9.01 Sample space

Sample space

The sample space, sometimes called an event space, is a listing of all the possible outcomes that could arise from an experiment.

For example

• tossing a coin would have a sample space of $\left\{\text{Head},\text{Tail}\right\}${Head,Tail}, or $\left\{H,T\right\}${H,T}
• rolling a dice would have a sample space of $\left\{1,2,3,4,5,6\right\}${1,2,3,4,5,6}
• watching the weather could have a sample space of $\left\{\text{sunny},\text{cloudy},\text{rainy}\right\}${sunny,cloudy,rainy} or $\left\{\text{hot},\text{cold}\right\}${hot,cold}
• asking questions in a survey of favorite seasons could have a sample space of $\left\{\text{Summer},\text{Autumn},\text{Winter},\text{Spring}\right\}${Summer,Autumn,Winter,Spring}

Notice how the the sample space is listed inside curly parentheses, with a comma between each outcome. 

 

 

Practice questions

QUESTION 1

QUESTION 2

QUESTION 3