alleryStart learning →What makes two events mutually exclusive?
AThey have every outcome in common
BThey have no outcomes in common
CThey have the same probability value
DThey together fill the sample space
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. They have no outcomes in common
1. Mutually exclusive events cannot both occur on the same trial.
2. That is exactly the statement that they share no outcomes, so their intersection is the empty set.
3. With nothing shared there is nothing to subtract, so the probability of their union is the plain sum.
4. Filling the whole sample space between them is a separate property and is not required for exclusivity.
_Source: OpenStax Algebra and Trigonometry (CC BY 4.0), Ch 13 "Sequences, Probability and Counting Theory", section 13.7 Probability_
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