Key Concepts: Representing Sample Spaces

Definitions

• An experiment is a situation involving chance.
• An outcome is a possible result of an experiment.
• A sample space is the set of all possible outcomes.
• An event is a subset of the sample space.

Methods of Representation

• Organized list: write out all outcomes systematically.
• Tree diagram: branch for each choice; total outcomes = product of branch counts.
• Table: arrange outcomes in rows and columns for two-stage experiments.

Fundamental Counting Principle

If event A has m outcomes and event B has n outcomes, then A followed by B has m × n outcomes.