The goal of this course is to give students an introduction to several basic but essential concepts in probability and statistics. Topics covered will include probability, random variables, statistics and their distributions, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and t-tests. Because students typically come from different academic backgrounds, it is expected that there will be a rather wide spectrum of mathematical knowledge and experience among class participants. To accommodate students who have not recently taken a math class, one of the first lectures will focus on reviewing basic mathematical concepts that would be necessary for this course and the courses they’ll take in the fall. Finally – and perhaps most importantly – this course will aim to prepare students for the statistics courses they will take in the fall semester.
The course consists of eight two-hour classes, delivered via Zoom. Most of the classes will have the following format:
- 45-60 minutes of lecture time
- 45-60 minutes of classwork time, where students will be split into groups and given a problem set to work on as a team
- 15-30 minutes of review time, where we go over the problem set in class (which may sometimes happen at the beginning of the next lecture)
The textbook is not required, but students may find it useful: Devore, Jay. Probability and Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences (5th edition or newer)
R; MS Excel (optional)
By appointment. I encourage you to reach out to me if you have any questions about the material that weren’t covered in the Q&A sessions in class. I’m happy to respond to e-mails or phone calls/texts, or schedule a time to meet with you via Zoom.
Students will not have any mandatory assignments in this course. However, students are strongly encouraged to go over the material covered in class and the problem sets discussed.
| Date | Topic |
|---|---|
| 8/14/2023 | Introductions. Course Logistics. Introductions to R Programming |
| 8/15/2023 | Review of algebra and other relevant mathematical topics. Probability. |
| 8/16/2023, 8/17/2023, 8/21/2023, 8/22/2023 | Probability. Distributions. Central Limit Theorem. Statistics. Confidence Intervals. Hypothesis Testing. P-Values |
| 8/23/2023, 8/24/2023 | Introduction to basic statistical tests: Independent Samples and Paired T-Tests, Correlations |
To facilitate access for all class members, these sessions, including your participation, are being recorded and the recordings will be made available to the class, for the duration of the semester. These recordings are made available solely for your personal, educational use and may not be shared, copied or redistributed without the permission of Penn and the instructor. Note also that you are NOT allowed to record class sessions yourselves.