Mutually exclusive means if one thing is true the other must be false and vice versa.
If A is true, B is false. If B is true, A is false.
For instance,
The ball was totally red.
The ball was totally blue.
These are mutually exclusive because the ball can only be one or the other.
The ball was red.
The ball was blue.
These are NOT mutually exclusive because the ball could also be red AND blue.
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The term mutually exclusive refers to 2 or more events of incidents, in which the happening of one event precludes the happening of the other. Mutually exclusive can be applied less formally to the dating world, in which a couple who has been dating become more serious, and therefore mutually exclusive with one another.
If two events ARE mutually exclusive, then it means that they can not both happen simultaneously. For example, if we flip a coin, it can only be heads or tails, not both. an example of not mutually exclusive events are strong winds and rain. it could be strong wind, or rain, or both.
It means that if one of the events happens the other cannot.
It is the opposite of mutually exclusive. Potentially inclusive are events that can happen at the same time, as mutually exclusive events can't.
no outcomes in common