Statistics 1 Spring 2006 Information
Sections 6 (MW 5:30-6:45 p.m.),
7 (MW 7-8:15 p.m.), and 13 (TR 1:30-2:45 p.m.)

Instructor: J. Gehrmann
Office: Brighton Hall Room 146 (BRH 146)
Telephone: 278-7116
Email: jgehrmann@csus.edu
Office Hours: MW 3:15-4:15 p.m., MW 5-5:30 p.m., T 2:45-4 p.m., or by appointment

Prerequisites: Math 9 or three years of high school mathematics including two years of algebra and one year of geometry; a passing score on the ELM, and a passing score on the Intermediate Algebra Diagnostic Test.

Course Objective: To introduce the fundamental notions and techniques of descriptive statistics, basic probability and sampling, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. This is an Area B4 GE course that has a writing component; assignments will involve writing and understanding complex technical prose, interpretation of theoretical ideas, and use of mathematical ideas to accomplish a variety of tasks.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this class you should be able to: (1) Interpret and represent data in tabular, graphical, and pictorial formats.  (2) Understand the basic principles of probability including the laws for sums, products and complements.  (3) Use these probability principles in problem solving situations.  (4) Have a basic understanding of normal and binomial random variables and be able to compute probabilities concerning them  (5) Estimate population parameters from data sets and use sampling distributions to compute confidence intervals for population parameters.  (6) Understand the basic components of hypothesis testing and perform hypothesis tests on population means and proportions.  (7) Write short paragraphs that express statistical findings in textual form.

Required Materials--Mind on Statistics (2nd Edition) by Jessica Utts and Robert Heckard with CyberStats

WebCT: Important information on material covered in class, grades, homework due dates, upcoming examinations, and other details about the class will be posted on your WebCT pages.

Methodology: These sections of Statistics 1 will meet in a computer laboratory where you will work with the Mind on Statistics textbook and CyberStats on a computer.  You will be guided through the sections of your textbook by short lectures (usually no more than 15 minutes at the beginning of each period) followed by a question and answer period and work with CyberStats on your computer.  As you work through each of the CyberStats portions of lessons, you will be asked to submit answers to selected questions. Each of these questions will allow you to obtain immediate feedback. During the last 15 minutes of each class period, you may be asked to submit some homework exercises (due date shown on the course calendar) and will sometimes be given a quiz on material covered during that class period. In addition to interacting with the CyberStats materials during classtime, you may use CyberStats at any time from any computer that has a connection to the internet.

Homework and Quizzes: By answering homework and other exercises, you will gain an understanding of the probability and statistics ideas outlined in the learning objectives section above.  The exercises that you are required to submit for homework scores are shown at the bottom of this syllabus. Due dates for exercises will be posted in WebCT course calendar approximately one week before the exercises are due.  Randomly selected questions will be graded.  Exercises not submitted by the due date will be given a score of 0.  Each set of submitted exercises and each in-class quiz will be worth 10 points--at the end of the semester, the lowest 3 or 4 quiz and homework scores will be dropped and the average of the remaining scores will constitute 10% of your final numerical score. Important Note: If you don't submit at least 80% of the homework assignments by their due dates, you will not receive a passing grade for this class no matter what class average score you achieve.

Examinations: The average score on three midterm examinations will contribute between 35% and 55% to your final numerical score, and a comprehensive final examination score will also contribute between 35% and 55% to your final numerical score.

Section 6 FINAL EXAMINATION: Monday, May 15, 5:15-7:15 P.M.
Section 7 FINAL EXAMINATION: Monday, May 15, 7:30-9:30 P.M.
Section 13 FINAL EXAMINATION: Wednesday, May 17, 12:45-2:45 P.M.

Grading: Your final numerical score will be computed from the homework, midterm examination, and final examination scores, using percentages and the Important Note mentioned above. Letter grades will be assigned as follows: for an A, your numerical score must be from 90 to 100, for a B, it must be between 80 and 89, for a C, between 65 and 79, and for a D, between 55 and 64.

Topics to be Covered--CyberStats and Mind on Statistics Correspondence