STAT 200 ELEMENTARY OF STATISTICS, SUMMER 2014
Syllabus
INSTRUCTOR:
Eftychia Solea
303 Thomas Building.
E-mail:exs392@psu.edu
TA:
Kevin Quinlan
E-mail: krq103@psu.edu
OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday and Friday 10:30-11:45 am or by appt. - my office.
TA OFFICE HOURS:
WEB PAGE: All the lecture notes, assignments and solutions for this course will be stored on the
class web site https://cms.psu.edu/.
LECTURES: MWF 12:45-2:00PM 215 Thomas Building
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Statistics is the art and science of using sample data to make generalizations about populations. The
topics covered in this course include:
• methods for collecting and summarizing data
• methods for evaluating the accuracy of sample estimates
• techniques for making statistical inferences
Users of statistics -- researchers, government agencies like the Census Bureau and the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, companies like the automakers and drug industry, etc. -- make extensive use of the
computer in applying statistical methods to their problems.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course you will have a great deal of practice in analyzing data from a variety of
areas and you will be well prepared for problem-solving involving statistics in the rest of your
college courses, as well as gaining an understanding of the role of statistics in your daily life.
TEXTBOOK
• Mind on Statistics, 4th Edition, by Jessica Utts & Robert Heckard.
Copies available in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences (PAMS) & Pattee Libraries.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Exams: There will be two in-class midterms and an in-class final exam. For midterm exams you
can bring one page two-sided fact sheet no larger than 8.5X11 inches. For final exams you can bring
two pages two-sided fact sheet no larger than 8.5X11 inches. Only handwritten cheat sheets are
acceptable (no photocopies).You will submit your cheat sheets with the exams.
First Midterm: July 23rd.
Second Midterm: August 6th.
Final exam: August 15th.
Homework: There will be six homework assignments to help you understand the material.
Lab activities: There will be twelve lab activities. You will use the statistical software Minitab.
Lab activities cannot be made up and they will be assigned weekly starting the week of July 2. All
lab activities will be available in Angel by 6:00 pm previous day. You will complete the activity by
typing your responses on the document and submitting your solutions to the activity’s respective
drop box and then you will submit the on-line quiz.
GRADING
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Homework - Keep best 5 from 6 (20%)
Lab activities-Keep best 10 from 12 (10%)
First midterm exam (20%)
Second midterm exam (20%)
Final exam (30%)
FINAL GRADE
PERCENT
A
93.00-100%
A-
90.0-92.9%
B+
87.0-89.9%
B
83.0-86.9%
B-
80.0-82.9%
C+
77.0-79.9%
C+
70.0-76.9%
D
60.0-69.9%
F
0
COURSE POLICIES
I strongly encourage you to read the material before class and then the lecture material should
make more sense. You are strongly encouraged to attend all the classes (lectures and labs). If you
miss a class, please borrow the notes for the missed class from a fellow student and complete
readings from the textbook.
Homework will be collected at the beginning of class period on the assigned due date. Discussion
on homework is encouraged but each student must turn
in his/her own written work. Assignments will not be accepted past the time they are due unless you
make other arrangements with me BEFORE the due date.
As a reminder, the University has a policy on academic honesty. Cheating
includes sharing answers with other students, sharing calculators, communicating with other
students in any way during an exam, or using provided solutions to check your answers before
turning in your work. You are expected to abide by the procedures set forth in the University’s
document at http://www.psu.edu/dept/ufs/policies/47-00.html#49-20 . Failure to comply will result
in a grade of 0.
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. If you
have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office
for Disability Services (ODS) at 814-863-1807 (V/TTY). For further information regarding ODS,
please visit the Office for Disability Services Web site at http://equity.psu.edu/ods/. In order to
receive consideration for course accommodations, you must contact ODS and provide
documentation (see the documentation guidelines at http://equity.psu.edu/ods/guidelines/
documentation-guidelines). If the documentation supports the need for academic adjustments,
ODS will provide a letter identifying appropriate academic adjustments. Please share this letter and
discuss the adjustments with your instructor as early in the course as possible. You must contact
ODS and request academic adjustment letters at the beginning of each semester.
Academic Integrity Statement: All Penn State and Eberly College of Science policies regarding
academic integrity apply to this course. See http://www.science.psu.edu/academic/Integrity/
index.html for details.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Date
W 7/2
- Introduction-syllabus
- Chapter 1: Overview of statistics.
- Chapter 2: Turning data into information.
R 7/3
- Lab activity chapters 1 and 2.
F 7/4
- No classes.
M 7/7
- Chapter 2: Turning data into information.
- Chapter 3: Relationship between quantitative variables.
-Lab activity. Chapters 2 and 3.
T 7/8
W 7/9
- Chapter 3: Relationship between quantitative variables.
- Chapter 4: Relationships between categorical variables.
R 7/10
- Lab activity. Chapters 3 and 4.
F 7/11
- Chapter 4: Relationships between categorical variables.
- Chapter 5: Sampling: Surveys and How to ask questions.
M 7/14
- Chapter 5: Sampling: Surveys and How to ask questions.
- Chapter 6: Gathering useful data for examining relationships.
T 7/15
- Lab activity chapters 5 and 6.
W 7/16
- Chapter 6: Gathering useful data for examining relationships.
- Chapter 7: Probability.
R 7/17
- Lab activity chapters 6-7.
F 7/18
- Chapter 7: Probability.
- Chapter 8: Random Variables.
M 7/21
- Chapter 8: Random Variables.
- Chapter 9: Understanding sampling distributions.
T 7/22
- Lab activity: chapters 7 and 8.
W 7/23
- MIDTERM 1 (Up to chapter 8).
R 7/24
- Lab activity chapters 8 and 9.
F 7/25
- Chapter 9: Understanding sampling distributions.
- Chapter 10: Estimating proportions with confidence.
M 7/28
- Chapter 10: Estimating proportions with confidence.
- Chapter 11: Estimating means with confidence.
T 7/29
- Lab activity chapters 9 and 10.
W 7/30
- Chapter 11: Estimating means with confidence.
- Chapter 12: Testing hypotheses about proportions.
R 7/31
- Lab activity chapters 11 and 11.
F 8/1
- Chapter 12: Testing hypotheses about proportions.
- Chapter 13: Testing hypotheses about means.
M 8/4
- Chapter 13: Testing hypotheses about means.
- Chapter 14: Inference about simple regression.
T 8/5
- Lab activity chapters 12 and 13.
W 8/6
- MIDTERM 2 (Up to chapter 13)
R 8/7
- Lab activity chapters 13 and 14.
F 8/8
- Chapter 14: Inference about simple regression.
- Chapter 15: More about categorical variables:
M 8/11
- Chapter 15: More about categorical variables:
T 8/12
- Lab activity chapters 14 and 15.
W 8/13
- REVIEW for final exam. End of classes.