Syllabus for STT 351

Section 5 - Spring 2001

Probability and Statistics for Engineers

INSTRUCTOR:	Dr. P.K. Pathak
Office:	A 440 Wells Hall
Office hours:	M 10 - 11 W 11 - 12
Statistics Helproom:	C 100 Wells Hall, Hours M 1:40 - 2:50, 5:00 - 7:00; T 10:10 - 11:20, 2:50 - 5:00; W 11:20 - 12:30, 1:40 - 2:50, 5:00 - 8:00; T 11:20 - 4:00;
Telephone:	(517) 432 5413
E-mail:	pathakp@pilot.msu.edu
Web Page:	http://www.stt.msu.edu/~pathakp/stt351spring/351.html
Class:	MWF 9:10 - 10:00 am in C211 Wells Hall
Required Textbook:	Probabilty and Statistics for Engineering and Sciences, 5th edition, by Jay L. Devore, Duxbury Press/International Thompson Publishing Company

Course Objectives:

Statistics is a discipline that supports research and development; its methods help scientists and engineers answer questions in the face of variability. In STT 351 students are exposed to models and methods that are used in engineering disciplines, applied research and industry. Continuous themes are the importance of quality data, the careful use of terms, and the clear presentation of statistical information and analyses. Students will use some computational software package such as Minitab.

The student shall be able to

describe and present data and information using summary statistics, tables and graphical displays.
use probability in modeling experimental outcomes and assessing uncertainty.
select and use probability models (from Binomial, Normal, etc.) for the variation present in a selection of engineering applications.
use data generated by random sampling to make inferences about the parent population or stable process using confidence interval and hypothesis testing methods and check the appropriateness of the methods.
examine relationships among variables using regression techniques and check the appropriateness of the models.
apply statistical process control charts and techniques to determine the stability of a process and perform analyses on measurement processes so as to understand and control variability and biases introduced by measurement.

Course Outline:

Time permitting we will choose from a number of special topics such as

reliability,
an introduction to the design of experiments.

The approximate coverage of the basic probability and statistics concepts as outlined in the course objectives above are as follows.

Topics	Book Chapters	Approx. Time for Coverage
Obtaining and interpreting data	Chap. 1	1 week
Probability concepts	Chap. 2	1 week
Probability models	Chap. 3, 4 and 5	4 weeks
Statistical inference	Chap. 6, 7, 8 and 9	5 weeks
Regression	Chap. 12	1 week
ANOVA and Quality Control etc.	Chap. 10 and 16	2 weeks

Projects (optional):

Two projects are collected for grading (at 25 points each). All answers and steps must be clearly explained for the projects to be considered for grading. The problems involve using the statistical software package Minitab. You are encouraged to discuss project problems with other students. It is allowed that you submit the project as a group (max. 3 students). No late projects will be accepted. For the project format please check out http://www.stt.msu.edu/~pathakp/stt351spring/project.html

Homework:

Reading and homework problems will be assigned regularly in the lecture. Many problems are from the book, and some will be assigned on handouts. Some of the problems involve using the statistical software package Minitab. You are encouraged to discuss homework problems with other students. Homework is not graded. Quiz problems are often taken from the homework problems.

Quizzes:

There will be five 30-minute quizzes (20 points each) scheduled for :

Jan 26, Feb 9, Mar 2, Mar 23, Apr 20.

The quizzes are used to practice the material taught in the lecture and help you to develop

problem-solving skills. The quizzes will be based on homework problems. There are no Make-ups. For the purposes of computing the final grade, the lowest quiz score will be dropped.

You can look up your quiz socre in the following file.http://www.stt.msu.edu/~pathakp/stt351spring/q135105.htm

Exams:

There will be two exams, and a final exam. The exams are closed book, but hand calculators are permitted with the exception of the TI-92. You should be able to compute two-variable statistics on your calculator (e.g. compute mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient from keyed-in data). This saves a lot of time on homework and exams.

Exam 1: Wednesday, February 16
Exam 2: Wednesday, April 6
Final Exam: Wednesday, May 2, 10:00 - 12:00 noon.

If a student misses one exam s/he will be graded on the basis of the other work provided that s/he has an ironclad excuse, and s/he contacts the instructor on or before the day of the exam to arrange a conference. In this case the part of the final exam that covers the material on the missed exam will count towards the missed exam grade.

Other important Dates:

The calendar containing exam and quiz schedule can be found http://www.stt.msu.edu/~pathakp/stt351spring/cal.html

Close of adds and section changes: Friday, January 12.
Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 15, No Class.
Last day to drop with 100 % refund: Friday, February 2.
Last day to drop with no grade reported: Wednesday, February 28.
Final Exam Week, April 30 thru May 4.

Grading:

Grades will be based on a straight scale generated from points accumulated during the semester (see the Gradeworksheet http://www.stt.msu.edu/~pathakp/stt351spring/grade.htm ). The breakdown of possible points is shown below.

Exam 1	80 points
Exam 2	80 points
Final Exam	160 points

Quizzes	80 points
Total	400 points

Your final grade is computed as follows. This should be viewed as a TENTATIVE scale which may be modified over the term.

4.0	3.5	3.0	2.5	2.0	1.5	1.0	0
85-100%	78-84.9%	70-77.9%	62-69.9%	54-61.9%	46-53.9%	40-45.9%	<40%

You can keep track of your scores by using this grade worksheet:

	Exam Score	Exam Max	Quiz Score	Quiz Max	Score
		80		20
		80		20
		160		20
				20
				20





				(drop 1`)
Total:		320		80

Final Score		400
Divide by 400		100

Policies:

Attendance: Attendance in the lectures is required. You are responsible for any materials covered in classes that you miss.
Make-Ups: There are NO make up quizzes or exams. You can miss one quiz for whatever reason. If a student misses one exam s/he will be graded on the basis of the other work provided that s/he has an ironclad excuse, and s/he contacts the instructor on or before the day of the exam to arrange a conference. In this case the part of the final exam that covers the material on the missed exam will count towards the missed exam grade.
Academic honesty: The department of Statistics and probability adheres to the policies of academic honesty as specified in the General Student Regulations 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and Grades, and in the all-University of Integrity of Scholarship and Grades, which are included in Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide. Students who plagiarize may receive a 0.0 on the assignment or fail the course.
To arrange for accommodation, students with disabilities should contact the Resource Center for People with Disabilities (353-9642).

Advice:

Read the assigned material before the lecture and again after the lecture. Do the homework problems, there are many unassigned problems in the text that provide good practice. Do not fall behind! At the beginning of most class periods we will go over questions about the homework problems. Check frequently the 351 Home Page on the Web for the latest news!

http://www.stt.msu.edu/~pathakp/stt351spring/351.html

The instructor reserves the right to make any changes she considers academically advisable. Changes will be announced in class, it is your responsibility to keep up with any changed policies.