Welcome to Online Statistics! I will be your instructor for Math 5. Please call me John.
Our overall objective will be to understand data and its many presentations. This can be as simple as creating a pie chart in Power Point or as complex as deciding whether two groups have a significantly different average. Along this path to understanding we will also look at basic probability (like the chance of getting 3-of-a-kind in poker), the central limit theorem (why the bell curve is so common), estimations (confidence intervals and linear regression), and hypothesis testing.
In a way, statistics is more like a science than a math course: depending on how a problem is approached different outcomes are possible. For this reason many people empathize with Mark Twain: "Lies, damn lies and statistics." Hopefully, by the end of the semester, you will be able to understand the difference.
There will be four class meetings in the Library Computer Lab, room L-171, 10 - 11 a.m., Saturdays on: September 13, October 18, November 15, and December 6.
WARNING: This is a very challenging class. You should only take this ONLINE class if you're the type of person that naturally explores a new textbook, you are highly self-motivated, and you're comfortable with computers, the web, and Excel. The majority of drops in this class have been due to lack of time for homework (resulting in missed assignments) or lack of expertise with Excel.
Required text: (A Brief Version) Elementary Statistics, A Step by Step Approach, Bluman, 4th edition, McGraw Hill (ISBN: 007353496x).
Required web site: The McGraw Hill web site: www.mathzone.com. The section number is 9EA-6A-F33. The license to use this web site is included with the purchase of your new book (from the Gavilan Bookstore). You may also purchase the license on the web site, itself. This site contains videos and eProfessors and is where you do homework and tests.
Required software: Microsoft Excel (also available on Library computers).
Required web site: http://ilearn.gavilan.edu This is the class home site and contains the course layout, handouts, topic summaries, concept aids, assignments, Q&A, and grades and is where you submit quizzes (and homework 1) and the project.
Familiarize yourself with this Course Description, the Schedule, and the Project Handout.
This course is set up so that you may work up to about 2 weeks in advance of the schedule.
I'm looking forward to helping you do well in this class!
PROCESS. For each topic/section: read the book, then look at the video and/or eProfessor, and then try some problems from the text by hand (and/or calculator) and then by using Excel. When you're comfortable with the material, do the homework for that section (usually on www.mathzone.com). When you're comfortable with the week's material, do the test (on www.mathzone.com) or the quiz (with Excel), depending on the week. You should expect to spend at least two hours per section.
HOMEWORK. The first week's homework is to be done using Excel. All other weeks are done at www.mathzone.com. They are listed under "Homework #" as 'practice exercises'. Your homework grade of 0, 1, or 2 (per weekly assignment) will be based on whether you attempted each section, not the answers; (so your scores in www.mathzone.com will not be your scores for these assignments -- I'll transfer them as a zero, one, or two). If you do some, but not all sections, you'll get a 1. If you attempted every section, you'll get a 2. If you don't do an assignment on time, you'll get a 0 for that assignment.
QUIZZES: are worth 5 points and are to be done in Excel. Name the file by the quiz number, a dash, your logon ID, and then '.xls'. For example: Q1-smith1234.xls. Quizzes are specific problems from the book (that I haven't done in the weekly objectives). You must do all the work in Excel -- like I did in the objectives. The Project (10 points) is also to be done in Excel. Late quizzes are scored 0.
TESTS: are worth 5 points and are to be done at www.mathzone.com. Late tests are scored 0. The final exam (cumulative) is worth 10 points and is also at www.mathzone.com. Again, scores on www.mathzone.com will be transferred to the (5 point scale -- 10 for the final) Gavilan web site.
Grades will be based on: 15 homework (30 points), 8 quizzes (40 points), 7 tests (35 points), the project (10 points), and the final exam (10 points). There are 125 total points possible. Your total percent determines your grade: 100% ≥ A ≥ 93% > A- ≥ 90% > B+ ≥ 87% > B ≥ 83% > B- ≥ 80% > C+ ≥ 77% > C ≥ 70% > D ≥ 60% > F. Late homework, quizzes, and tests will be scored 0. Satisfactory completion of this course is a grade of C or better.
Contact: Let me know as soon as possible if you are going to miss a graded work due date and time: email jhaussermann@gavilan.edu or text message / call (831) 869-9031. Students requiring special services or arrangements because of hearing, visual, or other disability should contact me, their counselor, or the Disabled Student Services office.
Questions & help: all (non-personal) questions should be entered in the Q&A forum, online. I also encourage you to take advantage of the Math Lab (to get help from other instructors and tutors). The Math Lab is in PB 14 (new portable) and is open weekdays from 9 - 1 p.m. NOTE: generally, I only check for questions in the afternoon. So I will not be able to respond to last minute questions on items that are due at noon. Start your work early!
Prerequisite: Intermediate Algebra (Math 233) is a prerequisite for this course. In particular, you will need to understand and be able to work with: fractions, percent, decimals, squares, square roots, summation notation (S), factorials (n!), and lines.
Honor: Students are expected to exercise academic honesty and integrity. Violations such as cheating and plagiarism will result in an F for the course and may include recommendation for dismissal.
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