MATH 2203 – Elementary Statistics
Fall 2015
Instructor: Dr. Clint Givens / email: cgivens@usao.edu / office phone: 405-574-1259
Class Meets: MWF 10:10-11:10, Austin 108 (computer lab) or 202 (classroom)
Office Hours: My office is Austin 103. You are welcome to drop in anytime my door is open. I am
guaranteed to be in my office during the following times, unless I notify you otherwise:
Mon 9:05-10:05, 2:30-3:30
Tue 8:25-9:25, 2:30-4:30
Wed 2:30-4:30
Thu 1:30-3:30
Fri 9:05-10:05
Required Textbooks: There is one required textbook: OpenIntro Statistics, 2nd edition, by David
Diez, Christopher Barr, and Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel, a free textbook which can be
viewed/downloaded directly from this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BDHaDEbiOGkZ1o5VVYwYXVKVjg/view, or indirectly from the
website https://www.openintro.org/stat/textbook.php?stat_book=os by clicking on “Archive” in
the sidebar. The book is also available to purchase in physical book form at the USAO bookstore (I
think) or via Amazon at the above link for ~$10, if you like to touch dead trees while you read.
N.B. – The edition we will be using is the 2nd edition, not the most recent 3rd edition.
Calculator/Software: You will need a calculator or software with statistical capabilities. For
classroom use and exams we will have a classroom set of TI-84 graphing calculators; we will also
make use of Excel spreadsheets in the computer lab.
Email: Please check your official USAO email regularly. Visit http://usao.edu/infoservices/howaccess-your-usao-student-email-account for instructions on how to access your email account.
Course Objectives: Students who have successfully completed this course should be able to
1. understand and apply a variety of elementary statistical concepts and techniques in order
2.
3.
4.
5.
to summarize, describe, and interpret data, and to make predictions and inferences based
on data;
interpret and construct visual displays of data such as stemplots, boxplots, bar charts, etc.;
make use of appropriate tools/software in order to carry out statistical procedures for the
first and second objectives above;
recognize the circumstances under which various statistical methodologies are
appropriate, and what their limitations are; and
critically evaluate statistical claims and arguments from the media, public figures, and/or
academics and scientists.
Grading Categories:
1. Homework
2. Quizzes
3. Projects/Labs
10%
15%
20%
4. Tests (x3)
5. Final Exam
35%
20%
Homework - 10% Homework problem sets include exercises and questions intended to
help you review and master the material, including important mathematical procedures,
concepts, and techniques. You are strongly encouraged to collaborate with your classmates
in approaching the homework problems, though each student must always write up their
solutions independently. See the caution below.
Caution: For some of the homework problems, it may be possible to use a solution manual,
or to copy an answer directly from another student or other source, without an
independent effort to work through/understand the details of the solution yourself. This
type of thoughtless, verbatim copying is academic dishonesty, and if I find out that it has
happened, I will pursue sanctions as outlined in the USAO Student Handbook.
However, even if you are not detected, consider that making a habit of this will only shortchange yourself:
a) you will not have the practice you need to actually learn, internalize, and be able to apply
the mathematical concepts;
b) you will not be able to distinguish which concepts you know well, and which ones
require further study or help from the professor, classmates, or tutors;
c) you will be less prepared for quizzes and exams, which together are worth a far
greater proportion of your grade than the homework.
You may wish to visit http://www.haverford.edu/math/collaboration.html, which has an
excellent rundown of what is and is not appropriate in math homework collaboration.
Homework is due at the beginning of class on the scheduled due date. Because we will
often begin discussing homework immediately on the due date, it is crucial that you have
the homework with you and completed. If you are unable to attend class on the date a
homework set is due, for whatever reason, you must arrange to submit it to me early (e.g.
hand it to me, slide it under my office door, or scan and email), or have it handed in on time
by a fellow student. Late homework is not accepted except in the case of sudden,
documentable illness or emergency.
Quizzes – 15% - In order to (1) encourage attendance and timeliness, (2) keep you
honest about completing required readings and working productively on your homework,
and (3) help both you and me see how well you are keeping up with the material, I will
frequently give short, graded in-class quizzes. These may or may not be announced ahead
of time; they will take place in the first 5-10 minutes of class; and there will be no make-ups
for quizzes missed due to absence or tardiness. If you are doing the assigned readings and
tackling the homework problems with an eye toward understanding, these should not be
difficult. In the case of a documentable, legitimate reason for absence, a quiz grade for that
day will be waived. It is your responsibility to find out following an (excusable) absence
whether you have missed a quiz, and to provide appropriate documentation, so that the
quiz score will be waived. Apart from quiz grades waived in this manner, your single lowest
quiz grade of the trimester will also be dropped.
Projects/Labs - 20% - These types of assignments, which might be individual or group
work, will be somewhat varied in nature, but typically more involved than simple
homework assignments. They may require you to compose a typewritten paper, perform
an in-depth statistical investigation, create a poster presentation, or critique statistical
arguments made by others. Detailed instructions and guidelines will be distributed with
each assignment.
Tests - 35% - There will be three tests (not including the final exam), each worth ~12%
of your course grade. One of the three will occur during the final exam time block, but will
be weighted equally with the other two. All three exams will be comprehensive, meaning
they may test you not only over the most recent content but over any previously covered
material, even if it already appeared on a prior test. You will receive additional information
about the format and scoring of the exams as they approach.
Tests must be taken in class on the scheduled dates. There will be no make-up tests in case
of absence unless there is a compelling, documentable reason (e.g. illness, family
emergency). If you know you will be missing a test for any reason, it is your responsibility
to contact me as soon as possible prior to the test in order to make alternative
arrangements. If you are late to class on a test date, you will not receive additional time to
finish.
Final Exam – 20% - The final exam will also be comprehensive, and will account for 20%
of your course grade.
Course Grade: In each category the percentage of points earned (from the total possible within
that category) will be determined and then weighted according to the values above, resulting in a
final overall weighted percentage. This will be rounded to the nearest whole number and a letter
grade assigned as follows:
90-100: A
80 - 89: B
70 - 79: C
60 – 69: D
59 or below: F
Class Attendance: Be on time for class. We will have important activities, explanations, and
discussions during class time, so make attendance a priority. Also, as mentioned above, some class
days will begin with a quiz which cannot be made up if you are absent.
Reading: This should go without saying, but: You should actually read (or listen to/view) the
assigned material. You may wish to re-read selected portions later (though some research has
found that it is more helpful to outline/summarize/synthesize than to simply re-read it). You are
responsible for substantive information presented in assigned readings, whether or not it is
explicitly mentioned in classroom lectures or discussion.
Be aware that readings with mathematical content often take significantly more time per page
than other sources such as novels or news articles. For the most effective learning (in math or
anywhere), you should strive to be an active reader rather than a passive reader, which means you
should ask questions of the text and probe your own understanding of it. Think of your own
examples, predict what the answer will be before you look at it, consider whether a situation is
realistic, consider whether other people might disagree with a point being made and why—in
short, think about what you are reading while you are reading it.
Getting Help: Successful students are proactive about their learning. You have a number of
options when it comes to getting help; if you don’t feel satisfied with how you are doing in the
course and want to improve, make use of these resources.
(1) Come visit me. I am committed to helping you in any reasonable way to achieve your goals for
this course. I have a total of 10 office hours throughout the week; make a note right now of which
ones fit your schedule. (If you want to meet with me about an assignment that’s due on Monday,
you wouldn’t want to check and find out Wednesday evening that you have a schedule conflict
with my Thursday and Friday office hours.) If your schedule is perfectly misaligned with my office
hours, you can always ask me about scheduling an appointment.
When you do come, it will be most helpful for both of us if you have already sat down and tried to
work through what you can, and made notes of specific questions / areas of confusion which you’d
like to go over with me. When a question / confusion comes up during your studying, jot it down
in a notebook/app/sticky note designated for that purpose, or you are likely to forget it and then
you won’t get that question answered!
(2) The top floor of Nash Library features a Math and Science Tutor (MaST) Center where you can
get help from peer tutors. Hours of operation are Mon-Thu 9-7, and Fri 9-5. Same considerations
apply as in the previous paragraph—you can get better help if you come armed with specific
questions / areas of confusion.
(3) Your peers in the course are a valuable resource as well. I would strongly encourage you to
form a small study group which meets on a regular basis to work together and help each other out.
It is important that all members of the group contribute toward a group culture that is productive,
positive, and collaborative, so choose peers who exhibit these qualities, and be a leader yourself in
encouraging them to do so.
(4) You may be able to find help for specific topics from a variety of online sources. Some pretty
good ones are Khan Academy, stattrek.com, betterexplained.com, mathforum.org/dr.math, and
there are jillions more of varying quality and comprehensiveness.
Withdrawal: If you are considering withdrawing from the course, I would encourage you to talk
to me first if possible, and certainly with your adviser. If you do decide to withdraw, be advised
that it is your sole responsibility to do so by the appropriate deadline. The last day to drop with no
effect on your transcript is Aug 28, the last day to drop with an automatic W is Sep 25, and the last
day to withdraw at all is Nov 13.
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to this syllabus when deemed
necessary at any point in the course, with appropriate notification.