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TEACHERS

John Taylor
Rod Air
Jeremy Exelby


AIM

To provide students with a general introduction to the study of statistics in English.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will
Introduce students to the language of mathematics and statistics in English.
Provide students with the mathematical and statistical background for further study in
Commerce, Social Sciences and other disciplines.

GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this course students will:
Understand and be able to use the language of mathematics and statistics in English.
Be secure in the mathematical and statistical skills required within each topic area.
Be able to apply mathematical and statistical skills and procedures to solve problems
and explain solutions.

ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE

Assessment
Task
Time Due Content Length Weighting
Assignment 1 Week 3

Descriptive
statistics
5%
Test 1 Week 7

Probability, (covers
work taught in
weeks 3,4,5,6,)
1.5 hours 20%
Test 2 Week 9

Binomial and
Normal
distributions
1.5 hours 20%
Assignment 2 Week 11

Confidence
Intervals
5%
Final
examination
Exam week

Whole course 2 hours 50%

Foundation Studies Programme
FNDN 006 Statistics
Trimester One, 2014


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MANDATORY COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Students must attend at least 80% of all classes in this course.
Students must achieve a minimum of 40% in the final two hour examination.


RESOURCES

Set Text
( Note : This a new textbook and replaces the older version)
Sigma Statistics NCEA Level 3
David Barton and Claire Laverty
ISBN9781442556980
Approximate price $69.99
Copies can be bought at the VUW bookshop

Or the Sigma Statistics eText Vital Source: Digital access
code- 1 year lease for $17.99. This can be used on a touch
pad or computer.
ISBN 9781486009930
http://www.pearsoned.co.nz/9781442556980


Scientific calculator e.g. Casio fx-82 or similar

Additional Reference
Barton, D. Theta mathematics. (Available in WJ Scott Library)


COURSE CONTENT

Week 1
Introducing Statistics What a Statistician does; problem, plan, data, analysis,
conclusion.
sample statistics (mean, median. mode, range, inter-quartile range, standard
deviation, variance),
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand the concepts of a statistical investigation.
understand, calculate and interpret measures of central tendency and spread
including the use of calculators and spreadsheets.
apply measures of central tendency and spread in problem situations.
References: Sigma Chapter 10 p230

Week 2
Statistics understand different types of graphs
Display of data (box and whisker, stem and leaf, bar graphs, histograms).
Analyse data and interpret what it means
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
draw and interpret statistical graphs including the use of spreadsheets.
Analyse data in graphs and tables, justify inferences and write a conclusion
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References: Sigma Chapter 6 p127

Week 3 Assignment 1 due
Basic probability, equally likely outcomes, independent events, mutually
exclusive events, discrete and continuous variables.
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand the language of probability
calculate probabilities using a variety of techniques Venn diagrams,
contingency tables, probability trees
understand the basic probability rules including the rules for complementary,
mutually exclusive and independent events
solve problems involving probabilities
References: Sigma Chapter 15 p336

Week 4
Expected value
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
calculate the mean, variance and standard deviation of a random variable.
solve problems involving expected values
calculate the mean of a function of a random variable
References: Sigma Ch 19 p405

Week 5
Arrangements and selections
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand factorial numbers, permutations and combinations
solve problems involving arrangements and selections
References: Sigma Ch 18 p384

Week 6
Conditional Probability
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand the rule for calculating conditional probabilities
solve problems involving conditional probabilities
References: Sigma Ch 17 p370

Week 7 Test 1
Binomial distribution
Use of binomial tables and spreadsheets
Applications to binomial distribution problems

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand binomial distributions
calculate binomial probabilities using tables, calculators and spreadsheets
solve problems involving binomial distributions
References: Sigma Ch 21 p450

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Week 8
Normal distribution
Standard normal distribution
Use of normal tables and spreadsheets
Application to normal distribution problems
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand normal distributions and the standard normal distribution
calculate normal probabilities using tables, calculators and spreadsheets
solve problems involving normal distributions
References: Sigma Ch 23 p492

Week 9 Test 2
Distribution of the sample mean Central Limit theorem
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand the distribution of the sample mean, X
understand the Central Limit Theorem
solve problems based on the Central Limit Theorem
References: Sigma Appendix 1 p543

Week 10
Confidence intervals for means
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
understand the concept of estimating population parameters from sample
statistics
calculate confidence intervals for means and the difference of two means
calculate required sample sizes

References: Sigma Appendix 1p543

Week 11 Assignment 2 due
Scatter diagrams and the correlation coefficient
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the week, students should be able to:
draw and interpret scatter diagrams
calculate and interpret correlation coefficients
solve problems involving correlations
References: Sigma Ch 4 p63

Week 12
Examination revision