Scientific, Computational and Statistical Software (CS 103) Spring 2002
Professor Scott Heinekamp (scotth@wells.edu) Zabriskie 203 364-3361

The benefits of CS103
The course is meant to be a gentle introduction to scientific computation, using two powerful software packages: Excel and SPSS. We presume that you have NOT had CS 102, but have had CS 101 or the equivalent, so that you are familiar with the Windows environment. If you are already an Excel expert, please become a guide and mentor to your colleagues who are just getting started!! Along the way, we will explore some of the power of graphing of functions, and of data, and will undoubtedly appreciate the slick way in which spreadsheets work. At the end, we will get a taste of the professional package SPSS for statistical analysis.
Course Outline
I. The spreadsheet as metaphor
II. Basics of scientific computing
III. Basics of statistical analysis
IV. The SPSS way of working
Things you'll need and use
There are two texts. Berk & Carey's Data Analysis with Excel is thorough and tied to an included CD-ROM, with a set of demo spreadsheets which we will draw upon liberally; the CD also contains an enhancement ("add-in") to Excel called StatPlus, and 9 interesting little tutorials on statistical concepts. Cronk's How to Use SPSS is a nice brief guide to this very powerful software package.
Mary Moskowitz will be available to us as teaching assistant (hours and location TBA).
I will provide a couple of disks where you can turn in homework.
Grading and Course Structure We will follow a Lecture Schedule.
The course is graded S/U. To receive a grade of S you must do the following:
Hand in all the assignments with at most 3 late ("late" is defined as at 4:30 on the date due, to allow for last-minute in-class insights).
Miss no more than 3 classes. The only exceptions here are medical, with excuse. Please plan ahead for deaths in the family, roommate freak-outs, and alarm clock crashes! Please sign in at the beginning of class.
Pass the final project. (if the previous two categories have come up short, then you must do well on the final project). The project will be due no later than the ending time of the official final exam, but will be accepted earlier (e.g. the last day of classes.

Homework Assignment