Sally Sievers. Office: Macmillan
102. Website
aurora.wells.edu/~srs/Math300-Sp08
Phone: 364-3210 (office), 607-257-7641 (home). Email:
sievers@wells.edu
Office hours: Find me, I’m yours, usually. I am on campus MWF. I teach at 9:30 and at 11:30. I usually leave about 4 (but occasionally earlier.) If out of my office, I am usually in one of the computer labs or math prof’s offices, or will leave a note on my door. Best is to let me know you want to see me and when (i.e. make an appointment).
Text: The Probability Tutoring Book, by Carol Ash (
IEEE press (?))
We will also refer to Moore & McCabe, Introduction to the
Practice
of Statistics (5th ed., used last term). If you don't have
it,
see if you can borrow or share one. Let me know if this doesn't
work.
Focus: We will be oriented toward probability, expanding on the concepts in Moore & McCabe’s chapters 4 and 5, using more mathematics, and heading toward the Central Limit Theorem. Some things will be familiar. What will be new is the use of the calculus to deal with continuous distributions, and some effort to prove things as opposed to accepting plausibility. (This is a 300 level course…) We will want a little multivariable calculus (Calc II or III, depending on when/where you took it) but I'll go over what we need. This book does not assume any prerequisite probability and statistics, so if you didn't do part I the book won't know. If time permits (unlikely!) we may go back to inferential statistics, from Moore & McCabe or other sources.
Homework and grading: All the problems have pretty complete solutions in the back. (One of the reasons I chose the book.) To make progress in the course, you should work hard on a problem before looking at the solution; then make sure you understand the solution.
I will not collect most of the homework but I encourage you to write
out complete solutions anyway. Remember that mathematics is just
a shorthand for English, so
clear exposition is part of clear thinking--write so another person can
read and understand it. I encourage you to work on homework together,
and
if you do you’ll automatically be building that in. I'll expect
you to have worked hard on the homework assigned each class, so we can
discuss any remaining questions in the next class. (If you have
no questions I expect you then to have answers!) Occasionally I
will collect (with warning) homework, especially on problems whose
answers are not in the text.
From time to time I'll assign some problems specifically to be
written out completely, without working together, and handed
in. Usually
these will not be from the text but will be similar to text problems.
(Mini-take-home-exams). I'll also give some closed-book quizzes
(with notice).
Exams etc:
In-class closed book quizzes on
definitions,
formulas, etc.
Mini-take-home-exams, open book.
One "big" take-home midterm, open book.
Final exam, take-home, open book. Due at or
before (Please!) 10pm Friday, May 16.
Final 20-25%; midterm, mini-takehome(s) and quizzes 60-70%;
attendance, hw, and
in-class 10-20%.
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