STA 10 Basic Statistics and Quantitative Literacy

Time and Location: Class Time MWF 8:45am-9:35am, Room: 116 Old Chem

Instructor: Elizabeth Shamseldin

Office Hours: MWF 10:00am - 11:00am and by appointment

Office: 216 Old Chem

Contact Information: (919) 681-8443 - elizabeth "@" stat.duke.edu - Instructor Webpage

Announcements

12/10: Last HW's are available to be picked up outside my office door.

12/10: Final on Friday - 9am. Comprehensive, larger focus on Chs 12-18.4.

*There was a typo on the posting for the last HW assignment which indicated only problems from Ch 17 when it should have included problems from Ch 18. (Grading takes this into consideration - no penalty either way.) Be sure to review HW problems Ch 18: 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15.

11/17: Quiz on Friday, 11/21 - Chapters 12-14 No lecture - be on time. BRING A CALCULATOR!

10/29: Additional Office Hours for Friday's midterm Thursday, 10/30 from 2:30-4:00.

10/24: Midterm in one week - Friday, 10/31 - covers Chs 7 - 11.

10/17: There will be an in-class quiz Wed 10/22.

9/10: The in-class quiz will be Fri 9/12.

9/5: There will be an in-class quiz or group assignment Wed 9/10 or Fri 9/12.

8/25: A copy of the text has been placed on reserve in the Perkins library.

Scores

Scores As Of 12/03/08*

Quiz 2 Scores*

Midterm 1 Scores*

Quiz 1 Scores*

*To preserve student's privacy, random ID's have been assigned and will be explained on Monday.

Homework Assignments (Must be stapled to receive credit)

Dates Assigned Reading Lecture Homework Due Problems Complete Set*
8/25, 8/27, 8/29 Ch1, Ch 2 by 8/29 1 Wed, 9/3 Ch1: 6, 7, 11, 13, 17

Ch2: 8, 10

Yes
9/1, 9/3, 9/5 Ch 3 by 9/3 2 Monday, 9/8 Ch 3: 4, 16, 18, 6, 8, 12, 13, 25 Yes
9/8, 9/10, 9/12 Ch 4 by 9/8 3 Monday, 9/15 Ch 4: 17, 27, 1, 4, 16, 18, 20 Yes
9/15, 9/17, 9/19 Ch 5 by 9/17 4 Monday, 9/22 Ch 5: 7, 17, 2, 22, 23

Case Study 5.1 pg 89: Would a matched-pair design, randomized block design, or neither be a good method for this experiment? Briefly explain.

Yes
9/29, 10/1 Ch 7 by 10/1 5 Friday 10/3 Ch 7: 12, 13, 25, 4, 8, 19, 28 Yes
10/6,

10/8

Ch 8 by 10/8 6 Friday 10/10 Ch 8: 1, 6

Ch 8: 3, 4, 8, 9, 16, 24, 25

Yes
10/10,

10/15

Ch 9,10 by 10/15, 10/17 7 Friday 10/17 Ch 9: 4, 8, 10

Ch 9: 2, 5

Yes
10/17,

10/20, 10/22

Ch 11 by 10/22 8 Friday 10/24 Ch 10: 1, 2, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15

Ch 11: 4, 15

Yes
10/24, 10/27, 10/29

Ch 12 by 10/27 9 Monday, 11/3 Ch 11: 1, 3, 7, 16

Ch 12: 3, 6, 9, 5, 16

Yes
11/3, 11/5

Ch 13, Ch 14 by 11/5, 11/10 10 Monday, 11/10 Ch 12: 11, 14, 17

Ch 13: 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15

Yes
11/10,

11/12

11/14

Ch 15 by 11/12 11 Monday, 11/17 Ch 14: 2, 3, 18

Ch 15: 1, 2, 6, 8, 12

Ch 15: 3, 15, 18

Yes
11/17, 11/19

Ch 16 by 11/19 12 Monday, 11/24 Ch 16: 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 15, 17, 19

Yes
11/24, 12/1, 12/3

Ch 17, 18 by 12/1, 12/3 13 Friday, 12/5 Ch 16: 18, 21, 23, 24

Ch 17: 1, 2, 5, 6, 9,

Ch 18: 5, 7, 10, 12 15

Yes
*Homework will be assigned per class period after covering relevant material in the lecture, accumulating over 2-4 lectures.
When all problem have been posted for an assignment, it will be considered a complete set and no additional problems will be assigned for that HW.

Journal Entries (Must be typewritten to receive credit)

Entry Date Assigned Article Date Due
I - A 8/29 50% Divorce Rate?
Summarize a method in which the divorce rate could be calculated.
Address how you would devise an observational study or randomized experiment as appropriate.
Comment on each of the Seven Components of a Statistical Study.
9/29
I - B 9/19 Experimental Design
Read the NY Times article on Nerves and Pain.
Design an appropriate experiment for the study published by Aalborg University (paragraph 9) based on the principles in Ch 5.2.
Discuss the implications of trigger points in terms of confounding and/or interacting variables.
Comment on the article's reporting of the studies considered.
9/29
Entry Date Assigned Article Date Due
II-A 10/20 Stock Market Analysis
Here is a snapshot of the Dow 30 from Monday, 10/20. Consider the relationship between the price of the stock and the percent change.

Using a statistical software package such as Excel is recommended, but hand computations will be accepted.
Construct a scatterplot to with stock price as the explanatory variable and percent change as the response.
Discuss any relationship seen in the scatterplot.
Calculate the correlation coefficient r for the association.
What does the correlation coefficient tell you? Is it appropriate in this case?
11/3
II-B 10/22 Stock Market Analysis Part II
Read the article and consider the relationship over time of the percent change in value of the NASDAQ 100.

Write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the two trends in market behavior shown in the two time plots.
Does the current level (Oct 2008 - top plot) of percent change in stock value seem to follow the trend over the last 5-6 years?
Comment (1-2 sentences) on where you feel the economy stands in terms of stock value.
11/3
III 11/17 Time Series Analysis
From the website, you will be looking at two sets of data:
From Chapter 1 (on the site) : US Treasury Bill Contracts and from Ch 2: Monthly Austrailian Beer Production

For each data set:
*Create a timeplot (using 0-56 months, etc, is fine for the time scale.)
*Describe the series by considering the four components.
*On your timeplot, find the equation for the regression line (using Excel is recommended - Click on Chart - Add Trendline to plot under "Chart" menu).
*Using the equation for the regression line, detrend the series.
*Plot the new, detrended series. Describe the series by considering the four components.
*Give a brief "common sense" definition of any trends that you do or do not see.

11/24