Announcements

Dec. 13, 2015 (9:52 PM)

I slightly modified the web page pertaining to the final exam --- the changed/new parts are in blue. Also, yesterday I poseted the solutions to HW 12 on the homework web page.

Dec. 8, 2015 (1:24 AM)

I posted some comments about the HW 11 scores on the homework web page.

Dec. 4, 2015 (10:45 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 11 on the homework web page. *** Also, I added some more info to the web page pertaining to the final exam, including the location (Room 204 of Innovation Hall) of the special (optional) Q&A session I plan to hold on Saturday, 12/12.

Dec. 3, 2015 (7:24 AM)

I added a lot of information about the final exam to the web page pertaining to the final exam.

Nov. 23, 2015 (4:00 AM)

I just fixed a small typo I had in the comments I gave with Problem 2 of HW 12 --- the statement of the problem was okay, and I only changed one character in the comments.

Nov. 21, 2015 (10:24 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 10 on the homework web page.

Nov. 17, 2015 (3:56 AM)

I posted HW 12 on the homework web page. It's the last one of the semester. After this week's class I'll have covered the material pertinent to Problem 1, but most of the parts are based on next week's lecture. Since HW 12 is a bit longer than some of the more recent assignments, I strongly encourage you to at least get Problem 1 out of the way prior to next week's class.

Nov. 16, 2015 (8:23 AM)

I added a few more parts to HW 11 to complete that assignment. I'll post the first portion of HW 12 later this week. Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Nov. 15, 2015 (11:01 PM)

I posted some comments about the HW 9 scores on the homework web page.

Nov. 13, 2015 (10:46 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 9 on the homework web page.

Nov. 11, 2015 (1:26 AM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 8 on the homework web page. Since Problem 1 is pertinent to the midterm exam this week, be sure to look over its solution.

Nov. 6, 2015 (5:51 PM)

In an effort to get ahead in my work (since I'll have a lot of grading to do next week) I just posted the new HW problems that normally I would have posted next week. Specifically, I added one more part to HW 10, and posted the first problem of HW 11 --- these problems are based on material I'll cover in class next week. (More problems will be added to HW 11 later, based on material covered during the 12th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Nov. 6, 2015 (12:17 AM)

I added a few more parts to HW 9 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 10. (More parts will be added to HW 10 later, based on material covered in the 11th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Nov. 1, 2015 (3:33 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 7 on the homework web page. Also, I added information about the distribution of scores for HW 7, and I made comments about the grading and common mistakes that students made. (All of this info is on the homework web page, right below the link to the solutions for HW 7.)

Oct. 28, 2015 (2:59 AM)

I added a few more parts to HW 8 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 9. (More parts will be added to HW 9 later, based on material covered in the 10th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Oct. 27, 2015 (2:49 AM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 6 on the homework web page.

Oct. 22, 2015 (6:55 AM)

I posted some comments about the grading and common mistakes made on HW 5 on the homework web page.

Oct. 21, 2015 (9:35 PM)

I've put additional studying guidelines and a link to a "practice exam" on the web page pertaining to the 2nd midterm exam. I plan to add a couple more practice problems later. The exam will cover Chapters 4 and 5 (along with just a little bit of Ch. 10), and parts of HW 4 through HW 8. Please note that while I'll be able to post the solutions for HW 8 prior to the exam, you won't get your graded HW 8 papers back until the night of the exam.

Oct. 20, 2015 (7:20 AM)

I added a few more parts to HW 7 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 8. (More parts will be added to HW 8 later, based on material covered in the 9th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Oct. 16, 2015 (11:00 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 5 on the homework web page.

Oct. 14, 2015 (8:40 PM)

I added a few more parts to HW 6 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 7. (More parts will be added to HW 7 later, based on material covered in the 8th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Oct. 12, 2015 (11:14 PM)

Just a reminder: Although it's generally okay to attend the Wed lecture if you expect to miss class on Thursday, if you're registered for the Thur section, you must take the midterm on Thursday.

Oct. 11, 2015 (1:08 AM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 4 on the homework web page.

Oct. 8, 2015 (4:48 AM)

I posted the first portion of HW 6. Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Oct. 7, 2015 (11:30 PM)

I added a few more parts to HW 5 to complete that assignment. I'll post the first portion of HW 6 later tonight. Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Oct. 2, 2015 (11:06 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 3 on the homework web page. Also, I added a comment, for extra clarification, at the end of the first problem of HW 5.

Oct. 1, 2015 (8:36 AM)

I added a few more parts to HW 4 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 5. (More parts will be added to HW 5 later, based on material covered in the 6th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page. (Note: HW 5 will be due the night of the midterm exam. Although the three problems on HW 5 now aren't real easy, the ones I'll add next week will be relatively easy. (A nice thing is that doing the first three problems of HW 5 will give you some practice using results from Chapters 1, 2, and 3, in additioan to using material from Ch. 4. So my advice is to work at least the first three problems from HW 5 prior to the midterm even if you plan to do the rest of HW 5 after the midterm and make use of the grace period.))

Sep. 30, 2015 (4:52 AM)

Also, I added information about the distribution of scores for HW 2 to the homework web page.

Sep. 26, 2015 (11:30 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 2 on the homework web page.

Sep. 24, 2015 (7:13 AM)

I added stuff (a list of HW problems to review, the instructions for your exam (which contains a description of your exam), and a link to a "practice exam" (that I used as an exam in 2014)) to the web page pertaining to the 1st midterm exam. *** Also, I changed the comments I gave with Problem 1 of HW 4, and so if you've already worked that problem, or you printed out the assignment prior to 5 AM today, you might want to take another look at the revised comments I gave with that problem.

Sep. 23, 2015 (7:11 AM)

I added a few more parts to HW 3 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 4. (More parts will be added to HW 4 later, based on material covered in the 5th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Sep. 19, 2015 (11:27 PM)

I put a link to the solutions to HW 1 on the homework web page. Also, I added information about the distribution of scores for HW 1, and I made comments about the grading and common mistakes that students made. (All of this info is on the homework web page, right below the link to the solutions for HW 1.)

Sep. 16, 2015 (9:47 PM)

I added a few more parts to HW 2 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 3. (More parts will be added to HW 3 later, based on material covered in the 4th lecture.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page.

Sep. 9, 2015 (6:56 AM)

In class I mentioned an interesting professor I had when I was a graduate student. Here is a link to an article about him that describes a card shuffling result (that it takes 7 shuffles to randomize a deck of cards), and how he trained himself to flip a coin in such a way as to obtain the same outcome 10 times in a row. *** I added a few more parts to HW 1 to complete that assignment, and also posted the first portion of HW 2. (More parts will be added to HW 2 later, based on Ch. 3 marterial.) Links to all assignments posted so far are on the homework web page. Be sure to read the comments posted in the Presentation of Homework Solutions portion of the homework web page. (I added information to the last bulleted item there several minutes ago.)

Sep. 2, 2015 (3:19 AM)

I posted the first homework problems for the semester on the homework web page. I'll add a few more parts to HW 1 later, based on material covered during the 2nd lecture of the semester. (About the same time I add more parts to complete HW 1, I'll also post the first portion of HW 2.)

July 23, 2015 (5:59 PM)

I just finished updating this web site for the Fall 2015 semester, although I'll add to it as we go through the semester. (If you looked at this web site during the past two hours or so, you caught me in the middle of updating it.) Please take time to read the syllabus rather carefully and also read through the policies and expectations concerning homework on the homework web page. I'll expect students to comply with all of the stated rules and procedures. *** I'll warn you up front that some students have found this course to be rather difficult. I think most students who do poorly in this course are ones who start the semester without having a good enough background in calculus and probability. For the most part, if you haven't sufficiently mastered the prerequisite material, I advise you to wait until later to take this course. (Some exceptional students can do okay in this course even though they haven't previously taken a one-semester course in probability. But it will be the rare case for someone to do well in this course if they begin it being weak in calculus.) On the other hand, for students who have recently completed and done well in a course like STAT 346, this course shouldn't be very difficult. It's very similar to STAT 346, but the problems are typically a little harder and the students are expected to master the material more thoroughly. *** I've left my final posts to my Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 classes below, to provide you with some evidence that I don't make the final exams for STAT 544 ridicuolously difficult.

May 14, 2015 (8:16 AM)

I entered your final course grades into Patriot Web late last night, and for the first time since I started teaching this course in 2009, no one failed! On the whole, the final exam scores scores were very good, led by 6 scores in the 90s (and another score of 89.5). One student earned perfect 10s on each of the 11 parts of the exam, and two other students got a score higher than 99. 18 of 27 students were able to use the final exam score to replace a low midterm score, and for 3 of the 9 students who scored lower on the final than on both midterms, it was largely because they had scored high on the midterms, and so there was little room for improvement. Two students scored more than 25 points higher on the final than on both of their midterms (and a 3rd student scored 24.55 points higher).

Dec. 13, 2014 (12:43 AM)

I have submitted the final grades to Patriot Web. The high score on the exam was 100 (and in fact the student who got it would have made 100 even if I had counted all 11 parts, instead of the best 10 of 11).