Question

Which is not an example of mutually exclusive events?

(A) a light switch being in the on position or being in the off position
(B) a six-sided die rolled once and rolling a 3 or rolling a 4
(C) owning a dog or owning a cat
(D) a coin flipped once landing on heads or landing on tails

Answer 1

Mutually exclusive events can not occur simultaneously. A light switch can not be both on and off at the same time. A dice can not roll both a 3 and 4 at the same time. A coin can not land on both heads and tail. You can however own both a cat and a dog at the same time.

Answer 2

A, B and D are correct options.

Explanation:

When two events cannot occur at the same time, then the events are said to be not mutually exclusive.

The examples are:

(A) a light switch being in the on position or being in the off position. It can either be on or off, but not both.

(B) a six-sided die rolled once and rolling a 3 or rolling a 4. It can either be 3 or 4 but not both.

(D) a coin flipped once landing on heads or landing on tails. It can either be a heads or a tails but not both.