Statistics 302, Sections 505-506
Syllabus, Spring 1997

Instructor and Grader

• H. Joseph Newton, Professor and Head of Statistics
• 447 Blocker, 845-3141, jnewton@stat.tamu.edu , http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton
• Office Hours: Daily 11-12, or by appointment
• The course grader is Jason Jackson whose office hours will be announced as soon as possible. His office is located in 420 of the Blocker Building and his phone number is 845-5747. His e-mail address is jjackson@stat.tamu.edu .

Class Times and Places

• On Wednesdays and Fridays the two sections will meet together in Blocker 165 from 3:00-3:50. On Mondays, Section 505 meets in Blocker 161 from 3:00-3:50, while Section 506 meets in Blocker 161 from 4:10-5:00.
• Blocker 161 is a computer classroom, while Blocker 165 is a large lecture hall.
• The lab is open for general use from 5:00-8:00 pm Monday through Thursday, Friday from 9:00-4:00 pm. and Sunday from 2:00-7:00 pm. Graduate assistants will be available during open hours to assist you.

Prerequisites

• MATH 141 (Business Math I) or MATH 166 (Finite Math), or equivalent. Because these courses contain significant amounts of probability, STAT 302 will have very little material in probability.
• You will be using IBM type PC's running Windows 95. We assume you can learn this quickly.

Course Materials

• Statistics: The Exploration and Analysis of Data , 3nd Edition, J. Devore and R. Peck, Duxbury. The book comes bundled with Stataquest 4 for Windows, the data analysis software we will use in the course.
• StatConcepts: A Concepts Laboratory for Introductory Statistics, H.J. Newton and J.L. Harvill, available from Notes-n-Quotes. This includes software called `Concepts Labs' to be used in conjunction with Stataquest.
• All of the software we use in our PC lab will also be installed on all publicly available PC's on campus and can be installed on your PC if you have one.

Outline of the Course

• There are 14 weeks of classes (Spring Break is March 10-14) with no Monday in Week 2 and no Friday in Week 10 (March 28). The 15th week contains only a Monday and a Tuesday with Tuesday treated as a Friday.
• The last day to Q-drop is April 1.
• Schedule:

  
    Week    Dates         Text     Lab    Comment
  -------------------------------------------------------------
     1      Jan 13-17      1-3            Class canceled Monday 1/13
     2      Jan 20-24        4            No class Monday 1/20
     3      Jan 27-31      5,6     2,4
     4      Feb 3-7          7   3,5,6
     5      Feb 10-14              7,8    Exam 1 Friday 2/14
     6      Feb 17-21        8    9,10
     7      Feb 24-28        9   11,12
     8      Mar 3-7         10      13
          Spring Break (Mar 10-14)
     9      Mar 17-21       10      15  
    10      Mar 24-28                     Exam 2  Wed 3/26, no class 3/28
    11      Mar 31-Apr4     11    6,16    Q Drop April 1
    12      Apr 7-11        11   13-17
    13      Apr 14-18       13   17,18
    14      Apr 21-25       14      19
    15      Apr 28,29                      Review for final
           Final Exam Tues, May 6, 10:30-12:30
  

Exams (75% of the Final Grade)

• There will be two in-class exams (Friday February 14 and Wednesday March 26) worth 25% each and a final exam (Tuesday, May 6 from 10:30-12:30 in Blocker 165) also worth 25%. These exams will be closed-book, closed-notes, and mostly multiple choice (you don't need scantrons). Any tables or formulas I feel you need wil be provided on the exam.
• The exams will cover primarily statistical concepts as opposed to the homework which will test methods. You will have access to exams from previous semesters so you will know what they are like. Please don't be surprised when the exams are not exactly like the homework.
• The exams are comprehensive only in the sense that material in any math class builds on previous material.
• Make-up of missed exams will be allowed only for university-excused absences and will be prepared by the Department of Statistics for all sections of STAT 301, 302, and 303 during a weekday evening within two weeks of the missed exam.
• Exams will be returned only to the student who took the exam. Grades will not be given over the phone, and will be given only to the person taking the exam. Grades will not be posted unless written permission is obtained from students in advance.

Homework (25% of Grade)

• Homework will be assigned approximately once a week and will cover primarily statistical methods.
• Late homework assignments will NOT be accepted. If you find you cannot be in class the day an assignment is due, please be sure it is in my departmental mailbox by the time class begins on that day.
• Homework should be your own work.
• Please write your homework on standard sized 8.5 by 11 paper or computer paper (front-side only) and staple the pages together.

Determining Final Grade

• Each of the four grades (two midterm exams, the final, and the homework) will be curved and a letter grade assigned. I will then find a GPR of these four letter grades. If it comes out to be (for example) 3.75, the final grade is an A, while if the GPR is 3.5 and the homework grade is higher (not higher) than B, the final grade is A (B). Other grades are determined similarly.
• I will also add the four uncurved numerical grades and curve that total to find a (possible) letter grade.

Policy on Incompletes

• It is the policy of the Department of Statistics (as well as Texas A&M University) to assign a grade of I (incomplete) only when a student misses one in-class exam or the final exam due to a University-excused absence, and is unable to make up the exam or final exam before final grades are due in the Registrar's office. Students who miss, and do not make up, more than one in-class exam, or one or more in-class exams and the final exam will NOT be given a grade of I (incomplete).
• In cases involving extenuating circumstances, you may request an NG (no grade) from the Dean of your college.