MATH 111-01/02, Elementary Probability and Statistics, Fall 2008

Abstract

Statistics is the science of gaining information from numerical data. Our modern technological world generates data at an enormous rate. Newspapers, business meetings, and governmental committee meetings are often inundated with data. However, all too often the data is improperly obtained and improperly assessed. Important everyday decisions for individuals, corporations, societies, and governments hinge on a proper understanding and assessment of data. Every facet of industry, science, engineering, economics and business benefits from a solid knowledge of statistics. This is why there are more statisticians employed in the United States than mathematicians from all other branches of mathematics combined. The material in this course will benefit students for actuarial exams and university courses in economics, engineering, biology or psychology which require statistical methodology. The course includes three parts: descriptive statistics, probability theory and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics are summary values that describe features of the distribution based on the data sample. These include mean, standard deviation, median, skewness and quantiles. Probability theory is the development of models for "chance variations" or "random phenomena". Inferential statistics is then the drawing of conclusions beyond what the data provides.