Final answer:
Theoretical probability cannot exceed 1, as it represents the chance of an event occurring and is calculated by the ratio of favorable to total possible outcomes, which always results in a value between 0 and 1, inclusive.
Step-by-step explanation:
Can Theoretical Probability Exceed 1?
No, a theoretical probability cannot exceed 1. Theoretical probability can be understood as the chance of an event occurring based on all the possible outcomes, and it is always expressed as a number between 0 and 1, inclusive. The probability of an event is calculated by dividing the number of favorable outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes.
Here's why the probability cannot be more than 1: If the probability of an event occurring was more than 1, it would mean that the event is more than certain to occur, which doesn't make sense and defies the laws of probability. In probability theory, the sum of the probabilities of all possible outcomes in a given trial amounts to 1, because an outcome must occur. For instance, when you throw a fair six-sided die, the probability of rolling a three is 1/6. This probability does not change, no matter how many times you throw the die.
Considering the above, it's clear that the concept of probability ensures that the probability value will stay within the range from 0 to 1, where 0 indicates impossibility and 1 indicates certainty.