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The University of Akron
College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Statistics
COURSE SYLLABUS
STAT 250:002 – Statistics for Everyday life
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Course Number
3470:250:002
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Days
MWThF
Time
9:55-10:45 AM
Spring 2012
BLDG/ROOM
Olin 123A
Office Hours and Phone Numbers of Instructor:
Instructor
Dr. Desale Habtzghi
Office
Location
CAS 118
Office Phone
Email Address
Office Hrs
(330) 972-8436
dh52@uakron.edu
MTW 11:00-12:00 or by
appointment
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Required Supplies:
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Textbook and Materials: Introductory Statistics 7th Edition by Prem S. Mann (Wiley 2010),
required
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Wiley Plus: WileyPLUS is an online teaching and learning solution that will help you reach your
full potential in this course and beyond. WileyPLUS will allow student’s access to the online
textbook, solutions manual, and study guide.
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Calculator: The TI-83 Plus or the TI-84 is recommended if the student intends to purchase a
calculator
Course Description: A Conceptual approach to the basic ideas of statistics and statistical
thinking. Topics include: descriptive statistics, probability and uncertainty, statistical inference
and prediction, computer application of all of the forgoing.
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Course Objectives: In this course, students will develop the ability to :
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Calculate and interpret basic descriptive statistics.
Expose the students to the ideas and concepts of statistics, probability and statistical models used for
decision support in different areas of their life.
Describe and use properties of basic probability distributions.
Perform statistical inference in the form of confidence intervals and hypothesis tests.
Evaluate statistical information in the world around them.
Analyze data using basic statistical methods.
Provide a sound basis in statistics for the student’s future academic and professional careers.
Attendance: Attendance will be taken on some random days in the semester. Students are responsible for
all material covered in class. If you are absent make arrangements with a classmate to borrow the notes and
any handouts from them.
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Homework and quizzes: Homework will be assigned on Monday and will be collected the
following Monday. Homework will be used for class discussion, quizzes and on tests. Any homework
turned in late has no guarantee of being graded. There will be approximately 10 homework
assignments, 10-12 activities/ group work assignments during the semester. Activities/group work will be
given in class. The homework assignments, activities/group work and lab are important components of
this course. Homework, activities/group work and lab together count for 250 points of the course grade.
Absolutely no make-ups are given for in-class activities or group work assignments collected. However,
at the end of the semester, one activity/group work grade will be dropped to compute the activity/group
work average.
Note: Group work assignments, quizzes may be announced or unannounced
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Computer Lab:
You are required to attend lab at your assigned computer lab time each week. Lab
is held in CAS 108/109. The purpose of the computer lab is to give students hands on experience in using
and analyzing statistics with real data. You will be working with a statistical package called Minitab. No
experience is needed.
Seeking help: If you need additional help, please use my office hours or make an appointment with me.
In addition, the Department of Statistics provides graduate student tutors in room CAS 125. (Check the
posted schedule for availability). This is a wonderful resource and I recommend that you schedule your
time so that you can get help from the graduate assistants. Forming small study groups to work outside of
class has been found to be an effective way of learning Statistics. Make sure that when working in groups
you work toward understanding the concepts which the problem is dealing with, Not just getting the
answer.
Exams: There will be 4 exams including the final in this course Exams are computer based and will be
administered in Schrank Hall North 152 during the test window for each exam as listed below. You may
make a reservation to take each test online at http://cbt.uakron.edu/ The testing center schedule is also
on that site. It you preregister for a specific time, you must arrive a few minutes early or your spot will be
used for someone else. Walk-ins are also welcome but you will not be guaranteed a computer to use.
Exam make-up policy: Students will be permitted to make up exams provided they have a University
excuse (e.g., medical) or other legitimate excuse that the instructor has OK'd prior to the missed
exam.
ALL MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN DURING FINALS WEEK TEST WINDOW (NO
EXCEPTIONS)!
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Students will be allowed a RETAKE OF ONLY 1 TEST for the semester. This is a different
policy from other classes that allows a retake of all exams. More details will be provided as we get
closer to the first exam.
Identification must be shown before you take a test. THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE FORM OF ID
AT THE TESTING CENTER IS A ZIPCARD.
Tentative exam dates:
- Exam 1: chapter 1, Appendix A, chapters 2 & 3 (test window 1/27 – 1/31)
- Exam 2: chapters 4, 5, 6, 7 (test window 2/24 – 2/28)
- Exam 3: parts of chapters 8, 9, & 10 (test window 3/30 – 4/3)
Comprehensive Final: parts of chapters 7, 8, 9, 11 & 13 + comprehensive part (test window 4/27 – 5/2)
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Grading :
Course work
Exam 1-3 ( Midterm exam)
Final exam
Homework, activities/group work
Weight
300 points
130 points
150 points
Lab work
100 points
A total of 680 points is possible in the class. The following grading scale will be used:
A: 612 - 680 (90%-100%) B: 544 - 611 (80% to < 90%) C: 442 - 543 (65% to < 80%) D: 374 - 441 (55% to <
65%) F: < 373 (< 55%)
A plus or minus grade may be given if your course total falls just below one of the cutoffs.
12. Withdrawal policy:
Withdrawal policy: The last day to withdraw from the class is Feb 26th
.New Drop/Withdrawal Policy:
Drops: New and Continuing students may DROP a course via ZipLine through January 23.
Courses dropped by January 23 will not appear on a student’s transcript. No signatures are required to drop a
course.
Withdrawals: New and Continuing students may withdraw from a course between January 24 and February
26 via ZipLine.
A WD will appear on the student’s transcript. No signatures are required to withdraw from a course. No
withdrawals will be permitted after February 26th.
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Cell Phones: Cell phones are not permitted to be used in the classroom -- that includes texting.
KEYS TO DOING WELL IN THIS COURSE
- Be present for every class.
- Participate in class.
- Figure out immediately how your calculator works.
- Do HW immediately after the material is presented in class, and hand it in on time.
- Read and understand the notes and/or book after the material is presented.
- The amount of time a person has to study to obtain an excellent grade varies. However, for the
average student, you will have to study multiple hours for the exams to obtain an excellent grade.