Introduction to Statistics, Fall 2007

Course Information

Course: Mathematics 105 B, Introduction to 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: MTWF 2:00-2:50 PM in VSC 166.
Text: The Basic Practice of Statistics 4th Edition, by Moore.
Technology: A TI-83 or TI-84 calculator (or any variation of these two calculators) is required for this course. Students with similar calculators will have a significant disadvantage to overcome. No prior knowledge of 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/introstatframeset.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: Thursday, December 13, 1 PM in VSC 166 (our usual classroom).

Class Overview
Statistics is the science of interpreting, understanding, and deducing information from data collections. We will emphasize the meaning and interpretation of statistical results, rather than the formulas used to calculate them or the theoretical underpinnings of these techniques. Our goal will be to cover most of the chapters of the text, in the order they appear in the book. In more technical terms, we'll cover graphical and numerical summaries of data (both one and two variable data); basic properties and calculations based on the normal and binomial distributions; sampling and design of experiments; sampling distributions; confidence intervals and significance tests. We will spend two or three days on each chapter of the text. Most students find the first several chapters of the text much easier than the remaining chapters. Our text is exceptionally well written. You should strive to read the text; it is written with you in mind. Reading mathematics is a skill we will focus on in this course. It is an active process, unlike reading most novels or poems. You should read each chapter of the text before coming to the class meetings on that material. The homework problems which appear in the middle of the chapters (for example, problems 1.1 to 1.12 in chapter 1) should be attempted as you read. These questions will likely show up on quizzes and activities.

Most students that struggle with statistics fall behind at some point; avoid this like the plague. One day at a time, statistics is pretty reasonable! If you blow off a few days, it can become much more challenging. The basic principle of learning anything is persistence. Statistics is no different. Go to class, ask questions, read the text, do the homework, and you will learn statistics.

Goals for the Course
Upon completing Introduction to Statistics, students will:

Have an understanding of the main ideas of statistics and useful skills for working with data.
Know a variety of methods for analyzing, describing, and displaying data.
Understand concepts related to the proper production of data and experimental design, such as randomization and comparative analysis.
Master the language, meaning and calculations of statistical inference.
Be able to meaningfully respond to and interpret the ever increasing statistical results appearing in our modern media.

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 19 (exam 1), October 19 (exam 2), and November 30 (exam 3). We will also have a 150 point cumulative final exam at 1:00 PM on Thursday, December 13, 2007.

Quizzes
There will be regular (every week or two) quizzes, most of which are announced the day before. Questions on the quizzes will be designed to check whether or not students are keeping up with class materials and homework.

Homework and Activities
I will collect homework assignments regularly (one or two for each chapter), recording "just the answer" will receive little or no credit. You should show and/or explain your work on all assignments for this class. You are encouraged to work together on homework assignments, but this does NOT mean copying the work of others nor answers from a solution set. We will complete several activities (mostly in groups), some in-class, others may be out of class. These activities will involve the current topics of the course and will normally replace a lecture.

Class Participation and Attendance
There will be 50 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 50 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
Quizzes	150
Homework and Activities	350
Class Participation	50
Total Points	1000

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.

I will drop your lowest homework 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. Quizzes missed due to unexcused absences can NOT be made up. I am fairly flexible about giving exams at alternate times, BUT you should definitely warn me before the exam is missed, and plan on taking it 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

TI-83 Materials

The TI-83 or 84 calculator (or any variation of these two calculators) is required for this course. It performs many useful statistical calculations with the press of a button. No prior knowledge of the TI-83 (84) is assumed but the TI-83 will be utilized extensively in this course. The links below point to files designed to help explain some features of this pocket computer. The first two links are introductory in nature and designed to help familiarize new users with some basic features of the TI-83. The remaining links will only make sense as we progress through the semester.
Introduction : A general introduction to the TI-83 calculator.

Graphing : Several basic operations related to graphing functions are covered in this document.

Normal Calculations : Probabilities associated with normal distributions are covered.

Linear Regression : Correlation, scatterplots and least squares linear regression are looked at briefly on the TI-83.

Confidence intervals and significance or hypothesis tests with the TI-83.

Activities

Association and correlation.

Exams

Exam 1 practice problems from chapters 1 to 5.
Exam 2 practice problems from chapters 10,11,12 and 13.

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/introstat/index.htm#schedule and on Blackboard.


Week	Dates	Chapters	Topic, Assignment & Due Date
1	Aug 21-24	1	Individuals, Variables, and Graphs of Distributions Class data sheet Due Mon 8-27 Ch 1 #1,4,6,8,10,11,12,15,19,20,21,30,32,33,36,38,41,44
2	Aug 27-31	2	Numerical Summaries (mean, standard deviation, median and quartiles) of Distributions Due Tues 9-4 Ch 2 #1,2,4,6,8,11,12,16,17,18,22,23,29,34,36,38,44,46
3	Sept 4-7	3	Normal Distributions HW Ch 3# 4,6,8,10,12,14,17,18,20,24,29,31,32,44 due Fri 9-7
4	Sept 10-14	4	Scatterplots and Correlation HW Ch 4 # 2,4,5,10,14,15,16,18,22,24,38,39 due Fri 9-14
5	Sept 17-21	5, 8	Regression, Ch 5 # 1,4,9,12,14,15,18,19,20,26,28,30,36,38,40 due Tues 9-18 Producing Data, Sampling, Ch 8 # 2,4,10,12,20,21,22,34,35,42 due Tues 9-25 Exam 1, Th 9-20 6:30 PM
6	Sept 24-28	9, 10	Producing Data, Experiments Ch 9 # 2,10,14,18,22,26,30,46a due Tues 10-2 Introducing Probability Ch 10 # 4,6,16,17,20,21,22,23,24,44,46,51 due Mon 10-8
7	Oct 1-5	10,11	Sampling Distributions, Ch 11 # 5,8,9,10,12,13,20,21,23,26,28,32,34,36,38,42 due Fri 10-12
8	Oct 8-12	11,12	General Rules of Probability,
9	Oct 15-17	12	Ch 12 # 2,4,5,7,10,14,16,19,20,21,22,23,28,31,32,33,41,49,52 due Mon 10-22
10	Oct 22-26	13	Binomial Distributions, Ch 13 # 2,4,6,8,12,17,18,22,23,24,28,32 Due Mon 10-29
11	Oct 29-Nov 2	14	Exam 2 chapters 10,11,12,13
12	Nov 5-9	15	Confidence Intervals: The Basics, Ch 14 # 4,6,7,8,10,12,14,21,22,23,24,30,32,34 due Tues 11-6 Tests of Significance the Basics, Ch 15 #2,4,6,10,14,16,18,20,23,24,34,36,38,42,46,48 due Mon 11-12
17	Thur Dec 13	1 PM	Cumulative 150 Point Final Exam