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math 140 - Introductory statistics

Contact Information

Bernardo Abrego, Ph. D.
Professor of Mathematics
Email.bernardo.abrego@csun.edu
Phone. (818) 677-5868
Fax. (818) 677-3634
Office Hours. Tuesdays 5:15-7:00 pm.
Office. Santa Susana Hall (SN) 435
Address.
Department of Mathematics
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northrige CA 91330-8313

Instructional Materials

Textbook

Statistics: From Data to Decision by Ann E. Watkins, Richard L. Scheaffer, George W. Cobb, 2nd edition, 2010. Wiley PLUS. ISBN 978-0-470-56928-3

Chapters 1-5, 7-11 will be covered.

Very important. It is required to get access to Wiley Plus to do the online homework. So do not buy a book without the access code to Wiley Plus, unless you already have the code.

Additional Materials

Access to Wiley Plus

Calculators

A TI-83 or TI-84 calculator is REQUIRED.

This is the only calculator supported by the instructor. Later models have the same capabilities, however the professor will not answer questions about the use of these calculators.

Calculators are allowed during quizzes and exams.

Interesting links

Here is a list of webpages that are relevant to the course:

First, almost all of the information relevant to the class, including notes for the calculator, notes for manipulatig excel, and data of the examples presented, are all in the Wiley Plus system.

A web site with tons of sites with statistical data and interesting webpages

http://www.statsci.org/datasets.html

Important Notices

Homework. Absolute last deadline for any type of homework is Thursday, May 9th at 11:00 pm.

Tutoring. Hours posted

Final Exam. Tuesday May 14th, 3:30-5:30pm.

Policies

Student Conduct Code

Academic Policy

Lecture Notes and Handouts

Here you will find copies of the slides presented in class as well as additional handouts. These are from last semester so the actual slides presented in class may be slighthly different

Handwritten scans of the exercises I solve in class will go here.

Sample Exams

There will be three in-class tests. You will have the entire class period (1:40 minutes) to work on each test. Make-up tests will be given only in case of an emergency. A justification note is necessary. The final exam is optional, see the details in the grading section.

Here are some actual tests from previous semesters that can help you prepare for the exams. These are provided to help you study, obviously you will not get the exact same problems on the actual test, moreover you may get different types of problems.

TENTATIVE dates for the exams will be provided soon; the professor will confirm or change these during class time at least a week before the day of the test.

First midterm exam: Friday February 22nd

Second midterm exam: Friday March 22nd.

Third midterm exam: Friday April 26th.

FINAL exam: Tuesday May 14th. 3:30-5:30pm.

Course Information Overview

Math 140 - Introductory Statistics.
Class Number 15951
Tuesday & Friday 3:30-5:10 pm
Manzanita Hall 130 (MZ 130)

Course Description

Methods for displaying, describing, and producing data. Normal distribution. Correlation and regression. Sampling distributions and probability. Statistical inference for means and proportions. (Available for General Education, Basic Skills Mathematics)

This course is intended as an introduction to Statistics. Here is a list of topics to be covered during the semester with the corresponding sections from the book.

Introduction to Data Exploration and Inference. Sections 1.1, 1.2
Distributions, types and graphical representations. Sections 2.1
Measures of Center and Spread. Section 2.2, 2.3
The Normal Distribution. Section 2.4
Surveys and Experiments. Sections 4.1, 4.3
Randomization. Section 4.2
Sampling distributions of Sample Mean and Sample Proportion. Sections 7.1, 7.2, 7.3
Probability, Conditional Probability, Independent Events. Sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5
Inference for Proportions. Sections 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3
Inference for Means. Sections 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 11.1, 11.2
Relationships between two quantitative variables. Sections 3.1,3.2,3.3

Not all material that you are supposed to learn will be covered in lecture. You are expected to read the book in detail. You will learn best by trying to read the sections BEFORE each lecture and being prepared to pay special attention in lecture to those parts that were most difficult for you to understand. Just as one cannot develop muscles or endurance by watching sports, one cannot learn mathematics by watching lectures only. Doing all the homework is the only reliable way to learn mathematics.

Course Prerequisites

Passing score on or exemption from the Entry Level Mathematics Examination, or credit in MATH 093.

Student Learning Objectives

As a course that fulfills the above mentioned General Education requirement, this class will address the following Student Learning Outcomes that have been established by the Mathematics Department:

Represent, understand and explain mathematical information
symbolically, graphically, numerically and verbally.
Develop mathematical models of real-world situations and explain the
assumptions and limitations of those models.
Use models to make predictions, draw conclusions, check whether the
results are reasonable, and find optimal results using technology where necessary and appropriate.
Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of mathematical reasoning
including the ability to prove simple results and/or make statistical inferences.

Grading

2% Attendance
17% Online Homework & Quizzes
17% 1st. Midterm exam
17% 2nd. Midterm exam
17% 3rd. Midterm exam
30% Final exam

The ± will be used for final grades. 90% guarantees an A, 80% a B, 70% a C, and 60% a D. After all the work of the semester is asssed, except for the final exam, all students will be given the option of either keeping their grade so far or taking the final exam.

The grading scheme for those students not taking the final exam is as follows:

2.84% Attendance
24.29% Online Homework & Quizzes
24.29% 1st. Midterm exam
24.29% 2nd. Midterm exam
24.29% 3rd. Midterm exam

Hints and Extra Help

If you are having problems with the material try the following suggestions.

Read the material beforehand, try to do the problems on your own. In this way you can ask me how to solve that particular problem, or to clarify some concept in the book that you did not quite understand.
Try to form a study group with some of your peers. One gains a lot from discussing the way to solve problems, and the time you spend studying will be more enjoyable.
Go to office hours with all your questions and doubts.
Go to tutoring, it is available at Bayramian Hall 417 as part of the Learning Resource Center. Also, there is extra tutoring offered by the Mathematics Department in our Tutoring Center (Live Oak LO 1319). the tutoring center will be opening the week of Monday February 4th, 2013. The hours for that week will be 11:00AM-4:00PM Mon-Thurs and 11:00AM-2:00PM on Friday. After that the tutoring center will go to its usual hours which will be 10:00AM-5:00PM Mon-Thurs and 10:00AM-2:00PM on Fridays.
If you think you need a lot more help consider hiring a private tutor.