Math 227 Outline

A Brief Version of Elementary Statistics

(Allan G. Bluman – 3rd Ed.)

Topics to be Covered

/ Sections from Text / Approximate
Time Line
The Nature of Probability and Statistics: essential elements of statistics; sources of data; sampling methods; uses and misuses of statistics. / 1-1 to 1-8 / ¾ week
Frequency Distribution and Graphs: organizing data; graphs for categorical data; graphs for grouped frequency distributions; stem and leaf plots. / 2-1 to 2-6 / ¾ week
Data Description: measures of central tendency; measures of variation; Chebyshev’s Theorem; Empirical Rule; measures of position; the five- number summary and boxplots. / 3-1 to 3-6 /
1 week
Probability and Counting Rules: sample spaces and probability; complements; the addition rules; the multiplication rules and conditional probability; counting rules. / 4-1 to 4-7 /
2 weeks
Discrete Probability Distributions: discrete random variables; probability distributions; mean, standard deviation, and expectation; binomial distribution. / 5-1 to 5-5 / ¾ week
The Normal Distributions: standard normal; nonstandard normal; finding scores when given probabilities; applications; the Central Limit theorem; the normal approximation to the binomial. / 6-1 to 6-7 / 2 weeks
Confidence Intervals and Sample Size (single parameter): mean; proportion. / 7-1 to 7-4, 7-6
(skip 7-5) / 1 week
Hypothesis Testing (single parameter): mean; proportion; z-test; t-test; p-value method. / 8-1 to 8-5, 8-8
(skip 8-6 & 8-7) / 2 weeks
Correlation and Regression: use Minitab, Megastat, or excel to find the linear correlation and linear regression equation. / 10-1 to 10-3, 10-5
(skip 10-4) / ½ week
(Optional) Hypothesis Testing (two parameters): use Minitab, Megastat, or excel -- comparing two proportions; comparing two means (independent case and large sample sizes); confidence interval estimate. / 9-1 to 9-2, 9-4, 9-6 (optional) / ½ week

Note: Topics in bold face are considered extremely important to the curriculum and should be emphasized accordingly. Two of the four weeks not accounted for this outline are used in the computer lab for demonstration of Minitab or Megastat (Excel) and the other two weeks are class time for exams and quizzes.

(1 week » 4 hours of actual teaching time)

Specific Department Guidelines for Math 227:

The course will include an introduction to the use of Minitab or Megastat (Excel) in Statistics. Instructors must incorporate Minitab or Megastat (Excel) demonstrations and computer assignments in this course. Ability to use Minitab or Megastat (Excel) should be included in the assignment of the final grade for the course.

Free tutoring is available at the the Math Center and the Mathematics Lab.

For questions regarding the support material or any of the guidelines presented here, please contact:

Debby Wong (818) 364-7887 or Dr. Robert L Smazenka (818) 364-7609

email: email:

General Departmental Policy:

To ensure student success in future math courses, all topics identified in this outline must be adequately covered. For this reason, it is critical that you carefully plan your semester to include Exams, Quizzes, and Holidays.

During the semester, at least three major exams and a cumulative final are required. The exams should generally be closed book, and require students to demonstrate problem solving skills by showing work for a significant number of problems.

The final exam must be given at the time stipulated in the schedule of classes. It should contribute between 20% and 35% of the student’s final grade in the course. The remaining percentage of the course grade must be based on exams, quizzes, homework, etc.

Instructors should try to be sensitive to the level of the course: treat review material as review, and teach to the level of the subject. For example, definitions and properties should be employed within the context of the underlying mathematical structure. Lack of proficiency in the prerequisite material and/or lack of commitment to the course work on the part of the student, should not affect the content of the course. The level of instruction, assigned work, and test questions, must conform to a college level curriculum.

Faculty who will not teach from the same text in the following semester are required to turn in their textbook at the end of the current semester.

Please ensure that the following appears in your syllabus:

Math 227

Learning Outcomes

1)  Classify branches of statistics, identify sources of data, evaluate sampling methodolgies.

2)  Construct pie charts, bar graphs and histograms, calculate central measures; calculate the five numbers summary, calculate standard deviation.

3)  Calculate probabilities, define random variables, calculate the mean and standard deviation of binomial variables, calculate probabilties using the standard normal distribution tables.

4)  Apply the Central limit Theorem to calculate means and proportions, calculate probabilities for the sampling distributions of the mean and proportion.

5)  Use graphs to determine the shape of parent distributions and estimate the central measures of populations.

6)  Calculate confidence intervals, calculate sample size for means and sample proportions.

7)  Define and test hypotheses for the mean and proportion, apply the z- and t-tests in hypotheses testing, calculate p-values.

8)  Compare two proportions or two means and draw appropriate conclusions, construct confidence intervals for two sample means and two sample proportions.

9)  Calculate the correlation coefficient, determine the regression line. 6/06