Sample Space

Pronunciation: /ˈsæm.pəl speɪs/ Explain

A sample space consists of all possible outcomes of an experiment.

For example, when we flip a coin, there are two possible outcomes: heads and tails. The sample space is then heads and tails. The size of the sample space is 2.

The probability of the sample space is always 1, meaning that there is exactly 100% probability of something in the sample space occurring during the experiment.

References

1. McAdams, David E.. All Math Words Dictionary, sample space. 2nd Classroom edition 20150108-4799968. pg 160. Life is a Story Problem LLC. January 8, 2015. Buy the book
2. Grinstead, Charles M. and Snell, J. Laurie. Introduction to Probability. pp 18-19. Last Accessed 12/13/2018. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/teaching_aids/books_articles/probability_book/amsbook.mac.pdf. Buy the book
3. Goldberg, Samuel. Probability, An Introduction. pp 45-50. www.archive.org. Prentice Hall. 1960. Last Accessed 12/13/2018. http://www.archive.org/stream/probailityanintr000991mbp#page/n62/mode/1up. Buy the book

More Information

• McAdams, David E.. Probability. Life is a Story Problem LLC. 4/3/2009. http://www.lifeisastoryproblem.com/probability/index.html.

Cite this article as:

McAdams, David E. Sample Space. 5/3/2019. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/s/samplespace.html.

Revision History

5/3/2019: Changed equations and expressions to new format. (McAdams, David E.)
12/21/2018: Reviewed and corrected IPA pronunication. (McAdams, David E.)
12/5/2018: Removed broken links, updated license, implemented new markup. (McAdams, David E.)
8/7/2018: Changed vocabulary links to WORDLINK format. (McAdams, David E.)
7/12/2007: Initial version. (McAdams, David E.)