Mathematics 564
Theory of Probability
Fall 2009
Course Homepage
Overview.
In the
Theory of Probability, we shall be using our previous knowledge of calculus and
linear algebra to
consider the central issues of the "science of uncertainty". The
mathematical development of these ideas are useful in a variety of human
endeavors and serve as essential background for productive work in statistics –
probability's sister discipline.
Day to Day Operations.
The
class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM in room 240 of the
Harvill Building. Our text is Statistical Inference (Second Edition) by George Casella
and Roger L. Berger. We will cover most of the material in the first 5 chapters
of the textbook plus some supplementary material. A summary of the class notes
will be available to the students. The schedule of topics, the class notes and
the assignments are given in the course syllabus. We
will have an assistant Wenhai Chen for the course. His office hours are 9:00AM
to 10:30AM Wednesday and Friday in Math East room 149. In addition, Wenhai will
facilitate a problem session form 9:00 to 10:30 AM on Mondays. My office hours
are Mondays and Fridays at 1:00 PM and 11:00 Thursdays. The Thursday office
hour is held in the upper division tutoring room Math East 145. Feel free to stop
by my office, room 522 of the Mathematics building, calling me at 621-5245 or
writing me - jwatkins at
math.arizona.edu.
Use of Software.
We will be
doing some software computation using R.
R is a free software environment for
statistical computing and graphics. It compiles and runs on a wide variety of
UNIX platforms, Windows and MacOS. To download R, please choose your preferred
CRAN mirror. Other options for software assistance can be found on the resource webpage.
Evaluation of Students.
We shall have 2
in-class midterm exams and a comprehensive final
exam on Thursday, December 17 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM.
Homework is an
essential part of any mathematics course Homework will be collected
approximately bi-weekly. The homework grade will be based on the top 6 homework
scores. Permisssion to turn in late homework for credit must be arranged in
advance.
The grading scheme is
|
number |
points |
total |
problem
sets |
6 |
25 |
150 |
midterm
exams |
2 |
100 |
200 |
project |
1 |
50 |
50 |
final
exam |
1 |
200 |
200 |
total |
|
|
600 |
Grades will be given on the usual scale A is 90%-100%, B is 80%-89%, C is 70%-79%, D is 60%-69%, and E is below 60%. If you fail to complete the course due to circumstances unforeseen, then you may qualify for a grade of I, "incomplete'" if all of the conditions are met:
Students should
take the time to become familiar with code of
academic integrity.
Best wishes to you for a good semester in this course and in all your other activities.
- Joe Watkins