Are both sample spaces the same or do they mean different things?

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SUMMARY

The discussion clarifies the correct representation of the sample space for a two-toss coin experiment. The two proposed forms of the sample space, S = { {i,j}: i ∈ {H,T}, j ∈ {H,T} } and S = { (i,j): i ∈ {H,T}, j ∈ {H,T} }, are not equivalent. The first form incorrectly treats outcomes as sets, which do not account for order, while the second form correctly represents the outcomes as ordered pairs, reflecting the Cartesian product of the sample space. Thus, the accurate sample space is S = { (H, H), (H, T), (T, H), (T, T) }.

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vcsharp2003
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Homework Statement
A coin is tossed two times. What will be the sample space for this experiment?
Relevant Equations
None
I came up with two different forms of the sample space S, but I am not sure if they mean the same thing or the first one could mean something different. H stands for heads showing up and T stands for tails showing up.

$$ S = \{ \{i,j\}: i \in \{H,T\}, j \in \{H,T\} \} $$

$$ S = \{ (i,j) : i \in \{H,T\}, j \in \{H,T\} \} $$
 
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vcsharp2003 said:
Homework Statement:: A coin is tossed two times. What will be the sample space for this experiment?
Relevant Equations:: None

I came up with two different forms of the sample space S, but I am not sure if they mean the same thing or the first one could mean something different. H stands for heads showing up and T stands for tails showing up.

$$ S = \{ \{i,j\}: i \in \{H,T\}, j \in \{H,T\} \} $$

$$ S = \{ (i,j) : i \in \{H,T\}, j \in \{H,T\} \} $$
The order in which members of a set are listed is irrelevant, and multiple occurences of the same element in the list are redundant, so the first is \{\{H\}, \{H,T\}, \{T\} \}. Can this be right? If the two tosses have different outcomes, should we be able to distinguish between a head followed by a tail as opposed to a tail followed by a head?
 
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pasmith said:
The order in which members of a set are listed is irrelevant, and multiple occurences of the same element in the list are redundant, so the first is \{\{H\}, \{H,T\}, \{T\} \}. Can this be right? If the two tosses have different outcomes, should we be able to distinguish between a head followed by a tail as opposed to a tail followed by a head?
Ok, I get it.

If the first form is used then we will get one of the members of set S as ##\{ H,H \}## which is the same as ##\{ H\}##. Therefore, the first form is not correct and the second form is correct.

It seems to me that we're essentially trying to get Cartesian Product as the set S i.e. ##\{ H,T\} \times \{ H,T\} ## for which we always use the second form. Also we know that in Cartesian Product the order is important, which would account for order of H and T in a pair of values.
 
Last edited:
vcsharp2003 said:
Homework Statement:: A coin is tossed two times. What will be the sample space for this experiment?
Relevant Equations:: None

I came up with two different forms of the sample space S, but I am not sure if they mean the same thing or the first one could mean something different. H stands for heads showing up and T stands for tails showing up.

$$ S = \{ \{i,j\}: i \in \{H,T\}, j \in \{H,T\} \} $$

$$ S = \{ (i,j) : i \in \{H,T\}, j \in \{H,T\} \} $$
Your "two different forms" are actually identical.
Edit: I see now that the first version has ordered pairs (in parentheses) and the second has sets (in braces).
pasmith said:
The order in which members of a set are listed is irrelevant, and multiple occurences of the same element in the list are redundant, so the first is \{\{H\}, \{H,T\}, \{T\} \}.
@pasmith, I'm not what you're trying to say here, but the sample space should be a set of events, not a set of sets. IOW, looking like this: ##\{ (H, H), (H, T), (T, H), (T, T) \}##. Each of the listed pairs (events) is equally likely.
 
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Mark44 said:
Your "two different forms" are actually identical.

The first form uses braces \{i,j\}. That indicates a set, not an ordered pair. The second form is correct.
 
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pasmith said:
The first form uses braces {i,j}.
A detail that my old eyes missed.
 

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