MATH2830- Sec 004: Introductory Statistics

Fall 2012

Instructor:Parvaneh Darafshi Course dates/times:MoWe 2 – 3:15

Office:CU Bldg. Room608Course Location: North 1312

Phone: 303-556-0000Office Hours:MoWe 1-2 @ MERC lab

E-mail: Other times available by appt.

Dept. Associate Chair: Lynn Bennethum – Office CU638, Phone: 303-556-4810

Course Captain:RaKissa Cribari – CU Bldg, Room 620; Phone: 303-556-8463

Description

An introduction to statistical terminology and techniques. Topics include graphical representations of data sets, sampling techniques, measures of center and spread, basic probability, hypothesis testing and regression.

Prerequisites

  • A demonstrable understanding of intermediate algebra
  • Familiarity with computers and a spreadsheet program (Excel is preferred)

Required Material

Text:Elementary Statistics: A Step by Step Approach, 8th Edition, Alan Bluman, McGraw Hill, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-07-746039-6

Note: If you buy the text new from the bookstore it should be bundled with ConnectMath. If you purchase a used text you will need to get online ( to purchase ConnectMath for about $80.00 (with the ebook). There are many online study resources available for this text including a complete electronic version of the text. So if you are comfortable using the electronic version of the text then you do NOT need to purchase the textbook.

The course ID is: REUFL-PU4YT

Highly Recommended Materials

Calculator: TI-83 Plus ORTI-84

Course Objectives

  • Summarize data with graphical and numerical measures
  • Demonstrate the mechanisms of probability
  • Carry out and interpret basic statistical hypothesis tests
  • Communicate statistical results accurately

Expectations

This course, as any course in statistics, requires a solid knowledge of terminology as well as techniques. As such, students should expect to spend some time outside of class reading the textbook and mastering the terminology. This is in addition to written assignments and is vital for success in the class. Rule of thumb: plan to spend two to three hours outside of class (reviewing your lecture notes, reading the text, and working problems) for every hour spent in class. It is important that you seek help from your instructor or your colleagues if you get stuck. I encourage you to form study groups. If you have homework questions that are not answered in class, it is your responsibility to get help outside of class from me or one of your colleagues.

Attendance

Attendance will be taken daily. You are expected to attend class faithfully and to take responsibility for your own learning. Each student is allowed to miss up to 3 class periods over the course of the semester. If you chose to miss more than the allotted 3, you will lose the opportunity to improve prior exam grades on the final exam. NOTE: If you know ahead of time that you will have to miss a class you should contact me immediately to get the homework, any class handouts, etc. It is not my responsibility to make sure you don’t miss deadlines or assignments…it is your responsibility!

“A genius is a talented person who does his homework.” ~Thomas Edison

Methods of Evaluation

Homework

Homework problems will be assigned weekly from the online homework program ConnectMath. These assignments will be graded and are worth a total of 150 points. The lowest 3 assignments will be dropped at the end of the semester. You will use ConnectMath to do the online homework. You get immediate feedback while doing the online homework since the problems are graded as you do them.Additionally, if you want to improve your score on a particular assignment you can return and retry that assignment once before itsdue date.If you do not do an online homework by its due date you will receive a zero on that homework.

Quizzes

There will be 11 homework quizzes (mostly in class but some will be take home) over the course of the semester worth 20 points each. Each quiz will be over the prior week’s homework and will be given every Thursday except during exam weeks (e.g. homework assigned in week 1 will be covered in the quiz on Thursday of week 2. To compensate for unforeseen circumstances, one-quiz score will be dropped.No make up quizzes will be given. You must contact me in advance to arrange another time to take the quiz (prior to the scheduled in class quiz).In class quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class. Do not be late!

Exams

There will be 3 in class exams worth 100 points each – see tentative schedule for dates. There will be no make up exams. You must contact me in advance so that we may arrange another test date (prior to the scheduled in class exam): documentation will be requested. You must bring your student ID card and a government issued photo ID to each exam.

Project

There will be one project assigned and collected. The specifics of this project will be discussed when it is assigned.You will have a minimum of two weeks to complete each portion of the project.The project will require individual thought and originality as well as the use of Excel or a similar program. A 20% late penalty will be assigned for each class period it is late.

Final Exam

There will be a comprehensive final exam worth 150 points. Each student who has maintained the attendance policy will have the opportunity to improve prior exam scores on the final exam (to be discussed in detail in class).Attendance at the final exam is mandatory. Having the final rescheduled is extremely rare and is not permitted for reasons such as a plane ticket that was purchased earlier or attendance at weddings. There will be no make up final exams and a missed final exam will result in a 0 for the final.

Computing Your Final Grade

Letter Grade

Homework Quizzes / 200 points / A: 90% - 100%
Online Homework / 150 points / B: 80% - 89.9%
In-class Exams / 300 points / C: 70% - 79.9%
Project / 100 points / D: 60% - 69.9%
Final Exam / 150 points / F: Below 60%
Total / 900 points

Other Concerns

Cheating

Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated and will be reported to the CLAS dean and may result in a course grade of F and possible expulsion from the University. So please do not cheat!

Disruptions

Class disruptions (cell phones, music, etc) and any other inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated. I will penalize accordingly. Please see the CU-Denver Code of Student Conduct for details.

Disabilities

Students with disabilities who need accommodations should make me aware of this either by contacting me directly or by having the Disabilities Services Office (North Classroom 2514; 303-556-3450) contact me by the end of week 1 of classes.

Talk to Me

I’ll give my best effort to make this class run smoothly for you, but it is important that you communicate with me when any issues arise or if there are any problems/concerns.

Getting Help

The Center for Learning Assistance

  • Offers free tutoring and help concerning class assignments, course-loads, and study skills
  • Located in North Classroom (NC) Room 2006. 303-556-2802

MERC (MathEducationResourceCenter)

  • Free assistance on assignments
  • NC4015. 303-556-8532
  • Must bring valid CU-Denver ID.

CareerCenter

  • Resume help, internship and career counseling
  • Tivoli Student Union Room 260

NOTE: I reserve the right to change the syllabus throughout the course of the semester.

INTRODUCTORY STATISCTICS

MATH 2830

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE

Week of: / Sections
August 20th / 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 Read 1-5, 1-6
August 27th / 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-1 (no grouped data) Q1
September 3rd / No Class Monday-Labor Day
3-2, 3-4, 4-1 Q2
September 10th / Evaluating Research Guidelines (ERG), 4-1, Exam 1 (Chapters 1-3)
September 17th / 4-2, 4-3, 5-1, ERG Q3
September 24th / 5-2, 5-3, 6-1, ERG Q4
October 1st / 6-2, 6-3, 7-1 Q5
October 8th / 7-3, Exam 2 (Chapters 4-6)
October 15th / 7-2, 8-1, Q6
October 22nd / 8-2, 8-3, Q7
October 29th / 8-4, 9-1 Q8
November 5th / 9-2, 9-3 Q9
November 12th / 9-4, 10-1, 10-2, Q10
November 19th / No Class – Thanksgiving Break
November 26th / Catch Up, Project Presentations, Exam 3 (Chapters 7-10)
December 3rd / Project Presentations Q11
December 8th, Saturday / Uniform Final 9am – Noon

NOTE: I reserve the right to change the schedule throughout the course of the semester.

Fall 2012 CLAS Academic Policies
The following policies pertain to all degree students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).
  • Schedule verification: It is each student’s responsibility to verify online that his/her official registration is correct: verify before classes begin and prior to the drop/add deadline. Failure to verify schedule accuracy is not sufficient reason to justify a late add or drop.
  • E-mail: Students must activate and regularly check their official student e-mail account for CU Denver business: Those who forward email must check CU Denver e-mail regularly for messages not automatically forwarded.
  • Waitlists:
  • Students are not automatically notified if they are added to a class from a waitlist.
  • Students are not automatically dropped from a class if they never attended, stopped attending, or do not make tuition payments.
  • Waitlists are purged after the 1st week of classes, after which a paper Schedule Adjustment Form (SAF or drop/add form) is required. It is the student's responsibility to get the form (online or at the Advising Office, NC 4002), have it signed, deliver it to the Registrar (Annex 100) or the Student Services Center (NC 1003), and verify her/his schedule online.
  • Late adds (after 5 September) will be approved only when circumstances surrounding the late add are beyond the student’s control. This will require a written petition and verifiable documentation. Petition forms are available in NC 4002. The signature of a faculty member on a SAF does not guarantee that a late add petition will be approved.
  • Late drops (after 5 September) will be approved only when circumstances surrounding the late drop have arisen after the published drop deadline and are beyond the student’s control. This will require a written petition and verifiable documentation. The signature of a faculty member does not guarantee that a late drop petition will be approved.
  • Tuition: Students are responsible for completing arrangements with financial aid, family, scholarships, etc. to pay their tuition prior to Census Date (5 September). Students who drop after that date are (1) financially responsible for tuition and fees, (2) academically responsible and will receive a "W" grade, and (3) are ineligible for a refund of COF hours or tuition.
  • Graduation:
  • Undergraduate students wishing to graduate in fall 2012 must complete the online Intent to Graduate Form and meet with their academic advisor to obtain a graduation application. This application must be submitted by Census Date (5 September). You can obtain an application only after meeting with your advisor. There are no exceptions to this policy.
  • Graduate students wishing to graduate in fall semester 2012 must complete the online Intent to Graduate form and have a Request for Admissions to Candidacy on file with the CU Denver Graduate School (LSC 1251) no later than 5 PM, September 5, 2012.

Important Dates and Deadlines
  • August 19, 2012: Last day to withdraw from all classes via UCDAccess and receive a refund of the $200 advance payment and all tuition.
  • August 20, 2012: First day of classes.
  • August 26, 2012: Last day to add or waitlist classes using UCDAccess. After this date, a Schedule Adjustment Form (SAF) is required to change, add, or drop.
  • August 27, 2012: Last day to drop without a $100 drop charge. No adds permitted on this day.
  • August 28 - September 5, 2012:
  • UCDAccess registration is closed; registration now requires a SAF with faculty signature.
  • Verify your registration via UCDAccess. You are not registered for a course unless your name appears on the official roster; conversely, your name may have been added automatically from the waitlist without notification, which means that you will be held responsible.
  • September 3, 2012: Labor Day (no classes).
  • September 5, 2012: Census date.
  • 9/5/12, 5 PM: Last day to add structured courses without a written petition for a late add. This is an absolute deadline and is treated as such. This does not apply to independent studies, internships, project hours, thesis hours, dissertation hours, and modular courses.
  • 9/5/12, 5 PM: Last day to drop a courseorcompletely withdraw from fall 2012 using a SAF and still receive a tuition refund, minus the drop fee. After this date, tuition is forfeited and a "W" will appear on the transcript. This includes section changes. This is an absolute deadline.
  • 9/5/12, 5 PM: Last day to request pass/fail or no-credit option for a course.
  • 9/5/12, 5 PM: Last day for a graduate student to register for a Candidate for Degree.
  • 9/5/12, 5 PM: Last day for a Ph.D. student to petition for a reduction in hours.
  • 9/5/12, 5 PM: Last day to apply for fall 2012 graduation. If an undergraduate, you must make an appointment and see your academic advisor to apply. If a graduate student, you must complete the Intent to Graduate and Candidate for Degree forms.
  • September 17-26, 2012: Faculty can use the Early Alert system.
  • October 29, 2012, 5 PM: Last day for non-CLAS students to drop or withdraw without a petition and special approval from the academic dean. After this date, a dean’s signature is required.
  • November 12, 2012, 5 PM: Last day for CLAS students to drop or withdraw with signatures from the faculty and dean but without a full petition. After this date, all schedule changes require a full petition. Petitions are available in NC 4002 for undergraduates and in the CU Denver Graduate School offices for graduate students.
  • November 19-25, 2012: Fall break (no classes; campus closed). Be thankful.
  • December 10-15, 2012: Finals Week. No schedule changes will be granted once finals week has started--there are no exceptions to this policy. Commencement is December 15.
  • December 20, 2012: Due date for faculty submission of grades.
  • December 24, 2012: Fall final grades available on UCD Access (tentative).