The University of Massachusetts Boston

Department of Mathematics

MA345 Probability & Statistics, Fall 2009

Instructor: Prof. Alfred Noël

Office : 3-175 Science Building

Phone : (617)-287-6458

Email : anoel@math.umb.edu

Url : http://www.math.umb.edu/~anoel

Room: M1-201.

Class hours : Tuesday, Thursday 5:30 PM - 6:45 PM.

Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday 3:45 PM – 5:15 PM.

Text : Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and Its Applications, 4/E by Richard J. Larsen, Morris L. Marx ISBN 0-13-186793-8 Publisher Pearson Prentice Hall

THIS WILL BE A VERY CHALLENGING COURSE. YOU WILL HAVE TO SPEND AT LEAST 12 HOURS A WEEK WORKING ON HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS IN ORDER TO BE READY FOR THE EXAMS. ATTENDANCE IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED BECAUSE THE PACE WILL BE FAST.

This course is about the mathematical ( Calculus based ) study of the laws of random phenomena, including discrete and continuous random variables, expectation and variance, and common probability distributions such as the binomial, Poisson, and normal. Basic principles of combinatorics are introduced to solve problems in discrete probability spaces. At the end we will introduce Statistical Inference.

Prerequisite: Calculus II or equivalent.

Material to be covered:

Chapters 1 – 5. We will have to omit a few sections due to time constraint.

Homework assignments will be given at the end of each class. However, they will not be collected but will be discussed in class. PLEASE READ THE BOOK

Schedule:

Weeks 1-2: Sections 2.1 – 2.5

Weeks 3-4 : Sections 2.6 – 3.1

Weeks 5-6 : Sections 3.2 - 3.6

Weeks 7-9: Sections 3.7 – 3.11

Weeks 10-12: Sections 3.12 – 4.5

Weeks 13-14: Sections: 5.1 - 5.6

Week 15: Review

Exams: There will be 3 one-hour exams and a cumulative final exam:

Exam I : Thursday, October 1

Exam II : Thursday, November 5

Exam III: Thursday , December 3

Grading Procedures: Each exam is worth 20% of your final grade. High Attendance & Class Participation 10%. The Final exam will count for 30%.

THERE WILL BE NO MAKEUP EXAMS.

STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MATERIAL COVERED IN CLASS.