Probability and Statistics in Engineering and Science, STAT/MATH ...

Statistical Methods in Engineering and Science, STAT/MATH 390
This is a fluid syllabus, so check frequently for changes in colors
Instructor: Caren Marzban (The best way to reach me is email)
Class Times and Room: MTWTh 9:40-10:40 THO 125.
Quiz/Lab Times and Room: Tuesday 12:00-1:00 (AA) or 1:10-2:10 (AB) in CMU B027.
Name (PDL office) Email Off. hours/location
Caren Marzban (B318) marzban at uw.edu M. 12-1 (CMU B23 ∗ ); W. 12-1 (B318)
Andrew Giffin (None) agiffin at uw.edu M. 2-3 (CMU B23 ∗ ); Th. 2-3 (B23)
CMU B023 is an informal place where you can stay and do your work, even outside of our office. Check
their open times here: http://www.stat.washington.edu/www/tutorcenter/
Course webpage: http://www.stat.washington.edu/marzban/390/
Consult the webpage frequently, because things change. Look for colors .
Text: Applied Statistics for Engineers and Scientists (2nd Edition), by Devore and Farnum. Do
NOT get other editions.
Note different purchasing options: www.cengagebrain.com offers the printed text, rental text, digital
text, and digital chapters.
Buzz words/concepts: Data, histogram vs. distribution, mean vs. expected value, sample standard
deviation vs. population standard deviation, conditional probability vs. unconditional probability,
binomial distribution, normal (gaussian) distribution, etc. sampling distribution, scatterplot,
correlation, regression, estimation, prediction, inference, confidence interval, prediction interval,
hypothesis/significance testing, 1-way anova, and more.
Lab/Computing and Quizes: Some basic computing will be called for. You won’t need to know
any in advance, but you will have to learn it during the course. We will use a language called R;
consult the R stuff on the course webpage. Other languages are acceptable, but R will be better
because 1) You will need it to do some of the homework assignments, and 2) you will get quized on
it during the labs.
Homework and Tests: A list of problems from the book (see ”master list”) AND their solutions
are already posted on the course website. Most hw problems will be assigned from this master list,
plus a few more which will be assigned within the body of the lecture notes. Homework problems
will be assigned daily (MWTh) after class, and are due every Tuesday in quiz session; only the
assignments from the previous week are due: M,W,Th → T; M,W,Th → T; etc. Check the course
website for the latest information on HWs and due dates. Begin working on the assignments as soon
as you receive them. Tests will involve variations on the hw problems. On homework, tests, and
quizes provide detail in your solutions, not just an answer. An answer, even a correct
one, will not get credit if there is no accompanying explanation/derivation/proof.

Grading:
Homework: 10% (after dropping ONE lowest grade)
Pop Quizes: 15% (after dropping ONE lowest grade)
Test 1: 24% (mostly comprehensive)
Test 2: 25% (mostly comprehensive)
Test 3: 26% (mostly comprehensive)
The final grade will be based on a “curve”; I will explain this in class, but an explanation is given on
the course website, as well. Taking all 3 tests is an absolute requirement for passing. If a significant
number of homeworks or quizes are missing, the final grade will be down-weighted.
Tests: Although the quizes and homework are open note/book/web/everything, the three tests are
CLOSED EVERYTHING , except for a single sheet of paper 8.5” × 5.5” (i.e., half of a standard
sheet) both sides of which you may write anything you wish. NOTE: A double-sided half-sheet is
NOT the same thing as a 1-sided whole sheet! Try to work out as many problems as you can from
the above-mentioned master list of problems, because that is the best way of studying for the
tests. Reading the book and the lecture notes will help especially on the conceptual part of the
tests.
General Policy: You’ll find me reasonably flexible, with emphasis on reasonably. I don’t want
this syllabus to look like a legal contract. Just do what you are supposed to, and don’t do what
you are not supposed to; and you know what those are! In general
- Attendance is expected; don’t send me email questions if you don’t attend lectures. (In
one lab you will analyze data from past quarters, showing that attendance is correlated with grade.)
- No makeups. In case of emergency, provide 2-week prior notice.
- No late homeworks.
- No cheating/collaboration on tests (I’m quite inflexible on this one).
Point 1: This course is NOT your regular math course! It involves more “words” and qualitative,
nonlinear thinking than a typical math course. In fact, I will show you data from previous quarters
showing that mathematical ability does not correlate well with performance in this class.
Point 2: The material begins extremely simple but becomes complex very quickly. So, keep up.
Point 3: I will follow the text book closely. You are expected to have read the material of the day
before I go over it in class. As such, the purpose of my lectures is to review, and to highlight some
of the more important but less obvious issues. Following and understanding the book and
the lectures is necessary but NOT sufficient for understanding the material. Again,
the best way for that is to do more problems from the list and/or book.
Point 4: Please check out the FAQ on the course website for my answers to many of your questions,
before you send me a question/suggestion.
NEXT PAGE: Daily schedule for the whole quarter: It is tentative, so CHECK FREQUENTLY!
Standard ending regarding disabilities, etc. ...

Lecture Date Reading (Chapters) Notes
1 6/23 1.1-1.2
2 6/24 1.2-1.3 Lab 1: R basics and Ch. 1
3 6/25 1.3,1.4,1.6 Skip 1.5
4 6/26 1.4, 1.6
5 6/30 2.1, 2.3 Skip p. 84.
6 7/1 2.1-2.2 Lab 2: Ch. 1-2
7 7/2 3.1-3.2
8 7/3 3.2-3.3
9 7/7 3.3-3.4 Skip 3.6 and Ch. 4
10 7/8 3.5,5.1 Lab 3: Ch. 3
- 7/9 Sample test, Q/A
- 7/10 TEST 1 Up to lecture 8 (inclusive). Lab 3: Ch.2-3
11 7/14 5.1-5.3
12 7/15 5.6 & Returning/going over Test 1 Attendance IMPORTANT! Lab 4: Ch. 3
13 7/16 5.3, 5.5 Skip 5.4.
14 7/17 5.6, 7.2 Skip Ch.6 and 7.1.
15 7/21 7.3
16 7/22 7.4 Lab 5: Ch. 5,7
17 7/23 7.5 Skip sec 7.6 and pages 317-319
18 7/24 8.1-8.2
19 7/28 8.2, 8.5
20 7/29 8.1, 8.3 Lab 6: Ch. 7
- 7/30 Sample test, Q/A
- 7/31 TEST 2 Up to lect 18 (inclusive); emphasis on latter half.
21 8/4 8.3, 8.5 Skip 8.4, subsec on p. 391, & last subsec. on p. 393.
22 8/5 8.5(power) & Returning/going over Test 2 Attendance IMPORTANT! Lab 7: Ch. 7-8
23 8/6 9.1-9.2
24 8/7 9.3 Skip 9.4. We’ll do 9.3 only in the lab.
25 8/11 11.1, 11.2
26 8/12 11.3 Lab 8: Ch. 8,9,11
27 8/13 11.4, 11.5 Skip subsecs on p.522, 532
28 8/14 Ch.11 Skip 11.6 except model selection & multicollinearity.
29 8/18 Cushion time
- 8/19 Q/A & sample test Lab 9: Ch 11.
- 8/20 Q/A & evaluation
- 8/21 TEST 3/Final Exam Comprehensive, emphasis on latter material.