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Fan Appreciation Night, Part 2

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Key Terms

Union

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Think of each event as a circle or group.  For mutually exclusive events, the events would be represented with non-overlapping circles.

This graphic displays two non-overlapping circles. One circle is labeled A and the other is labeled B.

To calculate probabilities of mutually exclusive events, the probability of either event occurring is simply the sum of the probabilities of each individual event.  So, the probability of A or B equals the probability of A plus the probability of B.. The the probability of A or B occurring is known as finding the probability of the union of A and B, and may also be written as the probability of A union B.

For the first drawing, the probability of Allyson or Andrew winning would be the probability of Allyson winning plus the probability of Andrew winning equals one five-thousandth plus one five-thousandth, which equals two five-thousandths..

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