Math 2200 Spring 2017

1. Section Information

Section Time Location Instructor email Office Hours
FL2014 L24 Math 2200 01: Elem Stats M-W-F-- 11:00A-12:00P Busch 100 B. Blank brian@math.wustl.edu Cupples I 224
M 1:30PM-2:30PM
W 2:00PM-3:00PM
F 10:00AM-11:00AM
FL2014 L24 Math 2200 02: Elem Stats M-W-F-- 12:00P-1:00P Busch 100 B. Blank brian@math.wustl.edu Cupples I 224
M 1:30PM-2:30PM
W 2:00PM-3:00PM
F 10:00AM-11:00AM


Please include [M2200] in the subject line of any email message that pertains to this course. This is particularly important if you send the email that does not bear the address of a university account. Including [M2200] in the subject line will help avoid accidental deletion of your still unread message.



2. Grading Information


There are two components to grading: exams and online homework.

There will be three evening exams during the semester, E1, E2, E3.

There will also be a final, E4.

Exam Date Location Time Your Score Solutions
E1 Tuesday February 7, Check here on exam day. 6:30-8:30PM Available day after exam Available day after exam
E2 Tuesday March 7 Check here on exam day. 6:30-8:30PM< Available day after exam Available day after exam
E3 Tuesday April 4 Check here on exam day. 6:30-8:30PM< Available day after exam Available day after exam
E4 Thursday, May 4 2017 Check here on exam day. 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM Available day after exam Available day after exam


The three evening exams, E1, E2, E3 and the final exam, E4, each out of 100 (twenty equally-weighted multiple choice questions), will be combined in the following way to obtain an exam point total, T, out of 100:

T := (E1 + E2 + E3 + 2*E4 - min(Ei : i = 1 .. 4))/4

The exam score T, scaled down to 93 points, and the homework score, HW, out of 10 will be combined to obtain an overall score S defined by:

S := 0.90*T + HW

This will be translated into a letter grade of A, B, C, D, F (with plus and minus shadings) so that the distribution of letter grades is similar to the average of the distributions of the preceding three years.

3. Exam Policies

The following subsections concern attendance at exams, excused absences, scratch paper, cheat sheets, calculators, and so on.

Exam Attendance

Attendance at each of the three midterm exams and at the final exam is expected. Excused absences can be granted in cases of illness, bereavement, and, occasionally, circumstances beyond a student's control. In general, you must bring the matter to my attention before the exam so that you can be excused from it.

For the midterm exams, there will be a slight distinction between an excused absence and an unexcused absence. If you are not present for one midterm exam and that absence has not been excused, then your score on the final exam will be used for your missing score. In other words, your final exam score will have normal weight as a final exam score, and it will also substitute for the missing exam score. Note: In the past, the average score on the final exam has invariably been lower than the average scores on the midterms. You should therefore not choose to be absent for a midterm exam without a very good reason. That advice applies to all three midterms, but it is particularly important for the first two midterms.

If you are not present for one midterm exam and that absence has been excused, then a total exam score will be computed in the way that has been described in the preceding paragraph. Additionally, a total exam score will be calculated by using a technique called Multiple Linear Regression to replace your missing score. The higher score that results from the two methods will be used.

Only one missing midterm exam score can be replaced in the manner described above. Absences on two midterm exams will result in one 0 if neither has been excused. The other missing score will be replaced by your final exam score. If you are absent for two midterm exams, and if at least one of the absences has been excused, then both missing scores will be replaced by your final exam score. Multiple Linear Regression cannot be applied if you are missing two scores.

An absence on the final exam will result in a 0 if the absence has not been excused. If the absence has been excused, then the most likely outcome will be an incomplete for the course and a specification of how the course work is to be completed.

By registering in this course and not withdrawing in a timely fashion, you agree to take the final exam on the date and at the time stated above.

Exam Rules - Seating and Booklets

Seating is preassigned - click on the seat lookup link (Section 2 above) on the day of the exam. If there is a problem with your assigned seat, then ask a proctor to relocate you. All calculations are to be done in the examination booklet provided. The booklet has your name on it. If for some reason there is no booklet with your name on it, then you will be given one that is marked EXTRA EXAM. If so, write your name on the booklet. Answers are marked on scan cards. Work in the examination booklet is not graded. Enter your answers carefully and check each one. Verify that you have not omitted any lines and that you have not filled in two choices on one line.

Scratch paper is NOT permitted. The cover page of your examination booklet states that all work is to be done in the booklet. Other mathematics classes will be taking their exams at the same time as you take yours. It is possible that scratch paper is allowed and distributed to students in those other classes. However, you may not ask for or accept scratch paper.

Exam Rules - Aids

On each exam, ONE "cheat sheet" in the form of a 4" x 6" note card (the medium size of the standard three sizes) will be permitted on each of the four exams. Both sides may be used.

Any calculator will be permitted (and some sort of calculator is strongly advised). A sophisticated, statistics-enabled calculator (such as the TI-83) is not required, so, if you do not already own a calculator more advanced than a basic TI-30, then it is not necessary that you purchase one. That said, familiarity with a more advanced statistics calculator can provide a time advantage. That time advantage should not be crucial. Many students get by with a basic calculator and have no trouble finishing the exams in the alloted time. It all depends on the facility that you gain prior to the exams. If you are well-prepared in using the provided tables together with a basic calculator, then you will find that there is ample time on the exams. The same is, of course, true if you come armed with a more advanced calculator, provided you have learned and practiced the statistics functions prior to the exam.

Violations of exam policies will be referred to the Academic Integrity Committee (and the same goes for copying answers, of course).

4. Text

There is no textbook to purchase. There is a free textbook that is available online: OpenIntro Statistics, 3rd Edition. Nearly everything covered in the course can be found in that e-text. However, topics will be discussed in a different order in class. All topics covered in the course are contained in my typeset lecture notes, which present the topics in the order in which they are covered in class. Moreover, all course conventions are set out in the lecture notes. (In Statistics, different sources often use slightly different definitions and procedures. The lecture notes serve to identify the choices that will be used in this course.) The lecture notes can be downloaded from my stats folder.

The material covered on the exam consists of all material in the lecture notes that is not marked "Optional". For your convenience, the syllabus below will list corresponding sections from OpenIntro Statistics. If you read the course lecture notes, you do not need to read sections of OpenIntro Statistics that are not listed in the syllabus.

Experience shows that most students neither need nor want any other material to supplement the lecture notes. That was true before pages from OpenIntro Statistics were included in the syllabus. With that resource included, I do not expect that anyone will need any additional resource. However, I will mention two references I have cited in the past:

Statistics: The Art and Science of Learning From Data,
by Alan Agresti and Christine Franklin

or

Stats: Data and Models
by Richard De Veaux, Paul Velleman, and David Bock

If I were getting either book, then I would look for the second edition, which will be much cheaper than more recent editions. Both cooks are in their 4th editions. A 2nd edition should not cost much more than $10. (An older edition of a textbook is often an inconvenient or poor substitute for the current edition of a course textbook. However, for a self-study accompaniment, an older edition is usually just as good. A 2nd edition usually has corrections and improvements that make it a better choice than the 1st edition.) Of the two books listed, I prefer the first, but the lecture notes follow the second more closely because it has been the standard textbook for the course in recent years.

5. Syllabus

Here is the description of the course from Washington University Course Listings. Note, however, that a "graphing calculator with statistical distribution functions (such as the TI-83)" is NOT actually required:

Description: An elementary introduction to probability and statistics. Discrete and continuous random variables, mean and variance, hypothesis testing and confidence limits, nonparametric methods, Student's t, analysis of variance (ANOVA), (multiple) regression, contingency tables. Graphing calculator with statistical distribution functions (such as the TI-83) is required. Students considering a major or minor in mathematics should take Math 3200, NOT Math 2200. Examination Schedule: Tests, at which attendance is required, will be given from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the following dates: Tuesday February 7, Tuesday March 7, and Tuesday April 4. Prerequisite: Math 131. Attributes: A&S: NS, QAA&S IQ: AN, NSMArch: NSMArt: NSM

In the weekly table below, LN refers to Lecture Notes and OS refers to OpenIntro Statistics". Adjustments to the table will be made periodically to reflect the actual pace of the lectures:

Week Sections Suggested Problems
#1 (01/18, 01/20) LN Chapter 1: Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 LN Chapter 1: 1-11
#2 (01/23, 01/25, 01/27) LN Chapter 2: Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 LN Chapter 2: 1-10
#3 (01/30, 02/01, 02/03) LN Chapter 3: Sections 3.1, 3.2 LN Chapter 3: 1-20
#4 (02/06, 02/08, 02/10)
EXAM: Tuesday, Feb 07
(Covers thru 02/03) 		LN Chapter 4: Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 LN Chapter 4: 1-8
#5 (02/13, 02/15, 02/17)
 LN Chapter 5: Sections 5.1, 5.2 LN Chapter 5: 1-8
#6 (02/20, 02/22, 02/24) LN Chapter 6
Section 6.1 (covered on exam)
Sections 6.2, 6.3 (reading only, not covered on exam) 		LN Chapter 6: 1-5
#7 (02/27, 03/01, 03/03) LN Chapter 7: Sections 7.1-7.4 LN Chapter 7: 1-32
#8 (03/06, 03/08, 03/09)
EXAM: Tuesday, March 07
(Covers through 03/03)
 LN Chapter 7: Section 7.5
LN Chapter 8: Section 8.1 		LN Chapter 7: 33-44
LN Chapter 8: 1,2
#9 (03/13-03/17)
Spring Break
(No Classes)

#10 (03/20, 03/22, 03/24) LN Chapter 8: Sections 8.2-8.4 LN Chapter 8: 3-10
#11 (03/27, 03/29, 03/31)
 LN Chapter 9: Sections 9.1-9.4 LN Chapter 9: 1-5, 7-18, 21-26
#12 (04/03, 04/05, 04/07)
EXAM: Tuesday, April 4
(Covers through 03/31,
Section 9.3 inclusive) 		LN Chapter 9: Section: 9.5
LN Chapter 10: Sections 10.1-10.4 		LN Chapter 9: 6, 19, 20
LN Chapter 10: 1-7, 11-13, 15, 22
#13 (04/10, 04/12, 04/14) LN Chapter 10: Sections 10.5-10.6 LN Chapter 10: 8-10, 14, 16-21
#14 (04/17, 04/18, 04/20) LN Chapter 12 LN Chapter 12: 1-6
#15 (04/23, 04/25, 04/27) LN Chapter 11 LN Chapter 11: 1-6
FINAL EXAMINATION Thursday, May 4
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM		 Please verify in Course Listings


6.Homework

Several homework sets will be assigned. Some of the homework will be done through Webwork, which is accessed through this link:

Webwork

Fall 2014 was the first time Webwork was used at Washington University for a statistics course. (If you have had a calculus course here, then you know that we use it regularly for calculus courses.) My opinion is that the statistics exercises that are available are not as good as those that are available for calculus, and they are more problematic. Pay attention to specific alerts that you will receive by email.

7. Links to Exam History


The math department web-posts many exams. Here is the link to the page of departure for the department's archive of old exams: Old Exams in PDF format A caveat: Old exams sometimes cover different topics. Other instructors often ask questions that I would not (and doubtless vice versa). In any event, I have already used what I consider the best of these old exam questions as exercises in the posted notes. Exams I have previously written for this course can be found here: My old 2200 exams in PDF format. Because you may reasonably infer that I consider the questions on these exams to be excellent exam fodder, there is no reason for me to highlight them a second time by inclusion as exercises in the lecture notes.

8. Arts & Sciences Spring 2017 Academic Calendar


Brian E. Blank
Department of Mathematics
Washington University in St. Louis
1 Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130

Phone: (314) - 935 - 6763
Fax: (314) - 935 - 6839

e-mail: brian@math.wustl.edu

Last Updated: 2 April 2017