Two events that cannot happen at the same time are said to be mutually exclusive.
Not mutually exclusive, see solution.
Practice makes perfect
We are asked whether the events of choosing a quadrilateral that is a square and choosing a quadrilateral that is a rectangle are mutually exclusive. First, let's recall the definition of mutually exclusive events.
Two events that cannot happen at the same time are said to be mutually exclusive.
Now, let's suppose that we are choosing from the following quadrilaterals.
Recall that every square is also a rectangle. Therefore, if we choose the first figure, a square, we are choosing a quadrilateral that is a square and a rectangle at the same time.
This means that the events of choosing a quadrilateral that is a square and choosing a quadrilateral that is a rectangle can happen at the same time. Thus, the events are not mutually exclusive.
