What is a random event? Definition and examples

In probability theory, a random event happens by chance. In other words, there is uncertainty as to what the outcome of the event will be.

For example, throwing a die is a random event because the die may land on 2 for example by chance and you had absolutely no idea that the die was going to land on 2.

More examples of random events

• When you draw a card from a standard deck of 52 cards, the card you draw is a random event since it could be any of the 52 cards

• The number of people going to a restaurant to eat each week is a random event. It is random because it could be 500, 200, 1800, 20, or event 0 in the worse case situation

• Flipping a fair coin is a random event since you do not know in advance if the coin will land on head or tail

• The number of car accidents in a city on a given day is a random event

Some events that are not random events

• Throwing a loaded or weighted die is not a random event since the die will have a tendency to land on a specific number

• You decide what you will have for dinner every Friday

• You go to a park to study for an exam