Mathematics 125-6       Introductory Statistics     Spring 2009

 

     Mathematics 125 is a first course in introductory statistics which prepares students to do the standard calculations without cumbersome notation and without heavy reliance on mathematical formulas.  Instead emphasis is placed on teaching how to think statistically.  Topics include introductory descriptive statistics including correlation and regression, introductory probability and sampling theory sufficient to enable development of inferential statistics, and inferential statistics.

     The course is not open to mathematics or science majors, except those in nursing or geography.  No student receives graduation credit for Math 125 if it is taken after successful completion of Math 345.

 

Prerequisite:  Suitable Mathematics placement test results, or successful completion of Academic Skills 099 or Mathematics Q114 or Mathematics 115 at UMass/Boston. Equivalent courses taken at other schools may not be substituted. No exceptions to these prerequisites will be made.

 

Professor: Joan Boorstein                               Email: jboor@math.umb.edu                                               Office: S-3-067

Phone: 287-6471 (no voice mail)  Office Hours: M 3-4 PM, W 4:30-5;30 or by appointment.

 

You can contact me during my office hours, by speaking to me after class, by leaving a message for me in my mailbox in the Math&CS Office (Science-3-132), by leaving a phone message at the Math&CS office (617-287-6440), or via email. I try to read email daily. Email is likely the best way to contact me.  Please put ÔM125Õ in the subject header of your message.

 

Text: Freedman, Pisani & Purves, Statistics  (4th. edition) W. W. Norton, 2007.

 

Calculator: A basic scientific calculator which has a 10-digit display, can compute powers, extract roots and do factorials is required.  A graphing calculator is not required.

 

Course Grading: Homework/Quizzes: 15%; 3 in-class exams: 20% each; Final Exam 25%.

All exams are closed book.  Makeup exams are not given.  Missing any exam will result in a grade of zero for it.  The only exception is prompt presentation of a valid written medical excuse; then there will be no penalty.  Please inform me well in advance of any scheduled event if you have a conflict. Dates for exams and quizzes will be announced in lecture.

 

Failure to attend, take and turn in the final examination will result in an F for the course. The final examination is given during final exam week at one time only as set by the administration; please do not purchase airline tickets in advance with the expectation of a special final examination time.

 

Attendance: Attendance is required. It is expected that you will arrive on time and will bring your textbook to class.  You are responsible for the content of lectures, assigned portions of the text and for the assigned homework problems.  If you must be absent, it is then your responsibility to find out what was covered and the nature of any special announcements, e.g. the date for an exam or due date for an assignment.  Material may sometimes be covered which is not in the text.  You are therefore urged to get to know someone else in the class, so that you can keep informed when you miss a class.

 

Homework:  There will be an assignment for each class period, with some problems to be handed in and the remaining to be done and their answers checked with answers found in the text.  You are expected to do all problems as assigned.  It is only by doing homework problems that you can gain sufficient skills to pass the course; thus it is important that you do the assignment for each class at the time it is assigned, coming to the following class with any questions you have regarding the assignment.  Quiz questions will come from homework problems.

 

For problems to be turned in, it is expected that your work will be neat, readable, complete and done on 8.5x11" paper.  You must show how you did the problem and you need to justify your answer. Just writing the final answer will not be enough to get credit for the problem.  Problems to be turned in are due at the beginning of the class period and will not be accepted late.

 

I encourage you to discuss homework problems with other students, but work copied from that of another student or answer sheet is considered a violation of the UM/B academic honesty policy and will be given no credit.  Repeated violation of this policy will result in a score of 0 for all homework assignments.

 

Quiz questions will be taken from assigned homework problems.

 

 

 

Course Contents & Schedule: See Schedule appended.  It is hoped that we will keep to this schedule, but changes may be made as to dates and/or topics.  It is your responsibility to keep apprised of any changes.

 

Tutorial Help: In addition to my help available during office hours, free tutorial help is available through the Math Resource Center (Campus Center 1-1401) which offers 1-1 tutoring as well as workshops. Schedule will be announced.

 

Pass/Fail/Course Withdrawal Deadline: Thursday, April 9, 2009.

      If you feel that you are in danger of failing the course, be sure to withdraw by the deadline; otherwise a grade must be recorded.  To withdraw, you must notify the Registrar's office.  It is not sufficient to notify your instructor.  If you wish to take Math 125 on a Pass/Fail basis, notify the Registrar's office, after 1) checking that you meet the criteria for taking any course on a Pass/Fail basis, and 2) checking with your major department that you can take Math 125 Pass/Fail, as some departments do not allow students to take courses required for graduation on a Pass/Fail basis.

 

Incompletes: The INC grade is only given in cases which meet University guidelines for that grade, which generally mean that a student in good standing suffers serious personal illness or injury near the close of the semester, with the expectation that the student will complete the remaining course work shortly after the end of the semester.  An INC grade will not be given to a student who wishes to retake the course because he/she is dissatisfied with his/her grade.

 

Policy on Academic Honesty:  It is my intention to enforce the University policy on academic honesty.  Copying from prohibited sources including from other students will result in a zero both for the person copying and the person allowing the copying.  It may also result in an F for the course and expulsion from the University.

 

Students are required to adhere to the University Policy on Academic Standards and Cheating, to the University Statement on Plagiarism and the Documentation of Written Work, and to the Code of Student Conduct as delineated in the catalog of Undergraduate Programs, pp. 44–45 and 48–52. The Code is available online at the following web site:

http://www.umb.edu/student services/student rights/code conduct.html

 

Class Email List: Send an email message to jboor@math.umb.edu. Include in the subject header 'Math 125'. Include in the message body your real name and email address.  This message will be used to compile a class mailing list.  Failure to send this message may result in your not receiving important messages re class scheduling, due dates, etc.

 

Class Website: http://www.math.umb.edu/~jboor/m125

 

Certain documents (like this syllabus) pertaining to the class will be placed there.  In addition, some class materials will be placed on reserve in Healey Library.

 

Schedule

 

Week #                   Date                         Chapter/Sections                                                  Topic(s)

 

    1                           1/26                                      3, 4                               The Histogram; Average and Standard Deviation

 

    2                            2/2                                              5                                 Normal Approximation of Data

                                     2/2                            *** Add/Drop Ends ***

 

    3                            2/9                                    8, 9, 10                           Correlation; More about Correlation; Regression

 

    4                            2/16                                  10, 11                             Regression

 2/16                         *** PresidentÕs Day Holiday ***

 

    5                            2/23                                12.1, 13                           What Are the Chances?

                                     

    6                              3/2                                      14                                  More About Chance

 

    7                              3/9                                   15, 16                              The Binomial Formula; Law of Averages

 

                           3/16                           *** Spring Break ***

 

    8                            3/23                                 17, 18                              Expected Value and Standard Error

                                                                                                                              Normal Approximation for Probability Histograms

 

    9                            3/30                                    18                                  Normal Approximation for Probability Histograms

 

  10                              4/6                                   19, 20                              Sample Surveys; Chance Errors in Sampling

                                      4/9                           *** Pass/Fail/Withdrawal Deadline ***

 

  11                            4/13                              21, 22, 23                          The Accuracy of Percentages

                  Measuring Employment & Unemployment;

                                                                                                                              The Accuracy of Averages

 

  12                            4/20                                  6, 24                               Model for Measurement Error

 

  13                            4/27                             26, 27.1, 27.2 Tests of Significance; More Tests on Averages;

      28.1-28.3                          Chi-Square Test

 

  14                              5/4                                             29                               A Closer Look at Tests of Significance

 

 15                             5/11                           Review for Final

 

Classes end 5/13/09.  Final exams are given during the week of 5/18-5/22.  The final examination is given at one time only as set by the administration; please do not purchase airline tickets in advance with the expectation of a special final examination time.

 

Dates for quizzes and exams will be announced in class.