Which of the following describes a compound event in probability?

• A. An event that consists of two or more simple events combined, such as getting a head and rolling a six.
• B. An event that has a probability of $0$, such as drawing a green card from a standard deck.
• C. An event that is certain to occur, such as the probability of the sample space.
• D. An event that cannot be broken down into simpler events, such as drawing a red card from a deck.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the definition of a simple event in probability. A simple event is an outcome that cannot be broken down further, such as flipping a head on a coin or rolling a six on a die.
2. Step 2: Recognize that a compound event involves combining two or more simple events. For example, getting a head on a coin flip AND rolling a six on a die simultaneously is a compound event.
3. Step 3: Review the other options to distinguish them from compound events: an event with probability zero is impossible, an event certain to occur is the entire sample space, and an event that cannot be broken down is a simple event.
4. Step 4: Conclude that the correct description of a compound event is one that consists of two or more simple events combined, such as getting a head and rolling a six.
5. Step 5: Remember that compound events often involve the use of operations like AND (intersection) or OR (union) when calculating their probabilities.