Course Syllabus
Fall 2010

MAT117
Applied Statistics

Textbook and Other Resources

Textbook: Statistics: The Arts and Science of Learning from Data by Alan Agresti and Chris Franklin (second edition), enhanced with MyStatLab published by Prentice Hall.

MyStatLab:  Our textbook for this course comes enhanced with MyStatLab which means that you will receive (with your textbook) a code to an online website http://www.coursecompass.com.  This site will allow you to complete homework assignments, work through practice exams, watch videos explaining how to do problems, see example problems worked out through videos and computer animations, and read the textbook online with direct links to practice exercises. Doing the homework problems online will provide you with unlimited practice problems as well as provide you with step-by-step directions for completing the assignments.

If you would prefer a physical copy of the text, you must purchase a NEW book so that you have access to the online materials. (The bookstore usually has a limited number of used copies that they have repackaged with new online codes.) Students who feel very comfortable with reading the book on a computer may choose to by just the online code, since the entire textbook is included on the MyStatLab site. 

Registration:  Every student MUST register on the Course Compass website.  Our Course Name is "Ensley Fall 2010 Statistics". The directions to register are as follows:

• Go to:  http://www.coursecompass.com 
• Click on the “Register” button in the Students Section. 
• You will need to provide a valid ship.edu email address, provide our course ID which is ensley51832, and, if you purchased the textbook, provide the student access code which was bundled with the book.  

Be sure to use all CAPITAL letters when entering your student access code.  If you do not plan on purchasing the textbook, you can purchase the online access using your credit card. For more help with registration, go to www.coursecompass.com and click Registration Help under Students. For help during registration, click the Video Tutorial link at the top of the registration pages.

Calculator:  In the course we will be using the Texas Instruments TI-83/84 graphing calculator on an almost daily basis; therefore, all students are required to have a TI-83/84.  Other calculators simply do not have the capabilities to do the statistics that we will be learning and consequently you will be at a disadvantage if you do not have the TI-83/84.  

Office hours. Please make use of my office hours for help outside of class. If the particular times I have listed do not suit you, see my complete schedule at http://webspace.ship.edu/deensley/schedule.html and send me e-mail to make an appointment during a time that I do not have standing obligations.

Goals and Expectations

• Be able to use a suitable graphing calculator to assist in problem solution.
• Have an improved mastery and comprehension of mathematics.
• Have an understanding of and appreciation for the broad use of statistics in applications across a multitude of disciplines.
• Have improved problem solving and critical thinking skills.
• Be proficient in using descriptive statistics, both numerical and graphical, to analyze data from a variety of contexts.
• Be proficient in the use of a wide variety of methods of inferential statistics.
• Be able to use confidence intervals to estimate population means and proportions, as well as differences between two populations.
• Be able to use hypothesis tests to draw conclusions about population means and proportions, both for single populations and for multiple populations including ANOVA and Chi-square.
• Be able to formulate the appropriate methods, apply the appropriate calculations, and use technology appropriately to aid in problem solution.
• Be able to explain results in the context of the application problem.
• Be able to draw correct conclusions from those results, either as calculated by the student or as reported in technical journals and in the popular press.

Information and material for this course will be distributed in class, through e-mail, and on the MyStatLab web site, which can be reached from http://webspace.ship.edu/deensley/. 

Schedule

We will be covering the following sections of our textbook in the order listed. The content of the exams might deviate from this if we have to rearrange our schedule as we move through the semester.

• Exam 1: Sections 1.1 - 1.3, 2.1 - 2.5, 3.1, 5.1-5.2, 4.1-4.3
• Exam 2: Sections 6.1-6.2, 7.1, 8.1-8.2, 9.1-9.2, 10.1, 11.1-11.2
• Exam 3: Section 7.2, 8.3, 9.3, 10.2, 14.1, 3.2 - 3.3

Graded Work

• Online Homework, scaled to 50 points (lowest 3 hws are dropped)
• Five In-Class Quizzes, scaled to 50 points  (lowest quiz is dropped)
• Data-Driven Projects, scaled to 50 points
• Bonus! The best of the above three grades will be added again for 50 points more
• Three Exams, each worth 100 points. The exam dates will be September 24, October 29, and December 3.
• Final Exam, scheduled during final exam week, worth 100 points. Do not make end-of-the-semester travel plans until you know your final exam schedule.

Letter Grades

Letter grades for this course will be determined using the following scale based on the total of 600 possible points.

Course Policies

You are responsible for checking your campus e-mail regularly. If you use a different e-mail service, then you must set things up appropriately so that mail that I send you through the info@ship system reaches you. I will use e-mail for reminders of activities, corrections, and adjustments to scheduled office hours.

Since you are all adults, there is no attendance policy for this course. However, course attendance is an indication of your interest and level of effort in the course, so I will take attendance daily for my own information. If you do miss a class, it is your responsibility to get material that you missed (handouts, notes, announcements, etc.) from another member of the class or from posted material on the class website.

Students are responsible for submitting required work on time and taking exams on the assigned dates.  If an exam is missed in the event of personal emergency, the student must notify the instructor within 24 hours after the exam date to make proper arrangements. Only in the event of a documented illness or emergency will arrangements be made. There will be no time extensions given for homework or quizzes, however one quiz grade and three homework grades will be dropped at the end of the semester.

General Education Objectives

1. General education – math competency
2. General education – category A
3. Service course for students in various majors, notably including the social sciences, biology, communication/journalism, and exercise science
4. Free elective toward 120 credits

As a course that may be counted toward the math competency requirements of general education, it is required to meet the following objectives.  If the course objectives are met, this will occur automatically. After completing a college-level math course, the student exhibits the ability to solve problems involving mathematical models, including problem formulation, solution, and interpretation of the resulting answers.

As a course that may be counted toward the math competency requirements of general education, it is required to meet the following objectives.  If the course objectives are met, this will occur automatically.

All Category A courses will have one or more of the following learning objectives. For each course, that objective or set of objectives forms a significant focus of the course. Upon completion of a Category A course, students will be able to

• Build, interpret, and use mathematical models;
• Solve problems, including problem formulation, solution, and interpretation of the resulting answers;
• Apply algorithmic reasoning to aid in problem solving;
• Apply logical reasoning to aid in problem solving; and/or
• Apply logical reasoning to aid in understanding and analyzing discourse.