|
| Date posted |
Message |
| 12/16/2015 |
a. Timetable for the Math 148 final exam on Fri, Dec 18:
a1. Instructor and TAs expect to start distributing the exams
at 7:45 AM.
Students have to wait outside until notified that they may enter LH 001.
a2. The exam will start on time at 8:00 AM and end at 10:00 AM.
a3. There will be a place for you to drop your SOOT comment forms.
One of the students who was granted extra time will carry them
to the Math department building.
a4. If you did not pick up your SOOT form during lecture
then you still can do so after you have finished your exam if you wish.
You pick up the form when you drop your exam.
Bring it to WH 130 and slide it under the door before 11:00 AM.
Do not knock or enter as there are students finishing up their exams.
a5. Unless you take the makeup exam on 12/21 you should expect
to see your data on BB and have your grade entered on BU Brain
by Saturday evening (the latter may not show for several weeks
on your temporary transcripts).
b. Miscellaneous:
b1. No change in policy concerning index cards (same size, 8x6),
calculators and the like.
The final exam is just like the others except that it is cumulative
and takes twice as long.
b2. Advice: Bring backup pencil, calculator and batteries.
b3. Chi-square test for independence:
Will you be asked to compute the expected frequencies or will they
be given to you?
Answer: If there is such a problem on the exam and if the frequencies
are not given then you must compute them just as
you learned in lecture when the handedness example was discussed.
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| 12/06/2015 |
a. The Grades page of this site has been updated.
All others, except for quiz 12, will come by Tue, early afternoon
b. The Q & A section of this page has
been updated with info concerning the final exam.
|
| 12/05/2015 |
Homework assignment 11 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 11/30/2015 |
a. Homework assignment 10 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
b. Final Exam makeup: Mon, 12/21 10:25 AM - 12:25 PM
in SL 310 (Science Library)
|
| 11/19/2015 |
Exam 3 on Monday, November 23:
The exam will start five minutes early at 8:25 AM!
Be early: show up by 8:15 AM as the exam will finish on the dot at
9:25 AM!
The material covered will be from ch.16 through ch.24.
Make-up exam:
send me an email, cc your TA, with a well documented reason
Make "Request make-up for exam 3" part of the subject of your email!
The makeup exam will be neld no later than Tue afternoon.
Illness:
No exception to the rule that you must bring a doctor's note dated
no later than the date of the exam.
Athletes:
I am looking for an explicit email from you in case you
need to take the make-up due to a competitive event.
Index cards and calculators:
No change in policy. Be sure to put those items into your backpack the
evening before the exam so you won't forget them. Bring a spare battery
or a spare calculator! You are not allowed to share calulators but you
can try to get one from a student who brought a spare if you do so before
the exam starts.
Students with permission to get extra time: You stop writing at 9:25
and you will continue at my office.
|
| 11/13/2015 |
Homework assignment 9 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 11/06/2015 |
Homework assignment 8 has been posted.
Two problems are from ch.22 which will be done in Monday's lecture.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 10/29/2015 |
The withdrawal deadline is approaching (tomorrow (Fri) midnight,
and my TAs have made an effort to have Blackboard up to date
as far as your grades are concerned .....
(check your email for the complete announcement)
|
| 10/29/2015 |
Homework assignment 7 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 10/27/2015 |
The grades page of this website has been updated to include exam 2, quiz 6
and the three homeworks that were collected so far.
|
| 10/27/2015 |
Clarification added to syllabus:
Students are expected to attend discussion sections prepared to turn in their homework
and/or take a quiz.
Clarification added on 10/27:
The above implies that both homework collection and quizzes will not be announced.
|
| 10/19/2015 |
First draft of selected lecture notes has been published.
The content is mostly about the more "mathy" notation
used in lecture, when compared to the FPP text.
Check out the Math 148 Course material web page.
|
| 10/18/2015 |
Exam 2 on Monday, October 26:
The exam will start five minutes early at 8:25 AM!
Be early: show up by 8:15 AM as the exam will finish on the dot at
9:25 AM!
The material covered will be up to and including ch.16
(The Law of Averages). Focus will be on regression, probability
and ch.16.
Make-up exam:
send me an email, cc your TA, with a well documented reason
Make "Request make-up for exam 2" part of the subject of your email!
Illness:
This time no exception to the rule that you must
bring a doctor's note dated
no later than the date of the exam.
Athletes:
I am looking for an explicit email from you in case you
need to take the make-up due to a competitive event.
|
| 10/17/2015 |
Homework assignment 6 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 10/12/2015 |
The grades page of the Math 148 website
now contains data for sections 1 and 5.
|
| 10/12/2015 |
The Math 148 website has been updated:
the leftmost link in the top navigation bar has been changed
from "Blackboard" to "Grades".
If you click on it then you will see the anonymous scores
for exams, quizzes and homework.
From there you still can navigate to Blackboard.
There are no data for sections 1 and 5 yet
as the BB data for those sections first must be purged of students
who are no longer enrolled.
This might happen as early as tonight.
|
| 10/8/2015 |
Homework assignment 5 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 10/6/2015 |
Final exam on Fri, 12/18 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM in LH 001.
Makeup date/location: TBD (very likely on Mon, Dec 21)
|
| 10/3/2015 |
Homework assignment 4 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 9/21/2015 |
CORRECTION TO "Homework assignment 3 has been posted"
(9/27/2015 at 8:35 PM).
|
| 9/27/2015 |
Homework assignment 3 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
| 9/26/2015 |
The make-up exam for athletes out on competition
or students with a documented illness will be
Monday, Sept 28, at 6:00, probably in my office
|
| 9/21/2015 |
CORRECTION TO "Homework assignment 2 has been posted" (9/15/2015).
Due next week in discussion. If your section is on Tue AFTERNOON, Sept. 22,
i.e., you attend section 3 or section 4,
please bring it to WH 130 (Dr. Fochler's office) before 5:00 PM.
If the door is locked, just slide it under the door.
BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR SECTION INDICATED ON YOUR HOMEWORK!
However, if your section is on Tue morning
then your section is not cancelled
and you are asked to turn in your homework when you attend your section.
|
| 9/17/2015 |
Exam 1 on Fri, 9/25: Material: ch.1 - ch.8. Be there by 8:20 as you'll start
on the dot at 8:30 and it will take 5 minutes or more to distribute the exams!
|
| 9/15/2015 |
Homework assignment 2 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion. If your section is on Tue, Sept. 22,
please bring it to WH 130 (Dr. Fochler's office) before 5:00 PM.
If the door is locked, just slide it under the door.
BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR SECTION INDICATED ON YOUR HOMEWORK!
|
| 9/2/2015 |
Homework assignment 1 has been posted.
Due next week in discussion.
|
|
| Topic |
Issue |
| Final |
Q:
Is the Final cumulative?
A:
Definitely. Be sure in particular to review regression and probability,
two topics that you learned about in the distant past!
|
| Final |
Q:
What chapters do we not need to worry about for the final?
A:
Excluded from the final:
ch. 7 on points and lines in the plane (but be sure you understand
how this material is used in the chapters on regression),
ch.25 on genetics,
any specific knowledge about
ch.19 (Sample Surveys) and ch. 22 (Unemployment, CPS) but be sure to
understand the connection between SRS and SE formulas!
No decision has been made yet what material, if any,
we guarantee not to be on the final.
|
| Final |
Q:
What's on the Final?
A:
Everything not excluded in the previous question is fair game.
Some specifics will be announced Wed, 12/9 but here is a
list of particularly important topics:
-- ch.1-2 (Experiments):
Bias and confounding factors in experiments and surveys
-- ch.3-5 (Histograms):
density scale, class intervals, left/right tailed,
outliers, geometric meaning of
average and SD, SD vs SD+
-- Normal curve, standard units, change of scale, percentiles
-- ch.6 (Measurement Error):
All concepts, e.g., chance error, repeatability, outliers, bias
-- ch.8-12 (Regression):
SD line vs regression line (formulas), formula for r, residuals,
change of scale
-- Regression line as approximation of y-averages
of small intervals about x (ch.10, Fig.1)
-- Association vs causation, regression fallacy
-- r.m.s. error of the regression line (standard error of the estimate)
-- homo/heteroscedascity
-- Least squares and regression line
-- Probability: all of ch. 13-15, incl. the binomial formula
-- Ch.16-18 (Chance variability): box models and chance processes
as a means to draw samples
-- counting boxes and shortcut formula for SD of 2-ticket value boxes
-- SE for chance processes vs SDs for lists like boxes and samples
-- SE and expected value for sums, averages and percentages
-- square root laws for SEs
-- approximation of normal curve by the probab. histograms for
observed minus expected divided by appropriate SE
-- continuity correction
-- Ch.19-24 (Sampling):
-- Importance of independent or SRS sampling from a box, correction factor
-- Inferential statistics,
reasoning from the box to samples vs
inferences from the sample to the box
-- Connection between SE and confidence intervals
-- Ch.26-29 (Hypothesis Testing):
-- Null hypothesis vs alt. hypothesis, role of box model, SRS, ...
-- z-test, t-test, 2-sample z-test, when to use the t-distribution
-- chi2 tests for box composition and independence
-- left tailed chi2 tests for unlikely accuracy
-- P-value, level of significance, significant vs highly significant,
test statistics (z-statistic, t-statistic, ...)
-- one-tailed vs two-tailed tests, data snooping
-- real world relevance of hypothesis tests
|
| Final |
Q:
How do I start preparing for the final?
A:
a. Start out by reviewing all chapter summaries in the FPP book.
They are short and give you an overview of what's important.
b. Review the completely worked examples in the text book.
c. Solutions for quizzes 1-11 ver A are available now.
Versions B-D of the same quiz are very similar, with just the
numbers changed.
|
| Exam |
Q:
Can we write on both sides of the index card?
A:
Yes.
|
| Exam |
Q:
Am I allowed to put anything that we think Is Important
such as formulas and practice problems on my index card?
Or can I only put on very limited definitions and examples?
In other words can I put find the SD
of the list 1,4,3,5,6 and do it step by step?
A:
It's your index card and there are no limitations, at least not for exam 1.
Check for policy changes!
|
| Exam |
Q:
What is the format of the exams?
Will there be multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks questions?
Must we write down formulas?
Will table lookup pages be provided or can we use
our calculator?
A:
I have done my best to reward those who understand more
of the course material than those who understand less.
Everything else is a consequence of the above:
You should have some judgement about subjects which are
of central importance and those that are peripheral.
One item that I'll be happy to clarify:
If you are asked to compute a number such as
the standard deviation of a list of, say, 5 specific numbers,
then you must provide the formula where those numbers are plugged in.
That will get you most of the credit whereas
just writing the result (which you might have gotten
by pushing a couple of buttons on your statistics calculator)
will give you very little credit.
And, yes, you are expected to know definitions such as those
of the SD of a list (how else could you write down
the formula with the values plugged in?)
or of a histogram or of an SD line so you'll be able
to graph them in case you are asked to do so.
And yes, some questions will be multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks.
Table-lookups:
If you need to get numbers that are associated with
the normal curve then you must do the look-ups in
the z-scores table on page A104 of the book
(it will be attached to your exam) and write down those numbers,
even if they are not the final result.
That way we know that you know how to do a table look-up
without the help of a calculator.
|
| Help |
Q:
I cannot get a tutor in my time range so I was wondering
if I could possibly meet with you and get some help?
A:
You are welcome to come to this instructor's office hours.
Remember that help room WH 234 is open most of the time on weekdays.
This is also the place where your TA holds his/her office hours.
I understand that you can ask anyone manning the helproom for assistance.
Check the
Helproom 234 schedule
.
|
| Help |
Q:
I wasn't able to make my statistics class this morning.
Can I have a brief summary of the topics we went over today?
A:
There are more than 200 students in this class
and close to 25 or even more in your section.
At least one of them should be your best friend,
happy to let you ask them for lecture notes.
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