STA256f18: Probability and Statistics I
University of Toronto Mississauga, Fall 2018
| Section | Time and Location | Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| LEC0101 | Tues. 12:10-2:00 and Thursday 1:10-2:00 in DV 2072 | Jerry Brunner |
| LEC0102 | Tues. 1:10-2:00 in DV 2074 and Thursday 12:10-2:00 in CC 1080 | Nan Zhou |
| LEC0103 | Tues. 1:10-2:00 and Thursday 1:10-3:00 in IB 120 | Thomas Yoon |
| TUT0101 | Monday 3-4 in IB 220 | Michael Prashad |
| TUT0102 | Monday 4-5 in IB 270 | Karan Agarwal |
| TUT0103 | Monday 5-6 in IB 220 | Michael Prashad |
| TUT0104 | Tuesday 3-4 in IB 240 | Jana Taha |
| TUT0106 | Wednesday 5-6 in DH 2070 | Karan Agarwal |
| TUT0107 | Friday 9-10 in IB 200 | Jana Taha |
| TUT0108 | Friday 10-11 in IB 240 | Jana Taha |
| TUT0109 | Friday 10-11 in IB 220 | Julian Braganza |
| TUT0110 | Friday 11-12 in IB 360 | Julian Braganza |
| TUT0111 | Friday 11-12 in IB 240 | Crendall Castro |
| TUT0112 | Friday 12-1 in IB 240 | Crendall Castro |
| TUT0113 | Friday 4-5 in IB 200 | Anastasia Loginova |
| TUT0114 | Friday 5-6 in DH 2070 | Anastasia Loginova |
| TUT0115 | Friday 6-7 in DH 2070 | Anastasia Loginova |
| Instructor | Office | Phone | Office Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Brunner | DH 3028 | 905-828-3816 | brunner[at]utstat.toronto.edu | Tuesday 10:10-12:00 and Thursday 2:10-3:00 |
| Thomas Yoon | DH 3097D | thomas.yoon[at]mail.utoronto.ca | Tuesday 2:10-3:30 and Thursday 3:10-4:30 | |
| Nan Zhou | DH 3097C | nan.zou[at]utoronto.ca | Tuesday 3:30-5:30 or by appointment | |
| Karan Agarwal | CC 2110 | karan.agarwal[at]mail.utoronto.ca | Friday 4:30-6:30 | |
| Julian Braganza | CC 2110 | julian.braganza[at]mail.utoronto.ca | Friday 12:10-2:00 | |
| Crendall Castro | CC 2110 | crendall.castro[at]mail.utoronto.ca | Monday 2:10-3:00 and Wednesday 1:10-2:00 | |
| Anastasia Loginova | CC 2110 | anastasia.loginova[at]mail.utoronto.ca | Thursday 4:10-7:00 | |
| Michael Prashad | CC 2110 | michael.prashad[at]mail.utoronto.ca | Thursday 10:10-12:00 | |
| Jana Taha | CC 2110 | jana.taha[at]mail.utoronto.ca | Wed. 11:10-1:00 and Friday 11:10-12:00 |
Textbook: Mathematical statistics and data analysis (3d edition) by Rice.
Topics: Probability, Random variables, Joint distributions, Expected value, Limit theorems. If time permits, Distributions derived from the normal distribution.
Prerequisites: MAT134Y or MAT135Y or MAT137Y or MAT157Y or 75%+ in MAT133Y.
Co-requisite: MAT233H for students with MAT133. For others, MAT232H is strongly recommended.
Note that students without prerequisites and co-requisites may be removed from the course at any time during the term.
Grading: There will be three term tests, given in lecture on Thursday Oct. 4th, Tuesday Nov. 6th and Tuesday December 4th, from 1:10-2:00 p.m.. Term tests are worth 15% each. There will also be a 3-hour comprehensive final exam worth 55% of the mark. Term tests and final exams for the three lecture sections will be identical.
In spite of the mark weighting scheme given above, a good performance on the final exam can save a student from failing the course. Suppose your final average including the final exam is less than 50%. If your mark on the final exam is at least 70%, or your mark on the final is at or above the class median, then you will get a mark of 50% for the course. This rule is intended to give hope to students who have messed up on the tests, and encourage them to study for the final exam.
Homework: There will be weekly homework assignments. They will be taken up in tutorial, but they will not be handed in. Homework assignments are preparation for the term tests and the final exam. Test and exam questions will be based closely on homework. The general rule is that if an idea or method is required to do the homework, then you are responsible for it. Otherwise, you are not. Sometimes, proofs and derivations from lecture or the text will appear directly as homework problems. This is a sign that you are responsible for them.
Floating: You are officially enrolled in one of the three lecture sections, and one of the 14 tutorials. Our intention is that the lectures, while not even close to being identical, will be equivalent. You may attend any lecture section and any tutorials you wish, and you may come to anyone's office hours. Feel free to go to more than one tutorial if you have a lot of questions, or if you just feel like it.
A very important exception to the floating principle is that YOU MUST TAKE THE TERM TESTS IN THE LECTURE SECTION WHERE YOU ARE OFFICIALLY ENROLLED. We are forced to insist on this for reasons of crowd control, and it will be strictly enforced. Your ID will be checked electronically, and if you are not in the right lecture section you will not be given a test. You may find your self running across campus to your proper section. If you are late, you will not be given extra time.
Picking up term tests: Marked term tests may be picked up from the TA of the tutorial section in which you are officially enrolled.
Test re-mark policy: Requests for test remarking must be made in writing. Submit a note, along with the marked test, to the professor of the lecture section in which you are officially enrolled. The note must include what you believe to be a fully correct solution to the problem (unless you believe that your answer on the test is fully correct), and an explanation of why you believe your answer deserves more marks. Please note that if you just ask something like "How did I lose so many marks for this answer?" the response will be that you need to write out a fully correct solution. If necessary, you can get help from any professor or TA.
Policy for missed work: If you miss a term test without a valid excuse, the mark is zero. If you miss one term test or two term tests with a valid excuse, no makeup will be given. Your mark on the final exam will be substituted. In the unlikely event that you miss all three term tests with a valid excuse for each one, a three-hour make-up test combining all the material covered in the course will be held on Thursday, December 6th.
What is a valid excuse? This decision will be made by the professor of the lecture section in which you are officially enrolled. YOU MUST MAKE YOUR REQUEST AND SUBMIT ALL DOCUMENTATION WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE MISSED TEST except in the case of very serious, incapacitating illness. You will be notified of the decision by email, possibly after a conversation with your professor. Here are some guidelines.
If you miss a quiz for medical reasons, you must submit a University of Toronto Medical Certificate (not just a note), to the professor of the section in which you are officially enrolled. The form is available at
http://www.illnessverification.utoronto.ca
The certificate must include the statement that you were unable to write the quiz for medical reasons. If the certificate does not clearly indicate that you were unable to function, the excuse will not be accepted. Documentation must show that the physician was consulted on the day of the test, or on the next day. A statement merely confirming a report of illness made by the student is not acceptable.
As another example of an excuse that is not acceptable, automotive breakdown or other transportation problems are never valid excuses. If you miss a test because you are taking another class at the same time as this one, that is not a valid excuse. If UTM is officially open, weather is a valid excuse only if more than 50% of the class miss the test.
Again, all documentation must be submitted to your professor within one week of the missed test.
Email policy: In general, we are unable to answer technical questions about the course material by email. Typing, or writing out and scanning the answers is just too time consuming. Even for administrative matters, it is usually best to contact your professor or TA in person. An exception is that if you miss a term test, please send your professor an email about it as well as bringing hard copy of any documentation to lecture (before or after class) or office hours. Your professor will notify you of his decision by email.
Missed Final Exam: If you miss the final exam, you must file a petition to defer the exam along with supporting documentation within 72 hours of the missed exam. See http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/registrar/current-students/petitions for details.