Math 132A General Statistics

Syllabus - instructor, course information

Homework List - textbook exercises

Academic Integrity and Honor Code

Technology & Data Sets - loading textbook data sets

Course Schedule - tentative

Links to statistics sites

Important Dates - semester breaks, withdraw dates, final exam schedule, registration dates

Being Successful    Additional Help

Student Services - events,organizations,problems,disabilities

 

Course:           Math 132A*12, MW 2:30 – 4:20 in SE 222

Instructor:      Dr. Tom Zerger

Office:            Science West  307

Phone:             989 – 964 - 4334

e-mail:             zerger@svsu.edu

Website:          www.svsu.edu/~zerger

Office Hours:  MW 4:30 – 5:20, TR 11:30 – 12:20 (Other times by appointment)

Required Course Text and Materials

·         Text:    Elementary Statistics, 11th  edition  by Mario F. Triola   Material Covered:   Selected sections of Chapters 1 – 13.

·         The Formulas and Tables Card  - the insert that is in your textbook. This is what you may use for quizzes and exams, so be sure NOT TO WRITE ON IT. If you don’t have one or lose it, it is available on the website www.aw-bc.com/triola

·         Calculator: All students are expected to have a calculator that performs at least single variable statistics. If you have buttons like, S, s , then you are probably OK. Graphing calculators will be helpful attimes but it is not necessary to purchase one just for this class. There are several inexpensive scientific calculators that will do the job. If you have a graphing calculator TI-82 or newer, then you have the  statistics capabilities needed. Complete manuals are available on-line for all TI calculators at http://education.ti.com/us/global/guides.html   if you do not have yours anymore - You will find your TI calculator under the product drop-down menu.

 

NOTE: As not all students will have calculators with the same capabilities, it may be necessary for me to require some computational and/or graphing work to be shown on exams without the use of a calculator.

·         SVSU e-mail address and ability to access the internet and Vspace  (quicklinks on the SVSU Home Page).

·         Data storage capability: Writable CD, flash-driver, netstorage (M:drive) (quicklinks on the SVSU Home Page).

·         Access to a statistical software package such as SPSS, Minitab, Excel, STATDISK (More about these below.)

·         Access to the data sets that come with the text. These are available on the disk that comes with the textbook or on the text website www.aw-bc.com/triola . (More about this below.)

Course Description and Objectives: The successful student will

  • understand different methods and issues of acquiring sample data for statistical purposes. 
  • understand basic terminology and notation involved in statistical research studies.
  • understand the distinction between sample and population and the issues of inferential statistics.
  • be able to organize and summarize data both graphically and numerically.
  • be able to analyze (sample) data so as to make decisions and respond to arguments (about the population(s)) of interest. Parametric and non-parametric techniques will be discussed. This includes the following:
  1. Interpret graphical and numerical representations of data.
  2. Understand the role of probability, random variables, and probability distributions in the inferential statistics process.
  3. Constructing and interpreting confidence intervals for one and two variables.
  4. Performing and interpreting hypothesis tests for one and two variables.
  5. Learning regression and correlation techniques and interpreting the results.
  6. Analysis of variance techniques and interpreting results.

Grading: There will be three exams (200 points each) and a comprehensive final exam (250 points). There will also be an additional 150 “homework” points consisting of homework problems, in-class assignments, take-home assignments (group and individual), projects, quizzes, and computer assignments (Minitab or Excel).  There will be NO make-ups on missed “homework” assignments.

Grading Scale: Total points = 1000.  Your grade will be determined by the following percentages and corresponding point totals.

Points

Grade

Percent

930 – 1000

A

93 – 100

900 – 929

  A -

90 - <93

870 – 899

   B +

87 - <90

830 – 869

B

83 - <87

800 – 829

   B -

80 - <83

770 – 799

   C +

77 - <80

700 – 769

C

70 - <77

600 – 699

D

60 - <70

000 - 599

F

00  -<60

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Tentative schedule

Week

Dates

Monday

Wednesday

1

Aug30,Sept 1

1.1 – 1.5

2.1 – 2.3

2

Sept 6, 8

Labor Day

2.3 – 2.5

3

Sept 13, 15

3.1 – 3.3

3.3 - 3.4

4

Sept 20, 22

4.1 – 4.4

 4.5 – 4.7

5

Sept 27, 29

5.1 – 5.2, review

Exam 1 (1.1 – 4.7)

6

Oct 4, 6

5.3 – 5.5

6.1 – 6.3

7

Oct 11, 13

6.4 – 6.5

6.6 -6.7 

8

Oct 18, 20

7.1 – 7.4 

7.5, review 

9

Oct 25, 27

Exam 2  (5.1 – 7.5)

8.1 – 8.3

10

Nov 1, 3

8.4 – 8.6

9.1 - 9.3

11

Nov 8, 10             

9.4 – 9.5

10.1 – 10.3

12

Nov 15, 17

10.4 – 10.6

11.1 – 11.2, review

13

Nov 22, 24

Exam 3: (8.1 – 10.6)

 Thanksgiving Break

14

Nov 29, Dec1      

11.3,12.1-12.2

12.2 – 12.3

15

Dec 6, 8      

13.1 – 13.2

Review

16

Dec 13  

Final Exam 2:30 – 4:20

 

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Additional help:

  • Office hours - see above.  All questions are welcome.
  • Work with other students in class.
  • There is free tutoring available in the The Math & Physics Resource Center (formerly the Math Resource Center)  located in Zahnow 202A, in the second floor walkway between Zahnow and Wickes, with a rear enterance in Brown 214.. There are special hours for students needing help in statistics, check the website Math Resource Center.
  • There are web-resources for the text at www.aw-bc.com/triola - there are several supplements that you can purchase. It also has the materials that are on the disk that comes with the book, so if you bought a used book and do not have the disk, you will need to download some files from here for certain assignments.

Being Successful in Statistics - Here are few tips on how to be successful in this course.

  • Schedule about eight hours per week outside of class that you will spend on this course. Stick to your schedule.
  • Come to all classes, participate in discussions, work cooperatively in group work, and take notes.
  • Read the sections covered in class, read your notes, then attempt all assigned homework problems before the next class.
  • Discuss problems outside of class with other students or me.
  • Ask questions in class on problems you had trouble with. If you had a lot of trouble with many problems then you should get additional help right away.
  • Do your best and turn in all scored assignments on time. If there are problems you don't know how to do, write down what you do understand and make it clear what you do not understand.
  • In preparing for exams; determine the main topics from each chapter and understand the key concepts (including vocabulary), review related exercises and practice new related exercises, review your notes and text, and get some sleep.

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TECHNOLOGY & DATA SETS:

Technology: The only technology required to purchase for this course is a scientific calculator that performs at least single variable statistics. However, we will at times be working with data sets that can be very large, and technology is very beneficial in helping manipulate and extract information from the data. Your textbook, at the end of most sections, has a gray “Using Technology” box that gives information in how to use, MINITAB, EXCEL, STATDISK, TI-83/84 Calculator. Other software packages such as SAS and SPSS and other graphing calculators can also be used, but no instruction is provided.

Textbook help with Technology: At the end of many sections in the text there is a gray box with “Using Technology” on the left side. This gives brief instructions on how to use STATDISK, MINITAB, TI-83/84 PLUS, and EXCEL for the topics covered in that section.

A few pros and cons for each:

MINITAB 15: Easy to use, will aid in essentially all the statistics topics covered in this course and much more beyond. If you will be taking more courses requiring statistics, it may be beneficial to learn a program such as MINITAB (SAS, SPSS, etc.) The only drawback is that it is only available free on campus in the open computer lab (SE 105). MINITAB does have a rental program (about $30) or you can purchase a copy of the software (about $100) – see  http://www.minitab.com/education/ for details. When I demonstrate in class, I will mostly use this software.

EXCEL: It will aid in most of the statistics we will cover and some beyond, It is available with Microsoft Office, but you must have the Analysis Pack Add-in and/or the DDXL package (Go to toolsàadd-ins) to see if these are available. The DDXL package is available with the disk that came with the book or can be downloaded from the website DDXL .

STATDISK: This is software from the author of this text, so it will aid in all the statistics in this course, but not much beyond. This must be downloaded onto your computer - it is available on the disk or on the website www.aw-bc.com/triola .

TI-83/84: Will aid in most of what we will cover, but not much beyond. It is good to have as you are doing your homework, but you may not be able to print your results. The TI-89, 92 also has the same capabilities and will work similarly to the TI-83/84.

Data:  These are available in the appropriate formats for the technology above (and other) on the disk that came with the text or on the website www.aw-bc.com/triola . Save them somewhere where they are accessible.  NOTE: If you use STATDISK, then these files are preloaded with the software, so you don’t need to download the data sets.

The following gives instructions on how to load the data sets from your CD that comes with the book. These are necessary to work some of the exercises in the book.

The labs have both Minitab and Excel  - If you don't have much experience with the statistics capabilities of Excel, Minitab is generally easier to use. To open in Minitab (for other software packages, just open the software and then find where you have the file and open it)

1)      Open the Minitab program: StartàProgramsàMINITABàMinitab 15

2)      Go to FileàOpen Worksheet (NOT Open Project, which is the default – so you CANNOT use the open file icon)

3)  Browse to where you have the file (extension .mtw) and open it. It will open as a copy.

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Honor Code:

As a student at Saginaw Valley State University:

  • I am committed to upholding a high standard of academic integrity in all of my work, inside and outside of the classroom. Out of respect for my peers, professors, institution, and self, I will complete all tasks honestly and to the best of my ability.
  • I am guided by my conscience as I work toward my educational and professional goals, and I expect my fellow students to practice that same moral judgment.
  • I take pride in my academic accomplishments and therefore will not give or receive unauthorized assistance on any assignment, project, exam, or other university requirement.
  • I seek to maintain the honor of a Saginaw Valley State University degree, and I will preserve its value throughout my professional career.

 

- written and adopted by the 2005/2006 Student Association

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