Events are mutually exclusive if they cannot happen at the same time. For example, if we toss a coin, either heads or tails might turn up, but not heads and tails at the same time. Similarly, in a single throw of a die, we can only have one number shown at the top face. The numbers on the face are mutually exclusive events.
If A and B are mutually exclusive events then the probability of A happening OR the probability of B happening is P(A) + P(B).
P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B)
Example:
What is the probability of a die showing a 2 or a 5?
Solution:
Example:
The probabilities of three teams A, B and C winning a badminton competition are
Calculate the probability that
a) either A or B will win
b) either A or B or C will win
c) none of these teams will win
d) neither A nor B will win
Solution:
c) P(none will win) = 1 – P(A or B or C will win)
d) P(neither A nor B will win) = 1 – P(either A or B will win)
The following video shows how to calculate the probabilty of mutually exclusive events and non-mutually exclusive events.
The following video shows how to calculate the probability of multiple events. It will distinguish between the mutually exclusive ("OR" events) and the "AND" events,
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