MAT1372 – Spring 2021

Statistics & Probability | Instructor: Suman Ganguli

Page 4 of 20

Class #25 Agenda (Wed May 5)

Class Info

Topics

  • Recap plan for the individual Exam #2 conferences this Thursday or Friday (if you haven’t already, sign up for a time slot in this shared Google Sheet)
  • Permutations/combinations (esp the latter; we discussed permutations on Monday) and Binomial Experiments
    • Class #24 & #25 Outlines
  • Review relevant parts of Midterm Exam #2 (coin flipping experiments as examples of binomial experiments)

To-Do After Class

  • Schedule and log on for your individual Exam #2 conference this Thursday or Friday (in this shared Google Sheet)
    • join the scheduled Blackboard session at the start of your time slot (just as you do for class)
  • Complete Rederly HW sets:
    • Topic 4.2 (due Friday, May 7)
    • Topics 3* (Counting) & Topic 4.3 (Binomial Distribution): due Friday May 14

Textbook: “Probability and Statistics” by DeGroot and Schervish

Here is another textbook which you could try to read: Probability and Statistics by Morris DeGroot and Mark Schervish.

This is from DeGroot’s wikipedia bio:

[DeGroot] wrote six books, edited four volumes and authored over one hundred papers. Most of his research was on the theory of rational decision-making under uncertainty. His Optimal Statistical Decisions, published in 1970, is still recognized as one of the great books in the field. His courses on statistical decision theory taught at Carnegie-Mellon influenced  Edward C. Prescott and Robert Lucas, Jr., influential figures in the development of new classical macroeconomics and real business-cycle theory. DeGroot’s undergraduate text, Probability and Statistics, published in 1975, is widely recognized as a classic textbook.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_H._DeGroot


The link above is to a pdf of the 4th ed, published in 2018.

That said, this is a more advanced textbook. Here’s the description from the publisher’s website:

The revision of this well-respected text presents a balanced approach of the classical and Bayesian methods and now includes a chapter on simulation (including Markov chain Monte Carlo and the Bootstrap), coverage of residual analysis in linear models, and many examples using real data.

Probability & Statistics, Fourth Edition, was written for a one- or two-semester probability and statistics course. This course is offered primarily at four-year institutions and taken mostly by sophomore and junior level students majoring in mathematics or statistics. Calculus is a prerequisite, and a familiarity with the concepts and elementary properties of vectors and matrices is a plus.

https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/program/De-Groot-Probability-and-Statistics-4th-Edition/PGM146802.html


Also note that the link to the pdf above is for a course at Washington University in St Louis titled “Computational Molecular Biology, aka Algorithms for Computational Biology“; you can see from the syllabus that the course starts with a full month of probability. (In fact, you should take a look at the instructor’s “Probability Module Guide“–and the “probability course notes” may be very helpful!)

Exam #2 – Individual Conferences

As you saw on the last exercise on the exam, 20% (10/50) of your exam score will be based on individual conferences, where we will have a chance to discuss your work on the exam. Here is the procedure/plan:

  • Sign up for a 10-minute time slot on Thursday or Friday (9a-12p or 1-2p) in this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OPlAHvfzQ35zgqfHFa1pylBjFluQj7bcTRBkkI1hxNo/edit?usp=sharing 
    • If you can’t make any of the available times on Thursday or Friday, I’ve also listed some time slots on Saturday morning (9a-12p).
    • If none of the available time slots work with your schedule, please send me an email with your availability, and we will figure out an alternate time.
  • Conferences will take place over Blackboard Collaborate. I will schedule Blackboard Collaborate sessions for these times on Thursday and Friday.
    • Please have your mic and if possible your camera turned on.
  • Each time slot is for 10 minutes, which should give us enough time to go through your exam together. I will ask you about 1 or 2 exercises from your written work; please be prepared to explain your solution. I may also ask you to work through one or two similar exercises.
  • I will have your written work in front of me, and you should too.  The point is NOT for you to read your work–be prepared to explain what you wrote and why you wrote it.
  • This individual conference is meant as a way for us to finally talk on a one-on-one basis, and have a discussion about your exam (and your progress in the course). Hopefully it will be a good experience for all of us!

« Older posts Newer posts »