STAT 344

Probability & Statistics for Engineers/Scientists I

Section: B01
Credit Hours: 3.00

Course Syllabus - Summer 2020

Administrative
Instructor: Dr. Ilhan M. Izmirli
Office: Engineering Building, Room 1723
Phone: (703) 993-5168
Email: iizmirl2@gmu.edu (Preferred means of contact). Monday – Friday I will answer
emails within 24 hours. It may take a little longer to respond to emails received
during weekends.
Office Hours: Office hours will be held through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra on Wednesdays
from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

GTA: TBA
Office: Engineering Building, Room 1716
Email: TBA
Office Hours: Office hours will be held through Blacboard Collaborate Ultra.

Meeting Time: Asynchronous

First Day of Classes: June 01 Monday
Last Day of Classes: July 25 Saturday.
Final Exam: July 25 Saturday, 09:00 am – 01:00 pm

Prerequisite: Math 114 or permission of the instructor (multivariate calculus).

Text: Montgomery D. C. and G. C. Runger. 2011. Applied Statistics & Probability for
Engineers, 7th Ed., John Wiley & Sons.

Software: In this course we will be using R.

Calculator: TI-8x

Course Management: Blackboard at http://courses.gmu.edu for registered students.

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Catalog Description
Introduction to probability and statistics with applications to computer science, engineering, operations
research, and information technology. Basic concepts of probability, random variables and expectation,
Bayes rule, bivariate distributions, sums of independent random variables, correlation and least squares
estimation, central limit theorem, sampling distributions, confidence interval construction, and
hypothesis testing for a single sample and two samples.

Measurable Learning Objectives

After completing this course the student should be able to
 Solve problems involving discrete and continuous univariate probability distributions
 Solve problems involving discrete and continuous multivariate probability distributions
 Report and discuss the information contained in data
 Describe, paraphrase, and evaluate in a discerning manner the statistical presentations of
others
 Identify, select and apply probabilistic and statistical principles, methods, and tools that will
prove useful in later coursework and in work situations
 Use technology (statistical software i.e., R) to solve data analysis problems.

Outline of Topics
Shown on the Tentative Schedule. Since this is the first of the two-course statistics introduction series
(STAT 354 is the follow-on course), we will focus on the basic topics of probability and statistics in
Chapters 1 through 11. The same textbook is used for the follow-on course.

Study Approach
The lecture will build student’s understanding of difficult concepts – not all topics will be included in the
lectures and not all lecture topics are in the text. Lecture notes will be posted on Blackboard along with
audio lectures. You are to study carefully the assigned reading after the lecture to increase
understanding – working the examples yourself with paper and pencil and then do the homework. Not
following this study sequence is an invitation to course difficulty. Be aware of the due dates. It is a good
idea to form discussion groups with other students.

Class Participation
Class participation is encouraged to help the overall class to better understand the material through
student interaction. A lot of student/instructor interaction is expected.

Homework Assignments
The homework is shown on the Tentative Schedule posted on Blackboard. Whenever use of software is
required, do your assignments in R, and present them in Word. Answers must be shown to the proper
level of accuracy.

Assignments are to be submitted through Blackboard at the given date and time. Please follow the
submission instructions that will be given with each assignment very carefully. If you need help in this
submission process, please see me during any one of my office hours. Late homework, without prior
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permission, will be penalized 50% if turned in within the week – later submissions will not be accepted.
Routine submission of homework by email will not be accepted. During the week following the due date,
homework (graded by the GTA) will be returned on Blackboard and a solution set will be posted. In
addition to the assigned turn-in problems, the conscientious student will work many additional problems.
Practice makes perfect!

Note that

(i) Supporting work must be shown for credit, not just the answer. If there is no work shown,
you will get no credit for that problem (regardless whether the answer is right or wrong).
(ii) Your work must be typed. For mathematical symbols, use the Math Editor. Please contact
me before the submission date of the first assignment if you have any questions.
(iii) Your name and section number must be clearly marked (-2 points each otherwise).

Exams
All exams will be closed book, closed notes, open formula sheet and tables. Your personally-created
formula sheet is intended to eliminate the need to memorize formulas, and may contain anything.
Exam questions will be generally drawn from the material covered in class and will be similar to the
homework questions. Therefore, in a theoretical sense, the student has a legal advance copy of the
exams! There is no “extra credit” or forgiven grades – you are responsible for all of your work done (or
left undone). If an exam is scheduled on a religious holiday that you observe, see me to make
alternative arrangements.

(i) Supporting work must be shown for credit, not just the answer. If there is no work shown,
you will get no credit for that problem (regardless whether the answer is right or wrong).
(ii) Your name and section number must be clearly marked (-2 points each otherwise).

Technology Requirements
Hardware
You will need access to a Windows or Macintosh computer with at least 2 GB of RAM and to a fast and
reliable broadband internet connection (e.g., cable, DSL). A larger screen is recommended for better
visibility of course material. You will need speakers or headphones to hear recorded content and a
headset with a microphone is recommended for the best experience. For the amount of Hard Disk Space
required to take a distance education course consider and allow for the storage amount needed to
install any additional software and space to store work that you will do for the course. If you are
considering the purchase of a new computer, please go to
http://compstore.gmu.edu/pdfs/TechGuide.pdf
to see recommendations.

Software 
You will need a browser and operating system that are listed compatible or certified with the Blackboard
version available on the myMason Portal. See supported browsers and operating systems. Log in to
myMason to access your registered courses. Online courses typically use Acrobat Reader, Flash, Java,
and Windows Media Player, QuickTime and/or Real Media Player. Your computer should be capable of
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running current versions of those applications. Also, make sure your computer is protected from viruses
by downloading the latest version of Symantec Endpoint Protection/Anti-Virus software for free at
http://antivirus.gmu.edu. Students owning Macs or Linux should be aware that some courses may use
software that only runs on Windows. You can set up a Mac computer with Boot Camp or virtualization
software so Windows will also run on it. Watch
http://support.apple.com/kb/VI54?viewlocale=en_US
about using Windows on a Mac. Computers running Linux can also be configured with virtualization
software or configured to dual boot with Windows. Note: If you are using an employer-provided
computer or corporate office for class attendance, please verify with your systems administrators that
you will be able to install the necessary applications and that system or corporate firewalls do not block
access to any sites or media types.

Course-specific Hardware/Software
In this course we will be using RStudio, an integrated development environment for R. R is a language
and environment for statistical computing and graphics. It is a GNU project which is similar to the S
language and environment which was developed at Bell Laboratories. R provides a wide variety of
statistical and graphical techniques, and is highly extensible. R is available as Free Software under the
terms of the Free Software Foundation’s GNU General Public License in source code form. It compiles
and runs on a wide variety of UNIX platforms and similar systems (including FreeBSD and Linux),
Windows and MacOS. Notes on R will be provided.

To download RStudio you should first download R from

https://www.r-project.org/
and then RStudio from
https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download
 

Student Expectations
Academic Integrity 
Students must be responsible for their own work, and students and faculty must take on the
responsibility of dealing explicitly with violations. This tenet must be a foundation of our university
culture. [See http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/distance].

Honor Code 
Students must adhere to the guidelines of the George Mason University Honor Code [See
http://oai.gmu.edu/mason-honor-code/].

Internet Etiquette

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Students are expected to follow courteous Internet etiquette at all times;
see http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html for more information regarding these
expectations.

MasonLive/Email (GMU Email)

Students are responsible for the content of university communications sent to their George Mason
University email account and are required to activate their account and check it regularly. All
communication from the university, college, school, and program will be sent to students solely through
their Mason email account. [See https://masonlivelogin.gmu.edu].

Patriot Pass: Once you sign up for your Patriot Pass, your passwords will be synchronized, and you will
use your Patriot Pass username and password to log in to the following systems: Blackboard, University
Libraries, MasonLive, myMason, Patriot Web, Virtual Computing Lab, and WEMS. [See
https://password.gmu.edu/index.jsp].

University Policies
Students must follow the university policies. [See http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu]. Responsible Use of
Computing - Students must follow the university policy for Responsible Use of Computing. [See
http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/policies/responsible-use-of-computing ].

Student Services
University Calendar
Details regarding the current Academic Calendar [See http://registrar.gmu.edu/calendars/index.html].
For religious holidays see (ulife.gmu.edu/calendar/religious-holiday-calendar)

Students with Disabilities 

Students with disabilities who seek accommodations in a course must be registered with the George
Mason University Office of Disability Services (ODS) and inform their instructor, in writing, at the
beginning of the semester [See ds.gmu.edu] and request accommodations, with appropriate
documentation at ds.gmu.edu/forms/

University Libraries 
University Libraries provides resources for distance students. See (library.gmu.edu/for/online).

Writing Center 
The George Mason University Writing Center staff provides a variety of resources and services (e.g.,
tutoring, workshops, writing guides, handbooks) intended to support students as they work to construct
and share knowledge through writing. [See http://writingcenter.gmu.edu]. You can now sign up for an
Online Writing Lab (OWL) session just like you sign up for a face-to-face session in the Writing Center,
which means YOU set the date and time of the appointment! Learn more about the Online Writing Lab
(OWL).

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Counseling and Psychological Services 
The George Mason University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) staff consists of professional
counseling and clinical psychologists, social workers, and counselors who offer a wide range of services
(e.g., individual and group counseling, workshops and outreach programs) to enhance students'
personal experience and academic performance [See http://caps.gmu.edu].
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) 
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), also known as the "Buckley
Amendment," is a federal law that gives protection to student educational records and provides
students with certain rights. See (registrar.gmu.edu/ferpa)

Grading Scheme:
Homework 15%
Exam I 25%
Exam II 25%
Final Exam 35%
Total 100%

Your grades are posted on Blackboard – you can check your running grade at any time, so there are no
surprises. In fact, you should audit the correct entry of your grades. No grade corrections will be made
after the last week of the semester. Course letter grades are assigned as follows and are not curved:

Numeric Letter
Score Grade
98 – 100 A+
91 – 97 A
90 A–
88 – 89 B+
81 – 87 B
80 B–
78– 79 C+
71 – 77 C
70 C–
60 – 69 D
0 – 59 F

CHANGING THE FINAL EXAM DATE

The date of the final exam can be changed only if the student has more than two exams scheduled for
the same day or two exams scheduled at the same time. Student must provide documentation proving
that this is the case.

GRADE DISPUTES
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(i) All grade disputes should be addressed within a week after the graded work is given back
in class. Otherwise the given grade stays.
(ii) The student must send me a legible (most secreen shots are not) copy of his/her graded
work.