SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY

MATHEMATICS DEPARTMENT

COURSE SYLLABUS, Fall 2011

Course: MAT 407 01 Probability and Mathematical Statistics I 3 credits

Course Prerequisite: MAT 221

Instructor: Dr. Julie Belock

Office: Sullivan Building, room 308C

Office Hours: T,Th 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. or by appointment.

Telephone: (978) 542 - 6338

Email: julie.belock@salemstate.edu

Website: www.salemstate.edu/~jbelock

Course Materials

Required Text: Hogg and Tanis, Probability and Statistical Inference, 8^th Edition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2010.

Suggested: TI-83 or TI-84 Graphing Calculator

Minitab Release 16 (soon to be available in the Math Lab)

Course Description:

An introduction to descriptive statistics and basic probability theory. Topics include: descriptive statistics, probability models, random variables and their distributions, expectation, variance, moment generating functions, regression and correlation. The binomial, Poisson, exponential, normal , chi-square, t and F distributions will be studied.

Course Goals: This course is intended to provide the student with

• An overview of basic descriptive statistics.
• Exposure to statistical software and computing.
• An understanding of the basic properties of probability.
• An understanding of discrete and continuous random variables and their probability distributions.
• An appreciation of the application of calculus to probability.
• Introduction to the Central Limit Theorem.

Learning Objectives: The student will be able to:

• Compute descriptive statistics for data sets.
• Find the probabilities of simple and compound events.
• Determine whether two events are independent.
• Find means and variances of discrete and continuous random variables.
• Use random variables to model probabilistic situations.
• Prove propositions about properties of random variables and their sums.

Evaluation: Exam 1 (tentative date: Tuesday, October 11^th) 20%

Exam 2 (tentative date: Thursday, November 17^th) 20%

Projects / hand-in assignments 25%

Final Exam (Tuesday, December 20^th) 30%

Attendance and class participation 5%

The instructor may also take effort and improvement into account when assigning grades.

Class Policies

• Homework is assigned every class, to be completed by the following class. In general, these assignments are not collected. Students are permitted and even encouraged to work together on these assignments.
• Students will have at least one class advance notice of any assignments to be turned in for a grade. Unless otherwise stated, these assignments are to be each student’s individual work.
• Academic honesty in all aspects of the course is expected. Please see the Academic Integrity Regulations in the Salem State College Undergraduate Catalog.
• As a courtesy, students are asked to notify the instructor via email or phone if a class is to be missed. Please use your Salem State email account for all correspondence.
• No makeup exams will be given without a legitimate and verifiable excuse. In the case of an emergency on an exam day, the student should contact the instructor as soon as possible.
• All cell phones must be turned off during class. In addition, please show respect to your fellow students and professor by arriving on time to class, not leaving the room during class, not eating during class and observing other common courtesies.
• Students are encouraged to visit office hours to discuss class material if extra help is needed, in addition to asking questions and making observations during class.

College Policy Statements:

Salem State College is committed to providing equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance with Section 504of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations, aids, and adjustments. Any student who has a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid or adjustment should speak with the instructor immediately. Students with disabilities who have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule an appointment with the office for Students with Disabilities and obtain appropriate services.

In the event of a college declared critical emergency, Salem State College reserves the right to alter this course plan. Students should refer to salemstate.edu for further information and updates. The course attendance policy stays in effect until there is a college declared critical emergency. In the event of an emergency, please refer to the alternative educational plans for this course located on the course website www.salemstate.edu/~jbelock . Students should review the plans and gather all required materials before an emergency is declared.

Asssignments

Date assigned	Sections		Problems
9/8	1.1 Basic Concepts	p. 9	1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13
9/13	1.2 Properties of probability	p. 18	1 – 12