Syllabus for Summer 2010

Math 13: Introduction to Statistics Summer 2010
Instructor: Matthew Hubbard
Email: mhubbard@peralta.edu
Text: no required text. If you want a text, personal recommendations can be made
Class website: http://budgetstats.blogspot.com/
Class hours MTWTh: 12:15-3:05, G-207 (Wednesday computer lab in G-205)
Office hours: Math lab G-201
M 7:30-8:00pm,
W 3:10-3:40 and 7:30-8:00 pm,
Th 9:20-9:50 am (also available by appointment)

Scientific calculator required (TI-30IIXs, TI-83 or TI-84 recommended)


Important academic schedule dates:
Last date to add, if class is not full: Sat., June 26
Last date to drop class: Thurs., July 1
Last date to withdraw from class: Thurs., July 21

Holidays that effect the schedule:
Monday, July 5: Independence Day (observed)

Midterm and Finals schedule:
Midterm 1 Thursday, July 1
Midterm 2 Thursday, July 15
Comprehensive Final Thursday, July 29

Quiz schedule (most Tuesdays and Thursdays) no make-up quizzes given
6/22 6/24 6/29 7/8 7/13
7/20 7/22 7/27

Grading Policy
Homework to be turned in: Assigned every Tuesday and Thursday, due the next class
(late homework accepted at the beginning of next class period, 10% off grade)
If arranged at least a week in advance, make-up midterm can be given.

The lowest two scores from homework and the lowest two scores from quizzes will be removed from consideration before grading.

Grading system
Quizzes 25%* best 2 out of three of these grades
Midterm 1 25%* best 2 out of three of these grades
Midterm 2 25%* best 2 out of three of these grades
Homework 20%
Lab participation 5%
Final 25%

Anyone who misses less than two homework assignments and gets a higher percentage score on the final than the weighted average of all grades combined will get the final percentage instead deciding the final grade.


Academic honesty: Your homework, exams and quizzes must be your own work. Anyone caught cheating on these assignments will be punished, where the punishment can be as severe as failing the class or being put on college wide academic probation. Working together on homework assignments is allowed, but the work you turn in must be your own, and you are responsible for checking its accuracy.

Class rules: Cell phones and beepers turned off, no headphones or text messaging during class
You will need your own calculator and handout sheets for tests and quizzes. Do not expect to be able to borrow these from someone else.

Attendance: Because the wait list is so long, attendance will be taken at the beginning and end of each class in the first week. Anyone missing two attendance roll calls will be dropped and the person at the top of the wait list will be added to the class. Anyone violating the cell phone text message rule will be counted as not attending.

Student Learning Outcomes

Describe numerical and categorical data using statistical terminology and notation.
Understand how to determine probability of deterministic events in real life situations.
Analyze and explain relationships between variables in a sample or a population.
Make inferences about populations based on data obtained from samples.
Given a particular statistical or probabilistic context, determine whether or not a particular analytical methodology is appropriate and explain why.

Students with disabilities

The Disabled Students Program Services (DSPS) should have your academic accommodation with the instructor. After the first day, I will accept these accommodations electronically or by hard copy on paper. If you need academic accommodation and have not yet applied, please call 510-464-3428 for an appointment.

Exam policies
Tests will be closed book and closed notes, but the necessary look-up tables, such as z-scores and Student’s t-scores, will be used. No sharing of calculators is allowed. You are responsible for knowing how to use your calculator to find such statistics as the average and standard deviation of a set of numerical data.