But with the first die, if 1 falls uppermost, clearly It rules out the possibility of 6 being uppermost, so the two Outcomes, 1 and 6, are mutually exclusive, One result directly affects the other. In this case, the probability of throwing 1 or 6 with the first die is the sum of the two probabilities, 1/6 + 1/6 = 1/3.

When two events are mutually exclusive,(they can't happen at the same time) the probability of one or the other happening is the sum of the probabilities of each event.



Susan Holmes
2000-11-28