Math 10: Introductory Statistics

Spring 2013


Important Links

Instructors and Meeting Times

Nathan McNew
(11 hour)
Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
(2 hour)
Office: 243 Kemeny Hall Office: 311 Kemeny Hall
Office hours: MTF 2:30-3:30 and by appointment Office hours: MTh 9:00--10:30 AM and by appointment
Lecture: 11:15--12:20 Lecture: 1:45--2:50
Lab: X-hour Tu 12:00--12:50 Lab: X-hour Th 1:00--1:50
Kemeny 007
Kemeny 008

Note that you do not need an appointment to attend regularly-scheduled office hours. If you have a conflict you may make an appointment to meet outside those times. You are also welcome and encouraged to attend the other instructor's office hours.

Textbook

OpenIntro Statistics, 2nd edition, by David Diez, Christopher Barr, and Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel.
The book is available for free online here, or it can be purchased in paper form for under $10.

Suggested additional reading: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This book consists, at least in part, of a collection of errors in statistical thinking that people make.

Additional readings will be made available on the Schedule. We will discuss some of these as they arise naturally in the discussion of statistics.

Homework

Homework assignments will be due on Mondays. Assignments will typically consist of several problems from the textbook and will be made available here. Homeworks are to be handed in before class on the day they are due. In general, late homework will not be accepted for a grade, and never without prior arrangement.

Please fill out a FERPA form if you would like to get your homework handed back in a box. (Outside of your classroom in Kemeny. Otherwise, you have to come to your instructor's office and present an ID in order to get it back.)

Homework assignments will be graded much as the problems on your exams will be graded, that is the graders will be looking at the work which supports your answer even more than the answer itself. In particular, a correct answer with no justification will receive no credit, whereas mostly correct work and a tiny error may receive a substantial amount of credit. Solutions should be written in an organized and legible manner. The purpose here is to prepare you for how your exams will be graded.

Labs

Statistics is most useful when applied to large datasets, which is only practicle when using a computer. In order to apply statistics it is thus necessary to have knowledge of a statisical software package. The labs will be used to give you hands on experience with one particular software package, the freely available, programming language R. The labs will also provide you with tools you will need to complete the project successfully.

We will go through parts of these labs during the x-hours. You will then be asked to do answer some questions related to the lab. If you are unable to finish the lab during the x-hour it will need to be finished on your own (or during Tutorial that evening) and will be due by the beginning of class the next day.

Project

There will be one project involving doing hypothesis testing about a question involving a large data set. You will find a large data set of your choosing, which should be freely available online, and you will ask a question about it.

Click here for details about the project. A project proposal is due on April 26th, and the final paper is due on May 24th.

Exams

There are two scheduled exams: one midterm, held outside of class time, and the final exam.

Midterm Final Exam
Tuesday, April 30
5:00--7:00 pm
Saturday, June 1
11:30 am--2:30 pm
Carpenter 013 LSC 100
Solutions

If you have a conflict with a scheduled exam contact your instructor as soon as possible.

Tutorial

Tutorials are an additional resource for you to get help with the course. Like office hours, they are times set aside for you to come for assistance with homeworks and labs. We have one teaching assistant, Jeffery Hein.

Times: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday 7:00-9:00 PM
Except the night of the midterm
Location: Kemeny 006
Tutorials begin Tuesday, March 26 and end Thursday, May 30

Disabilities and Religious Observances

We encourage any students with disabilities, including "invisible" disabilities such as chronic diseases and learning disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with your instructor, which might help you with this class, either after class or during office hours. Dartmouth College has an active program to help students with disabilities, and we are happy to do whatever we can to help out, as appropriate.

Any student with a documented disability requiring academic adjustments or accommodations is requested to speak with their instructor by the end of the second week of the term. All discussions will remain confidential, although the Academic Skills Center may be consulted to verify the documentation of the disability and advise on an appropriate response to the need. It is important, however, that you talk to us soon, so that we can make whatever arrangements might be needed in a timely fashion.

Some students may wish to take part in religious observances that occur during this academic term. If you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with us before the end of the second week of the term to discuss appropriate accommodations.

For your convenience, here is the term calendar as set by the registrar, with deadlines for schedule adjustment and other significant dates.

Honor Principle

On Exams: No assistance may be given or received except that you may ask the instructor for clarification of a problem. You may and should, however, use calculators. You are also allowed one 4"x6" index card of notes; you can write anything you want on the index card.

On Homework: You are permitted and encouraged to collaborate with other students on the homework. However, after discussing the problems, you must write up the final solutions in your own words. You may use calculators and approved software. Additionally, you may consult your class notes and text. It is a violation of the honor code for someone to provide the answers for you.

Grading

Grades will be assigned based on homework, labs, the project, and exams. Homework will count for 20% of the course grade, labs for 10%, the project 20%, the midterm 20%, and the final 30%.


Last modified 8 May 2013.