General Statistics, Fall 2007

Course Information

Course: Mathematics 190 A, Topics: General Statistics, Fall 2007, Central College . This class carries the "m" (math) core designation.
Professor: Tom Linton office: 129 VSC, phone: (641) 628-5264 email: lintont@central.edu
Office Hours: Mon 10-10:50 PM, Tues 1-1:50 PM, Thur 8:30-9:20 AM, Fri 1-1:50 PM, or by appointment. Class Meets: T-Th 9:30-10:45 PM in VSC 141.
Text: WorkShop Statistics Discovery with Data and Fathom, by Rossman, Chance, Lock.
Technology: We will use the statistics package Fathom for this class. Fathom is installed on campus networked computers. A student version of Fathom is available if you prefer to do homework using your own computer. A TI-83 or TI-84 calculator (or any variation of these two calculators) is recommended for this course. No prior knowledge of Fathom or the TI-83 (84) is assumed. Calculators are allowed on exams and should be brought with you to every class. The class web page is located at the URL http://pages.central.edu/emp/lintont/classes/fall07/genstatframeset.htm. This course has a site on Central's Blackboard server (http://my.central.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp), and information relevant to this course may come via email. You should regularly check your Central email and the class web pages for information related to this class.
Cumulative Final Exam: Wednesday, December 12, 3:30 PM in VSC 141 (our usual classroom).

Class Overview
Statistics might be defined as the science of numerical reasoning from data. Its purpose is to aid people in making decisions based on the analysis of numerical information. Data and numerical arguments abound not only in science and social science disciplines but in almost every field of academic inquiry. Moreover, most people encounter statistical reasoning in everyday life. It is therefore exceedingly appropriate and important for all liberally educated citizens to undertake study of fundamental principles and methods of statistics.
Contrary to its popular perception as a black box collection of arcane magic tricks, statistics involves much more than numerical computations. The emphasis of the course will be on understanding statistical concepts and on interpreting and communicating the results of statistical analyses. In other words, you will be expected to learn to construct and analyze numerical arguments. In contrast to most mathematics courses, we will be using phrases such as "there is strong evidence that ..." and "the data suggest that ..." rather than "the exact answer is ..." and "it is therefore proven that ...". To alleviate the computational burden, we will often use the computer program Fathom (or a calculator) to perform calculations and produce visual displays.
As opposed to passively taking notes while I lecture, you will spend the vast majority of class time actively engaged with the material. You will work through activities carefully designed to lead you to discover fundamental statistical ideas for yourself. You will be encouraged to work collaboratively with a partner on most of these activities, and some will require the use of the computer. My role during class time will be to mill about the classroom, answering your questions and prodding you toward a better understanding of the material. I will also lead class discussions and present explanations where appropriate. What you need to bring to the course are an open mind for tackling quantitative questions in a conceptual manner and a willingness to participate actively in class.

Goals for the Course
Upon completing General Statistics, you will:

develop the ability to apply and interpret the results of a variety of statistical techniques, including both exploratory and inferential methods.
have an understanding of many of the fundamental ideas of statistics, such as variability, distribution, association, causation, sampling, experimentation, confidence, and significance.
develop a critical perspective with which to analyze and assess statistical arguments such as one encounters in the popular press as well as in scholarly publications.

Americans with Disabilities Act
Central College abides by interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that stipulates no student shall be denied the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a handicap." Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, hearing, sight, or mobility impairments, and other health related impairments. If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class for which you may require accommodations, please see me and Nancy Kroese, Director of Student Support Services and Disabilities Services Coordinator, (x 5247) during the first two weeks of the semester so that such accommodations may be arranged.

Grades

Exams
There will be three 100 point midterm exams given in the evenings (regular class meeting time will be cancelled to compensate for these three additional dates). These exams will occur approximately on the dates September 18 (exam 1), October 18 (exam 2), and November 29 (exam 3). We will also have a 150 point cumulative final exam at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, December 12, 2007.

Homework and Activities
Most sections of the text (called topics) will consist of preliminary questions (often involving gathering of data), several in-class activities, and a few homework problems. As opposed to passively taking notes while I lecture, you will spend the vast majority of class time actively engaged with the material. You will work through activities carefully designed to lead you to discover fundamental statistical ideas for yourself. You will be encouraged to work collaboratively with a partner on most of these activities, and some will require the use of the computer. My role during class time will be to mill about the classroom, answering your questions and prodding you toward a better understanding of the material. I will also lead class discussions and present explanations where appropriate. You are encouraged to work together on the assignments, but your answers must be written up individually in your own words. I will collect the homework from each topic as well as one or two of the activities for grading. There will be approximately 300 points for homework and activities.

Class Participation and Attendance
There will be 100 points of your final grade based on your class participation (asking questions, taking part in discussions, contributing to your group in activities, etc.) and attendance. I will determine your score for these 100 points. You are responsible for all of the material covered in class each day, even if you are not present.

Course Grades
Grades, based on the letter, or A, A-, B+, B, B-, . . . system, will be based on a weighted curve of the points in the class. The curve used will be the traditional 100-93 A, 92-90 A-, 89-88 B+, etc. (or an easier curve). The breakdown of points in the class is given below. There is no extra credit for this class. You are encouraged to work together on group assignments (including homework), but copying answers of others (including those in the back of the text) will result in no credit. We expect you to uphold Central's Academic Honesty Policy given below.

Each of Exams 1, 2, 3	3 x 100
Final Exam	150
Homework and Activities	300
Class Participation	100
Total Points	850

Late assignments and academic dishonesty
Mock Trial participants, choir tour participants, athletes, and others who must miss a class for participating in a college sanctioned event are expected to notify me in advance and complete work including tests in advance of the absence. It is the student's responsibility to communicate with me well in advance regarding their absences and determine a schedule for make up work. Class attendance is strongly encouraged. Due to the interactive nature of the classroom environment, most students find that attending class regularly is essential to learning the material. Naturally, you are responsible for material covered and announcements made during classes that you miss.

I will drop your lowest homework or activity assignment. In addition, each student will receive four "days" of allowed (penalty free) late assignments. An assignment is late "one day" if it is turned in after I collect it, up to the following lecture period, at which point the 2nd late day begins, and runs up to the next class period, etc. Other than the dropped scores and each student's four days of penalty free lateness, there is no credit for late work. I am fairly flexible about giving exams at alternate times, and moving deadlines for excused absences, BUT you should definitely warn me before the assignment is missed, and plan on turning things in early rather than late.

Plagiarism and cheating of any form are serious offenses and may result in an F for the assignment, the course, or expulsion from the college. The details of Central's Academic Integrity policy are found in the Student Handbook, on the web. A copy will be sent to you via e-mail during the first week of the semester. It is your responsibility to read and understand the contents of that policy before you submit work to be graded. Questions regarding the policies and enforcement of the policies may be addressed to me during class or during office hours.

Class Materials

Text Related Materials

In-class activity answers: Local copies are available through Blackboard, under Assignments. Here is the author's page of answers.
Fathom files are available locally in Tom's dropfolder (L:\Lintont\Fathom). Here is the author's download page of fathom files.

Schedule

Relevant information will be added to this schedule as we progress through the semester. An up to date version is available on line at http://pages.central.edu/emp/lintont/classes/fall07/genstat/index.htm#schedule and on Blackboard.


Week	Dates	Topics	HW Assignment & Due Date
1	Aug 21-23	1: Data and Variables 2: Data, Variables and Fathom	1.9, 1.10, and 1.16 Due Th 8-23 2.5, 2.7 data, 2.9 data due Th 8-30
2	Aug 28-30	3: Displaying and Describing Distributions	3-6,3-11,3-16,3-19 due Tues 9-4
3	Sept 4-6	4: Measures of Center 5: Measures of Spread	4-5,4-6,4-10,4-13 and in-class 4-3 due 9-6 5-8, 5-10, 5-14 plus in-class activity 5-6. Due 9-11
4	Sept 11-13	6: Comparing Distributions 1 Quantitative Variables 7: Comparing Distributions II, Categorical Variables.	6-5,6-9,6-19 plus in class activity 6-4, due 9-13 # 7-8,7-9,7-14 plus the prelim (questions 1-9). Due 9-18
5	Sept 18-20	8: Graphical Displays of Association 9: Correlation Coefficient	8-7, 8-15, 8-19 and in-class activity 8-2. Due 9-20 9-7,9-9,9-15 due 9-25
6	Sept 25-27	10: Least Squares Regression 1 11: Least Squares Regression II	10-5,10-9, 10-10 and in-class activity 10-3 due 9-27 11-4, 11-11, 11-12 and in-class activity 11-3. Due 10-2
7	Oct 2-4	Exam 1 review	Exam 1 Th 10-4 topics 1-11
8	Oct 9-11	12 Sampling	12-7, 12-9,12-11, 12-18 due Tues 10-16
9	Oct 16	13: Designing Studies	13-7, 13-10, 13-17 and in-class activity 13-6, due Th 10-25 Fall Break
10	Oct 23-25	14: Probability	14-6, 14-11, 14-12 and in-class activity 14-5, due Tues 10-30.
11	Oct 30 Nov 1	15: Normal Distributions	15-6,15-11, and 15-14, due Thursday 11-7.
12	Nov 6-8	16: Sampling Distributions 1: Proportions	16-6, 16-9, 16-11 due Tues 11-13
13	Nov 13-15	17: Sampling Distributions II: Means	17-4,17-5,17-9 and in-class activity 17-2, due Th 11-15
14	Nov 20	18: Central Limit Theorem	18-9 (use Fathom to find Normal probabilities), 18-10, 18-11, and in-class activity 18-3 (where you should use Table II to find Normal probabilities) due Tues 11-27.
15	Nov 27-29	19: Confidence Intervals Proportions	19-9, 19-13, 19-17 (no in class activity) due Thurs 12-6
16	Dec 4-6	20: Confidence Intervals Means
17	Wed Dec 12	3:30 PM	Cumulative 150 Point Final Exam