Math 147 -  Elementary Statistics   -    Spring 2020  

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Last update: March 19, 2020 - 2:20 PM
NOTE that This document pertains to ALL sections of the course!
Visit the HTML version of this page frequently for important announcements!


Math 147 Syllabus

As of March 19 this syllabus replaces the one posted on Prof. Walter Carlip's website . I have been appointed as the official Math 147 instructor since Prof. Carlip's health will not allow him to take over this course later in the semester. Prof. Carlip is the author of the wonderful slides I have been teaching from, and this alone should be reason for all of us to thank him for his contribution to this class and wish him the best for his health.

Note that this entire website incorporates the information about distance learning which the entire BU campus is switching to as of March 19, 2020.
   


Instructor: Dr. Michael Fochler        CRN: 10780
Office: WH 222    Online office: ZOOM meetings      Office hours: Mon 10:00 - 11:30,    Tue 11:30 - 1:00
Email     mfochler@math.binghamton.edu

Head Teaching Assistant:  Paul Barber

   
Lecture: Mon Wed Fri 1:10-2:10 PM in LH 1

Lectures will be held online via Zoom webconferencing starting March 20, 2020.

Course description:

This course aims at exploring basic statistics concepts, including sampling, probability, binomial distribution, normal distribution, sample average, sample standard deviation, confidence intervals, tests of statistical hypotheses. Understanding statistics as a powerful tool for analyzing data will be achieved through examination of various examples. We aim to cover most of the textbook.

This is not a course for students who intend to major in a STEM discipline, so the mathematical prerequisites are rather low. We only assume that you can work wih simple formulas and that you can handle highschool level algebra and the equation of a straight line in the plane. Knowledge of calculus is not assumed but you should be familiar with summation notation and indexed variables such as a4 and xn. Accordingly you should not have any problems with formulas such as   Σ xk. The course materials page of this site displays a link called Sums and straight lines . which points to some online tutorials you may want to look at.

General course info / Math 147 web site:

This syllabus is part of a complete website for Math 147. You can link to its home page from the instructor's departmental home page . Here is a direct link .

Discussion section info:

A schedule for the discussion sections can be found on the Math 147 home page Note that TA's office hours will be held via Zoom webconferencing. Once classes will resume on campus they will be held in the Math 147/148 help room located at WH 231

Prerequisites:    

We do not enforce any prerequisite. You have been told in the course description what background will help you greatly to do well in this course.

Textbook:    

Statistics, Freedman, Pisani and Purves (Fourth Edition), W. W. Norton, N.Y., (2007)ISBN 0-393-92972-8 (REQUIRED).
Most of the homework will be chosen from this book and only references to the problems are given. If you do not obtain your book from the BU bookstore then there is a possibility that your copy is not in sync with the official version and it is your responsibily to ensure that you work on the correct problem. Since your homework is not graded for points this frankly should not pose a problem.

Calculators and index cards:    

As long as this course is taught online there will be no restrictions on index cards and calculators since all quizzes and exams are open book until they will be taken in a classroom. Note though that quizzes and exams will be harder since they are now open book.

Appeals of grading:    

Appeals of grading must be submitted by email within one week of receipt of the evaluation. You should appeal first to your section TA, who will bring the problem (if necessary) to the head TA. If the problem is not resolved at that point, you can bring the appeal to Dr. Fochler. Be sure to review the appeals submission procedure which is detailed in Prof. Carlip's syllabus.

Blackboard:

Grades will be recorded in the Blackboard online gradebook. Stay on top of your grades! If your grade is incorrect you must contact your teaching assistant for a correction immediately. Grades will not be corrected more than one week after their posting date except in case of a prolonged and excused absence, e.g., a hospital stay. Visit Blackboard frequently!

              Your name: Blackboard vs Office of Records
              Some of you, usually foreign students, may have managed to submit different names to the Office of Records and to Blackboard, like switching around first name and last name or using an English name as first name, etc. This provides a major headache for me and my TAs because it means additional work when maintaining your records. The least you can do if you want to be on my good side is approach me asap if the above applies to you.

Lectures:

The lectures provide the main presentation of course material and will follow as closely as possible the week-by-week schedule published on this website Attendance in lecture is not required but will give you additional points. See further down for more on this. You are responsible for learning lecture material missed due to an absence. Be sure to know at least one other student who can share her/his notes with you! You may have to do that via web-conferencing if you left campus.

Discussion Sections:

Each one of you is assigned a discussion section, which meets once a week on either Tuesday or Thursday. This class is a valuable opportunity for open discussion of the lecture material and assigned problems in a smaller class setting.

Discussion sections will be held online via Zoom webconferencing until teaching in lecture halls resumes.

Attendance in discussion, be it in the class room or online, is not enforced, but keep the following in mind: The quizzes which constitute a significant portion of the points that determine your grade are given in your discussion section. More importantly, if you skip discussion then you will perform significantly below your potential when taking the exams, and those count for 75% of the grade. Note that one period per week is generally not adequate to answer all questions. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunities outside of class for additional help. Starfish tutoring is transitioning to online tutoring. For details see this UTS link .

Your main resource person in this course is your teaching assistant. S/he is available during office hours (or by appointment) to answer your questions about the course material. Your TA is responsible for recording all quiz, homework, and exam scores. If you have concerns about your discussion session which cannot be handled by your TA or the head TA, contact the lecturer, Dr. Fochler. As mentioned above, you should check the course website and Blackboard regularly and consult with your TA if you have any questions about recorded grades.

Record Keeping:

You must retain all returned papers in case of any discrepancy with your course grade. We cannot correct mistakes in grading or recording of scores without the original document. We will not review disputed points after the final. All grading issues must be settled within one week of the return of the paper.

Transfer to another section:

If you want to transfer from a section to a different one then you must talk not only to me but also to both TAs involved. If we can satisfy your request (this may not be possible) then your Blackboard grades must be manually transferred from the old section to the new one, and it is your responsibility to check that your grades are in fact visible in the new section!

Exams:

The following reflects the fact that the March 18 midterm was canceled.

There will be two midterm exams and one final exam. Each midterm exam will be worth 150 points and the final exam will be worth 300 points.

Any exam given during the period when distance learning is in place will be open book, and there will be no restrictions on index cards, calculators, and the like. Those exams will be given via Blackboard Turnitin or another online method. Details are still to be determined.

Once we switch back to in-classroom exams then the following regulations will take effect: No notes, books, cell phones, or laptops are allowed for such exams. However, you are allowed a calculator and an index card as discussed elsewhere in this syllabus.

Exam Dates and times can be found on the Math 147 Home Page. Make all arrangements necessary to take the tests at the dates you see listed there. Those times and dates are non-negotiable.

Midterms:

If BU classes are canceled just for the day of a midterm (e.g., due to inclement weather) and the midterm was already printed then its date may be shifted to a later day to ensure that all topics on the exam have been taught before the exam date.

Note that the above does not apply to online exams or to the final exam (even if the latter is given in lecture.

Midterm makeups:

  • For an online midterm we are still looking at the options that Blackboard provides for administering exams remotely.
  • For an in class midterm the rules are different: Make-up midterms and quizzes will only be given in response to an excused absence. Excused absences include illness, religious holiday, a major tragedy in the family and participation in official BU athletic events (but note that there are no make-ups for the first three missed quizzes: see the Discussion Quizzes section below). To be excused, absences should be properly documented, for example with a doctor's note. Bring this documentation to your lecturer or TA. The document must be issued to you at the day of the test. For example, if you missed a test on Friday, provide a Friday’s doctor’s note. The makeup will be scheduled within 3 days from the missed exam. You must request a make-up in writing by sending an email to your TA, cc the instructor.

Final exam and final exam makeup:

The final exam will be comprehensive and you must take it at the scheduled time. You can request the makeup final only if you have another final at the same time (direct conflict), or if you have three final exams scheduled within 24 hours. If you want to request to take the alternate final then you must do so no later than Monday, April 27, in writing: Send an email to me and to your TA. If you cannot take either the final exam or the makeup for the final at its specified time then the only other option will be an incomplete which might require you to retake the final exam with an instructor who will choose a different text.

Discussion Quizzes:    

Prof. Carlip decided that quizzes are graded on a scale from 1 to 10, and your TAs have been entering them as such in Blackboard. I like allocate points in such a fashion that they will add up to the 1000 points on which I base my grading scale. Thus please note the following: Every quiz point will be worth 2.5 grade points. After the last quiz has been graded, your TA will round up your quiz gradepoints score to the next integer if necessary.

  • Example 1: If your quiz total is 80 points then that translates to 80 * 2.5 = 200 grade points, and no rounding is necessary.
  • Example 2: If your quiz total is 77 points then that translates to 77 * 2.5 = 192.5 grade points, then this score will be rounded to 193 grade points.

Starting Thursday, March 19, quizzes will be administered via Blackboard Turnitin or another online method. Note the following changes in policy: Once you have missed three quizzes for whatever reason (BUT ONLY THEN), the rules change as follows: If you miss a subsequent quiz FOR A VALID REASON, your TA will either give you a makeup quiz or count the next quiz also for the one you just missed.

How your grade is computed:

See the home page for a tentative grading scale.