Math 301 Introduction to Probability and Statistics

Fall 2006

Section 001 3:00 to 4:30, M W

Instructor: Dr. Chris Edwards Phone: 424-1358 or 948-3969 Office: Swart 123

Classroom: Swart 303 Text: Probability & Statistics for Engineers & Scientists, 8^th edition, by Walpole, Myers, Myers, and Ye.

Required Calculator: TI-83, TI-83 Plus (or TI-84 Plus), by Texas Instruments. Other TI graphics calculators (like the TI-86) do not have the same statistics routines we will be using and may cause you troubles.

Catalog Description: Elementary probability models, discrete and continuous random variables, sampling and sampling distributions, estimation, and hypothesis testing. Prerequisite: Mathematics 172 with a grade of C or better.

Course Objectives: The goal of statistics is to gain understanding from data. This course focuses on critical thinking and active learning. Students will be engaged in statistical problem solving and will develop intuition concerning data analysis, including the use of appropriate technology. Specifically students will develop

ï an awareness of the nature and value of statistics

ï a sound, critical approach to interpreting statistics, including possible misuses

ï facility with statistical calculations and evaluations, using appropriate technology

ï effective written and oral communication skills

Grading: Final grades are based on these 300 points:

	Topic	Points	Tentative Date	Chapters
Exam 1	Summaries, Probability	50 pts.	October 16	1-3
Exam 2	Distributions	50 pts.	November 13	4-6
Exam 3	Inference	50 pts.	December 13	8-10
Group Presentations	15 Points Each	60 pts.	Various
Homework	9 Points Each	90 pts.	Mostly Weekly

Final grades are assigned as follows:

270 pts. or more A (90 %)
255 pts. or more AB (85 %)
240 pts. or more B (80 %)
225 pts. or more BC (75 %)
210 pts. or more C (70 %)
180 pts. or more D (60 %)
179 pts. or less F

Homework: I will collect 3 homework problems approximately once a week. The due dates are listed on the course outline below. While I will only be grading 3 problems, I presume that you will be working on many more than just the three I assign. I suggest that you work together in small groups on the homework for this class. What I expect is a well thought-out, complete discussion of the problem. Please don't just put down a numerical answer; I want to see how you did the problem. (You won't get full credit for just numerical answers.) The method you use is much more important to me than the final answer. To aid in your study groups, I will be distributing a class roll of both sections I am teaching this semester.

Presentations: There will be four presentations, each worth 15 points. The descriptions of the presentations are on the Days301 file. I will assign you to your groups for these presentations randomly, but I want to avoid you having the same members each time. I expect each person in a group to contribute to the work; you can allocate the work in any way you like. If a group member is not contributing, see me as soon as possible so I can make a decision about what to do. The topics are: 1 – Displays (September 20). 2 - Probability (October 4). 3 - Central Limit Theorem (November 20). 4 - Statistical Hypothesis Testing (December 11).

Office Hours: Office hours are times when I will be in my office to help you. There are many other times when I am in my office. If I am in and not busy, I will be happy to help. My office hours for Fall 2006 semester are 1:50 to 2:50 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, or by appointment.

Philosophy: I strongly believe that you, the student, are the only person who can make yourself learn. Therefore, whenever it is appropriate, I expect you to discover the mathematics we will be exploring. I do not feel that lecturing to you will teach you how to do mathematics. I hope to be your guide while we learn some mathematics, but you will need to do the learning. I expect each of you to come to class prepared to digest the dayís material. That means you will benefit most by having read each section of the text before class.

My idea of education is definitely not "Teaching is telling and learning is listening". I believe that you must be active in the learning process to learn effectively. Therefore, I view my job as a teacher as not telling you the answers to the problems we will encounter, but rather pointing you in a direction that will allow you to see the solutions yourselves. To accomplish that goal, I will work to find different interactive activities for us to work on. Your job is to use me, your text, your friends, and any other resources to become adept at the material. Remember, the goal is to learn mathematics, not to pass the exams. (Incidentally, if you have truly learned the material, the test results will take care of themselves.)

Homework Assignments: (subject to change if we discover difficulties as we go)

Homework 1, due September 18	Chapter 1: 1.18 (use technology) p. 28 1.28 p. 30 Chapter 8: 8.31 (and a box plot) p. 253
Homework 2, due September 27	Chapter 2: 2.8 p. 38 2.38 p. 48 2.122 p. 74
Homework 3, due October 4	Chapter 2: 2.120 p. 74 2.132 p. 75 Chapter 3: 3.12 p. 88
Homework 4, due October 11	Chapter 3: 3.30 p. 90 3.36 p. 91 3.38 p. 101
Homework 5, due October 30	Chapter 5: 5.82 p. 167 5.93 p. 168 5.99 p. 168
Homework 6, due November 6	Chapter 6: 6.26 (both exact and approx.) p. 193 6.34 (both exact and approx.) p. 193 6.67 p. 207
Homework 7, due November 20	Chapter 8: 8.35 p. 253 8.67 p. 266 8.69 p. 267
Homework 8, due November 27	Chapter 8: 8.50 p. 265 Chapter 9: 9.6 p. 286 9.16 p. 286
Homework 9, due December 4	Chapter 9: 9.92 p. 316 9.94 p. 317 Chapter 10: 10.8 p. 337
Homework 10, due December 11	Chapter 10: 10.14 p. 337 10.108 p. 386 10.112 p. 387

Monday	Wednesday
September 4 NO CLASS	September 6 Day 1 Introduction, Random Sampling Sections 1.1 to 1.3
September 11 Day 2 Numerical Summaries Sections 1.4 to 1.6	September 13 Day 3 Graphical Summaries Sections 1.7 to 1.9, 8.3 (part)
September 18 Day 4 HW 1 Due Intro to Probability Sections 2.1 to 2.3	September 20 Day 5 Presentation 1 Permutations, Combinations Section 2.3 (cont.)
September 25 Day 6 Probability Rules Sections 2.4 and 2.5	September 27 Day 7 HW 2 Due Trees, Bayes' Sections 2.6 to 2.8
October 2 Day 8 Coins, Dice, RV's Sections 3.1 and 3.2	October 4 Day 9 HW 3 Due Continuous Distributions Section 3.3
October 9 Day 10 Presentation 2 Joint Distributions Section 3.4	October 11 Day 11 Expected Value, Variance Sections 4.1 and 4.2
October 16 Day 12 HW 4 Due Exam 1	October 18 Day 13 Linear Combinations, Binomial Sections 4.3, 5.1 to 5.3
October 23 Day 14 Binomial, Hypergeometric Sections 5.3 (cont.) and 5.4	October 25 Day 15 Negative Binomial, Poisson, Normal Sections 5.5 and 5.6, 6.1 to 6.3
October 30 Day 16 HW 5 Due Normal Problems Section 6.3 (cont.) and 6.4	November 1 Day 17 Normal Approx to Binomial, Gamma Sections 6.5 to 6.7
November 6 Day 18 HW 6 Due Central Limit Theorem Sections 8.1 to 8.5	November 8 Day 19 More CLT Sections 8.4 (cont.) and 8.5 (cont.)
November 13 Day 20 Exam 2	November 15 Day 21 m&mís Sections 9.1 to 9.5
November 20 Day 22 HW 7 due Presentation 3 Gosset Simulation Section 8.7	November 22 NO CLASS
November 27 Day 23 HW 8 Due Two Sample CI's, CI for Proportions Sections 9.8 to 9.11	November 29 Day 24 Intro to Hypothesis Testing Sections 10.1 to 10.4
December 4 Day 25 HW 9 Due Testing Simulations Sections 10.5 to 10.7	December 6 Day 26 Tests for Proportions Sections 10.8, 10.11 and 10.12
December 11 Day 27 HW 10 Due Presentation 4 Review	December 13 Day 28 Exam 3

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Managed by: Chris Edwards
edwards at uwosh dot edu
Last updated November 15, 2006