Section 2.2 Sample Spaces 25 This is read “S is the set of all x such that x is an automobile with a CB radio.” Similarly, if 5 is the set of odd positive integers, we write } How we formulate the sample space for a given situation will depend on the problem at hand. If an experiment consists of one roll of a die and we are interested in which face is turned up, we would use the sample space = (2k + Uk =0,1,2 $1 = (1,2,3,4,5, 6) However, if we are interested only in whether the face turnéd up is even or odd, we would use the sample space 52 = (even, odd} This demonstrates that different sample spaces may well be used to describe an experiment. In general, itis desirable to use sample spaces whose elements cannot be divided (partitioned or separated) into more primitive or more elementary kinds of outcomes. In othet words, it is preferable that an element of a sample space not represent two or more outcomes that are distinguishable in some way. Thus, in the preceding illustration 51 would be preferable to Sp. EXAMPLE 2.2 Describe a sample space that might be appropriate for an experiment in which we roll a pair of dice, one red and one green. Solution The sample space that provides the most information consists of the 36 points given by S=(@, ye =1,2,...,6 9 1,2,...,6) where x represents the number turned up by the red die and y represents the number turned up by the green die. A second sample space, adequate for most purposes (though less desirable in general as it provides less information), is given by So = (2,3,4,...,12) where the elements are the totals of the numbers turned up by the two dice. . Sample spaces are usually classified according to the number of elements that they contain, In the preceding example the sample spaces S; and S2 contained a finite number of elements; but if a coin is flipped until a head appears for the first. time, this could happen on the first flip, the second flip, the third flip, the fourth fp, ., and there are infinitely many possibilities. For this experiment we obtain the sample space $= (H,TH, TTH, TITH, TTTTH, ...} with an unending sequence of elements. But even here the number of elements can be matched one-to-one with the whole numbers, and in this sense the sample space is said to be countable. If a sample space contains a finite number of elements or an infinite though countable number of elements, it is said to be discrete.