Identify Mutually Exclusive Events

Mutually exclusive events in probability are events that cannot happen at the same time.

Examples:

If I flip a coin, getting a head and getting a tail would be mutually exclusive because they cannot happen at the same time.

If I rolled a dice, getting a 2 and getting an even number are not mutually exclusive because they can happen at the same time.

It is really important to be able to identify events that are mutually exclusive, so this activity will provide you with lots of opportunities to think about this question and to spot the events that can't happen at the same time.

Remember:

Events that can't happen at the same time are mutually exclusive.

Events that give all the possible outcomes are exhaustive.

Let's have a go at some questions now.