Wayland Baptist University -- Fall 2008 

 

Math 1306-SA01:  Elementary Statistics; Fridays from 6:00 pm to 10:10 pm.

 

PrerequISites:  Math 1304 (College Algebra)

 

Instructor:  Mr. John Richey       e-mail:  john.richey@wbusa.wbu.edu

          Office hours:  Thirty minutes before and after each class.

 

Textbook:  Triola, Mario F., Elementary Statistics, 10th edition.

 

Materials:  scientific or graphing calculator.

 

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION:  statistical measures, binomial and normal distributions, normal approximations, t-distribution, Chi-square distribution, regression, correlation, and statistical software use.

 

POLICY NOTE:  It is University policy that no otherwise qualified disabled person be excluded form participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity in the University. 

Students should inform the instructor of existing disabilities at the first class meeting.

 

Course Objectives:  Students will Learn by Doing.  Students should be able to:

1) organize data and present it in a clear manner,

2) derive measures of central tendency and dispersion, and to interpret them,

3) understand probability and counting techniques as they apply to statistics,

4) understand sampling techniques and requirements,

5) solve problems involving binomial distributions,

6) solve problems involving normal distributions,

7) solve problems involving sampling distributions,

8) derive confidence intervals for single populations,

9) derive confidence intervals for two populations,

10) state and test hypotheses for problem solving,

11) be conversant in the language of statistics and probability.

Emphasis is placed on understanding of material.

 

Course Requirements & Grading:        

                   Homework   15 %                     90-100         A

                   Quizzes       15 %                     80-89           B

                   Projects       20 %                     70-79           C

                   Exams         50 %                     60-69           D

                                                                   below 60      F

 

You must come to class prepared!  Read the assigned chapters prior to class. 

Be ready to discuss and answer questions about what was in the book. 

There will be ten homework assignments, drop the lowest score.  Homework will be assigned during each class and due at the beginning of the following class.

Late homework will have points deducted. 

There will be four quizzes. 

They cover what you should have read in preparation for class.

There will be two projects.

They are designed to enable students to apply the concepts of statistics.

There will be two exams. 

They cover what you should know from prior classes and doing the homework.

The Final Exam will be comprehensive, i.e., cover the entire course.

 

Attendance:  Students must attend class.  There are no excused absences.  Three or more absences by a student will result in that student receiving a grade of “F.”  Late arrival or early departure may count as half of an absence. 

 

The last day to drop a class with a “W” is:    Oct 3, 2008. 

The last day to drop a class “WP/WF” is:     Oct 17, 2008. 

Not attending class does not withdraw you from the class.  You must officially drop or you will receive an F for the course. 

 

COURSE OUTLINE:

 

Class 1:  Introduction, Chapts 1 and 2

Class 2:  Quiz on Chapts 1-3; Chapt 3

Class 3:  Chapts 4 and 5

Class 4:  Quiz on Chapts 4-6; Chapt 6

Class 5:  Project 1 due; Chapt 7

Class 6:  Midterm Exam

Class 7:  Quiz on Chapts 7 and 8; Chapt 8

Class 8:  Chapt 9

Class 9:  Quiz on Chapts 9 and 10; Chapt 10 

Class 10:  Project 2 due; Chapt 11    

Class 11:  Final Exam

 

 

NOTE:  This syllabus is only a plan.  The Instructor may modify the plan during the course.  The assignments, requirements and grading criteria may be changed if considered necessary.


Projects for Math 1306—Elementary Statistics

 

 

PROJECT 1: (10%) Collection of Articles.  Due at class #5.

 

Collect 25 articles from newspapers, magazines, and/or journals which include statistics as part of the material.  Mount the articles on paper in a report folder organized under categories such as government, economics, sports, medicine, business, etc.  Include with each article a list of the types of statistics used (mean, standard deviation, histogram, ogive, etc.),  State whether they were used/presented appropriately, i.e., in a meaningful way, or if they were misleading.

 

 

PROJECT 2: (10%) Binomial Distribution.  Due at class #10.

 

1) State a question that can be answered in a “binomial” manner, such as Do you normally read the front page of a newspaper at least 4 times a week? (yes or no).  Determine ahead of time whether answers such “I don’t know” or “maybe” should be recorded counted as a “yes” or a “no”.

 

2) Take a survey.  Ask 17 individuals to respond to your question and record their responses in tabular form.  From your sample, state the probability of a person answering “yes” (a p value) and the probability of a person answering “no” (a q value).

 

3) Based on your sample, find the probability of exactly 10 out of 17 answering “yes”.

 

4) Based on your sample, find the mean and standard deviation of those answering “yes” in a sample of 100.  Show your computations.

 

5) Interpret your results.  State any implications which you draw from your statistics. 

 

This project should be done neatly.  It should not cover more than 3 pages.  Include any assumptions, collection methods, or sampling criteria in your report.  Describe the population (if any) that your sample was drawn from.  Was your sample random?  Does it provide a meaningful/unbiased representation of the population?