[MAT 117] Elementary Statistics

Introduction

This may well be one of the most useful math courses you will ever take. We encounter statistics in some form every day. Having a basic knowledge of how data are collected, summarized, and presented will allow you to make educated decisions on both personal and public levels. Statistics is so much more than calculating an average or making a pie chart. In this class, you will learn proper ways to collect meaningful data, how to summarize data with graphs and numerical descriptions, and, most importantly, how to use data to make inferences (conclusions) about the population as a whole.

If you decide to enroll in Math 117, be prepared for an enjoyable class that will require some hard work. You will be expected to read the textbook, complete textbook homework exercises from each section (not graded), complete online homework assignments from each chapter (graded), submit 4-5 projects, and take a number of exams (no proctor necessary). All written work is expected to follow proper English guidelines and structure.

Description

The successful completion of the equivalent of one course in geometry is a prerequisite for all credit mathematics courses.

UW Colleges Catalog Course Description for MAT 117: Elementary Statistics - 3 credits. The primary aim of the course is a basic understanding and use of statistical concepts and methods to facilitate study and research in other disciplines. Includes measures of central tendency, measures of variability, grouped data, the normal distribution, central limit theorem, hypotheses testing, estimation, T-distribution and chi square test. This course fulfills the UWC requirement for Mathematical Sciences (MS).

Prerequisites: A grade of C or better in MAT 105 or MAT 108 or equivalent.

The primary aims of the course are (1) a basic understanding of statistical concepts for use in your daily life and (2) use of statistical concepts and methods to facilitate study and research in other disciplines. Major topics that we cover include (1) exploring data and relationships among data, (2) producing (collecting) data and understanding sampling distributions, and (3) making statistically correct interpretations and inferences.

Proficiencies

Institutional proficiencies assigned to this course

Successful completion of this course will enhance students' ability to

• interpret and synthesize information and ideas;
• select and apply scientific and other appropriate methodologies;
• solve quantitative and mathematical problems;
• interpret graphs, tables, and diagrams;
• use statistics appropriately and accurately.

Department-specific proficiencies assigned to this course

By completing this course, students will learn to

• perform basic analysis of data using descriptive statistical measures and charting;
• calculate basic probabilities;
• interpret data with confidence intervals (mean and proportions);
• conduct hypothesis testing:
  • means and proportions of single populations;
  • comparing means and proportions of two populations, and
  • multiple comparisons (means and proportions of several populations).

Requirements

In this class you will use MS Excel for both homework and exams. Before enrolling in the course, you should have a good working knowledge of Excel and be comfortable using Excel functions to manipulate data.

You may also like to have a calculator capable of conducting "two-variable statistics." Although not required, it will be easier to use a calculator for quick computations.

Software

• Microsoft Word and Excel

  .

  The most current edition of MS Office (containing MS Word, Excel and other valuable programs) is available to University of Wisconsin students at discounted prices through the Wisconsin Integrated Software Catalog.

• Also required: Shockwave/Flash, RealPlayer, QuickTime, MathXL Player and Test Gen plug-ins, Adobe Reader.

Hardware

• Some course work cannot be completed on a Mac. Students must have access to a PC for this course, and the PC must have a CD Player and speakers.

About the Instructors

• Kavita Bhatia
  Associate Professor, Mathematics
  BSc, Pune University, India
  MA, Indiana University, Bloomington
  PhD, University Of Oklahoma
  
• Mark Fuller
  Associate Professor, Mathematics
  B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst