MATH 140E: Statistics Wofford College, Spring 2008 Instructor: Dr. Joseph D. Sloan, 216D Olin Building Email: My email address is [email protected]. I check this repeatedly throughout the day and as well as from home. Apart from coming by my office, this is the best way to contact me. Office Phone: 597–4529 Be warned, I rarely check my voice mail. Office hours: You are welcome to just drop by. I come in early and I’m generally here until early-afternoon. But I will make a particular effort to be here: 8:20–9:20 & 10:30–12:00 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:30–11:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays, and, By appointment. Class Schedule: 8:00–9:20 Tuesday and Thursday in 210 Olin Building Final Examinations: Tuesday, May 13, 2:00–5:00 MATH 140: Statistics. An introduction to statistical thinking and the analysis of data using such methods as graphical descriptions, correlations and regression, estimation, hypothesis testing, and statistical models. (3/0/3) STAFF—Wofford College 2007–2009 Catalogue. Course Goals and Objectives: In general, you will: • Further develop your ability to think analytically and quantitatively • Understand basic issues in how statistics are used and misused • Gain exposure to how software used in data analysis • Develop basic statistical skills used in data analysis • Build a foundation for further study of statistics The instructional format is lecture-discussion. Very frequent testing and outside assignments will be used to insure the class goals are met. Text and Supplies: Statistics, Fourth Edition. David Freedman, Robert Pisani, and Roger Purves, ISBN-13: 978-0-393-92972-0, W. W. Norton and Company, 2007. In addition, you will need calculator. A simple, inexpensive scientific calculator should meet your needs. Computers or PDAs may not be used during testing in this class. A reliable alarm clock that will get you to class on time. Course Web Site: The course website http://webs.wofford.edu/sloanjd/spring08/math140/index.html. This will be updated as the semester progresses. You should check this regularly for schedule information, etc.Grading: At the end of most classes, there will be a short quiz. In addition, there will be three tests scheduled during the semester. For purposes of calculating your grade in the course, quizzes will be grouped with test based on the material covered. Collectively, each set of quizzes and the corresponding test will count 25% of your final grade. Outside assignments and the final examination will determine the remaining 25% of your grade. For each set of quizzes and the corresponding test, the quizzes will be averaged and compared to the test grade. The higher grade will count at least 15% and the lower grade no more than 10%. This process will be repeated three times for the three sets of quizzes and test. Each calculation is independent of other calculations. A similar comparison will be made with the grade average for the outside assignments and the final examination. Some outside assignments may count more than others, but this will be announced in advance. Any points awarded toward an incorrect answer as partial credit are totally at my discretion. Tentative Course Schedule: Test for the course are tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 28, Thursday, March 27, and Thursday, May 1. As the coursed progresses, a detailed course schedule will be developed and posted on the course web site. This will be updated on a regular basis throughout the semester. Grade scale: At a minimum, grades will be assigned according to the following scale: Final Course Average Letter Grade 93–100 A 90–92 A– 87–89 B+ 83–86 B 80–82 B– 77–79 C+ 73–76 C 70–72 C– 60–69 D 0–59 F Late Work and Attendance: Work not submitted by the due date will receive a grade of zero. If you have a legitimate reason for not submitting an assignment (e.g., illness) you may submit the assignment within one week of the due date (negotiable) along with a written explanation of why the work was late. If, in my judgment you have a valid reason for the late submission, I will either grade the work, grade the work with penalty, or exempt you from that assignment. Wofford’s attendance policy is described in the Student Handbook. This course will enforce those policies. In particular, daily attendance will be taken! It is your responsibility to justify absence upon returning to class if you want me to consider excusing the absence. Ultimately, I reserve the right to decide which absences are excused. No unexcused absences are permitted for this class. Typically, the second unexcused absence will result in a formal warning and a third unexcused may result in a failing grade for the course.There will be no makeup for missed daily quizzes. If you miss a quiz for an excused absence, that quiz grade will be dropped from you average. For excessive excused absences (three or more within a single group of quizzes, the test grade may be used to determine the grade for that portion of the course. If no justification is given for missing a quiz or if the absence is an unexcused absence, a grade of 0 will be recorded for the quiz. In particular, oversleeping is NOT a valid excuse for missing class. If in doubt, contact me. General Policies: Please read the Student Handbook! Lectures in this class will expand and augment the material in the text. You will be responsible for all material covered in class including material that is not in the text or assigned readings! If you have not read the assigned reading prior to class, you forfeit the privilege to ask any questions during that class! Work will only be returned to you; no one may pick up graded work for someone else. If you fail a test, you should come by to see me as soon as possible. Use of a recording device such as a tape recorder requires prior approval. Please turn-off and put-away all pagers and cell phones before the start of class. It is an expectation of the class (and the College) that you will check your Wofford email account on a daily basis. I will occasionally use this to warn you of schedule changes or to provide additional advice on homework assignments. Visit http://www.wofford.edu/studentlife/honorcode.pdf to view Wofford’s Honor Code. If in doubt about what is appropriate for a particular assignment, be sure to contact me for clarification. Also, please keep in mind,