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MTH241.003A.14539 Statistics I, Fall 2011, AA355

Note.  Content below can change thru the first day of class.  Last update:  23 August 2011 2143.

Course Description 

Syllabus (on Blackboard, available first day of class)

Lesson Plan (available first day of class)

Shared links for all courses (includes information on calculators and self-study resources)

Course text website (click 8th Edition image and then the Student Edition link)

• Data files (in diverse formats) used in the text can be downloaded by those who want to avoid manual entry
   
• From the drop-down menu, choose a chapter and then click an item to display the chosen section's
   
  • Step-by-step solutions to problems found in the book (eProfessor)
  • Videos for selected exercises
  • Lecture videos
     
• We won't use MegaStat (an Excel add-in) because students must pay extra for it and moreover, I prefer that students learn Excel's built-in functions

Prerequisites.  Passing a proficiency exam and either MTH152 (functions, combinatorics, probability, statistics, algebraic systems), MTH163 (pre-calculus:  college algebra; matrices; algebraic, exponential, and logarithmic functions); or MTH182 (logic, counting, probability, statistics, mathematics of finance).  Else Division permission.  You're also expected to have the study skills taught in SDV100.

Course Text.  Elementary Statistics (8th Edition) by Bluman (e-copy is at www.CourseSmart.com).  A copy is found in our campus library reserves.  Use another text at your own risk (you'll be on your own).

Calculator.  We will use the TI-83 (or the equivalent TI-84) but if you use another device or text, then do so at your own risk.  Those who want to use the TI-89 should see me.  See Shared Links for rental and purchase options.    

Preparation.  Free tutoring is available in the Math Lab (AA161) and addresses only what's in the text.  Students must firmly grasp the above prerequisites but if not:

• In the text website above, study the Appendix A resources

• You may also like the Khan Academy videos:

  • Those on probability and statistics may be useful later on

  • Click here for those that I think are most relevant to MTH241
     

• Take advantage of the self-study resources found under Study Aids in Shared Links

Diary

23 August 2011.  Earthquake cancels class.   Because this could change key dates, I'll post the syllabus to Blackboard next week.  In the meantime, study this page and its links, and pay close attention to the Lesson Plan (which will change throughout the semester in response to class progress).

30 August (all other Diary entries will be on Blackboard).  First day of class. 

We will correspond from our NOVA email accounts.  Make sure that your:

• NOVA mailbox isn't full (if a message is undeliverable, then you're still on the hook)
• Phone number is current in NOVACONNECT

To learn how to use Blackboard, email, NOVACONNECT, etc, please click Getting Started with Student Technology.  Click here for other instructions on using email.  

Study Groups 

You're encouraged to form study groups.

• In its first meeting, a group may want to discuss their learning styles (www.vark-learn.com or click here for a 1-page summary)
   
• As members become friends, the study group will also become a social group that can address emotional and attitudinal issues that affect learning.  I am interested in any issue (whether or not mathematical) that the group wants to share. 
   
• Each group should establish basic rules of conduct so that everyone pulls their own weight (slackers can be expelled and left to deal with me).  Study groups are voluntary associations of students who are free to conduct themselves as they see fit, subject only to NOVA rules that govern student and campus activity.