what is mutually exclusive 
mutually exclusive is a statistical term describing two or more events that cannot happen simultaneously it is commonly used to describe a situation where the occurrence of one outcome supersedes the other for example war and peace cannot coexist at the same time this makes them mutually exclusive understanding mutually exclusivemutually exclusive events are events that can t both happen but should not be considered independent events independent events have no impact on the viability of other options for a basic example consider the rolling of dice you cannot roll both a five and a three simultaneously on a single die however you absolutely can roll a five and a three on two dice rolling a five and three simultaneously means this outcome is mutually exclusive rolling a five on one and a three on the other means they are not mutually exclusive outcomes 