Statistical thinking will
one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and
write.
–
H.G. Wells (1866 –
1946)
Professor: Joy Jordan
Office: 410
Briggs Hall
Phone: 832-6894
E-mail:
joy.jordan@lawrence.edu
Web
page: www.lawrence.edu/fast/jordanj/
Please note the URL for
my homepage. On this page is a link to the Math
117 web page, where I will post homework assignments, solutions, handouts,
etc. You should visit this website
regularly. Also note that I check email fairly regularly throughout the day
(typically 3 times), but if you have an emergency or a message that is urgent,
then you should definitely call, not email.
Introduction
to the Practice of Statistics, 5th
Edition,
The textbook has a helpful
companion website (a link to this site is included on the course web page).
Important Notes: There is a new (6th) edition of this
textbook (put out last spring), but in an effort to keep costs down for
students, we are using the 5th
edition of the book (that is, used copies should be easy to find). Also, a
copy of the textbook is on 2-hour reserve at the library (under Mr. Clemons –
Math 107).
Monday: 3:30 – 4:30, Tuesday:
11:00 – 12:00, Wednesday: 11:30 – 12:30, Thursday:
1:30 – 3:00
If these times do not
work with your particular class schedule, I am happy to make individual
appointments for other times. (You need not make an appointment during regular
office hours—just come on by.) Please ask
if you need help, and I will do all I can to assist you, but remember that you
need to ask (I can’t read your mind J). That said, I expect you to come to office hours
prepared (e.g., having done the reading, knowing the definitions) and not
simply looking for easy answers. Besides office hours, anytime my door is open,
feel free to come in and ask questions. If my door is closed, I am either out
of the office, or I’m working and prefer not to be disturbed.
I will assign homework
problems most days (and post them to the course website). These problems will
not be collected, but they will be discussed in class, and they will be integral to your learning of the
material. I will provide written solutions to all of the problems (they will be
posted on the website), so you can check your work. My homework solutions
should be thought of as required reading
for the course, since certain (small) topics may be illustrated through
homework problems rather than lecture. Please see me with any questions you
have on the homework.
An announced quiz will be
given on some Wednesdays (see attached course schedule). This will be an
in-class quiz (given at the beginning of class) that will take 15 – 20 minutes
to finish. The quizzes are not meant to scare you, but rather to regularly
gauge your understanding and to serve as a motivational study aid. Quizzes will
cover the major topics of the week, and will include questions requiring both
problem solving and explanation. There will be no make-up quizzes, except for
excused absences.
There will be two in-class exams during the term and a
final exam. The first exam is on Friday, January 30 and the second
exam is on Friday, March 6. The final exam is Thursday, March 19 at 8:30 a.m.
Your final grade is based
on a weighting of quizzes (10%), computer lab assignments (10%), and exams
(first exam – 25%, second exam – 25%, final exam – 30%). The letter grades will
be assigned as follows, corresponding to
Cutoff
|
Grade
|
|
93.75 |
A |
|
90.00 |
A- |
|
86.25 |
B+ |
|
83.75 |
B |
|
80.00 |
B- |
|
76.25 |
C+ |
|
73.75 |
C |
|
70.00 |
C- |
|
66.25 |
D+ |
|
63.75 |
D |
|
60.00 |
D- |
Even though this is a
large class, I strongly encourage questions from students, responses to my
queries, and lively discussion. You are warmly welcome to participate in class,
regardless of whether you have the “right” answer. Please join the conversation.
Because I love statistics
so much, I will encourage you to work hard to learn the material. But please
realize that your self-worth is not associated with your letter grade on a
particular quiz or exam (or even with your final course grade). You are all
good people, regardless of your official class performance on tasks. Furthermore,
I think as a society in general, and at
Date
|
General Material
|
|
|
M 1/5 |
Introduction |
To Students: What is
Statistics? |
|
W 1/7 |
One variable – graphs,
interpretation, numerical summaries, and transformations |
Sections 1.1 – 1.2 |
|
F 1/9 |
One-variable summaries |
Sections 1.1 – 1.2 |
|
M 1/12 |
Normal distributions |
Section 1.3 |
|
W 1/14 |
Quiz and normal distributions |
Section 1.3 |
|
F 1/16 |
Scatterplots, correlation, and regression analysis |
Section 2.1 – 2.3 |
|
M 1/19 |
No class – Martin Luther King
Jr. Day |
|
|
W 1/21 |
Quiz, regression
analysis, and regression diagnostics |
Sections 2.3 – 2.4 |
|
F 1/23 |
Regression diagnostics
and explaining association |
Sections 2.4 – 2.5 |
|
M 1/26 |
Experimental design |
Sections 3.1 – 3.2 |
|
W 1/28 |
Sampling design and
review |
Section 3.3 |
|
F 1/30 |
Exam 1 (Chapters 1 –
3)
|
Reread Chapters 1 – 3 |
|
M 2/2 |
Sampling distributions and specific probability rules
|
Sections 3.4, 4.1 – 4.2 |
|
W 2/4 |
General probability
rules and conditional probability
|
Section 4.5 |
|
F 2/6 |
Conditional probability and Bayes’ rule
|
Section 4.5 |
|
M 2/9 |
Probability review,
and random variables (distribution, mean, variance)
|
Sections 4.3 – 4.4 |
|
W 2/11 |
Quiz and random variables (distribution, mean, variance) |
Sections 4.3 – 4.4 |
|
F 2/13 |
No class – Reading Period |
Catch
up on reading and homework problems |
|
M 2/16 |
Means and variances of random variables, and binomial distribution
|
Sections 4.4, 5.1 |
|
W 2/18 |
Quiz and binomial distribution |
Section 5.1 |
|
F 2/20 |
Binomial distribution
and normal approximation in the binomial setting |
Sections 5.1 |
|
M 2/23 |
Central Limit Theorem
and linear combination of normal variables |
Section 5.2 |
|
W 2/25 |
Quiz
and linear combination of normal variables |
Section 5.2 |
|
F 2/27 |
Confidence intervals
|
Section 6.1 |
|
M 3/2 |
Confidence intervals
and significance testing |
Sections 6.1 – 6.2 |
|
W 3/4 |
Significance testing and review
|
Section 6.2 |
|
F 3/6 |
Exam 2 (Chapters 4 –
6)
|
Reread Chapters 4 – 6 |
|
M 3/9 |
Limitations of inference and one-sample t procedures |
Sections 6.3, 7.1 |
|
W 3/11 |
Paired and two-sample t procedures
|
Sections 7.1 – 7.2 |
|
F 3/13 |
Two-sample t procedures and review |
Section 7.2 |
|
R 3/19 |
Exam
3 (Chapters 1 – 7) – 8:30 am |
Reread Chapters 1 – 7 |