Amos P. Godby High School
1717 W. Tharpe St.
Tallahassee, FL. 32303
AP Statistics Course Guidelines and Class Procedures
Ms. Keke Riley
e-mail: rileyk@leonschools.net
Phone: 617-4700 x2311
Group/discussion website: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/apstatisticsriley
Document webpage: http://kekeriley.educatorpages.com
Statistics is playing increasingly important roles in nearly all phases of human endeavor. We are constantly being bombarded with statistics in commerce, on TV, in the press, in court cases, etc. H.W. Wells stated, “Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write.” The influence of statistics has spread from the fields of science and engineering to fields that include geography, business, communications, economics, education, law, medicine, sociology and many others. As a result, colleges require statistics courses for non-mathematics based programs as well as mathematics and science related degrees.
Text
Yates, D., Moore, D., & Starnes, D. 2008. The Practice of Statistics (3rd). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company
*Students are responsible for the entire cost of the textbook of $87.75 if damaged or lost.
Course Description
This course provides college-level work in statistics to acquire and strengthen knowledge in exploratory analysis; planning a study; probability; and statistical inference. Students enrolled in this course are expected to have mastery and complete working knowledge of algebraic and graphical concepts including linear, quadratic, exponential, and logarithmic functions. This course requires reading of the text and includes multiple projects and hands on activities in which students actively engage in constructing their own understanding of core concepts and techniques of statistics.
Teaching Procedures
A combination of methods will be used to present the course:
*Lecture *Discussions *Current newspaper and magazine articles *Against all Odds” videos
*Use of the TI-83/84 calculator *Hands on activities *Groupwork *Projects
Supplies
- 3 ring binder with dividers Notebook paper
- Pencils Graph paper
- Graphing Calculator ( required for class and AP exam). I will be teaching from a TI-83/84.
Extra Online Resources Available: Bookmark on your home computer or use school computer!
Textbook Online: www.whfreeman.com/yates3e use my email rileyk@leonschools.net to register
Course Sites
All assignments, article links, or documents will be posted on the course document page. Please view this site in the event of being absent or if you lose a handout. The group/discussion site is a great tool to communicate with your group, class members, or instructor for questions and help outside of class. Any correspondence to the instructor posted by 8PM will be responded to no later than 10PM on the same day. Feel free to post interesting, yet relevant and appropriate, articles. Any student posting material not related to the course content will be removed from the site.
Assignment Policy
Completing daily assignments is a key to success in this course.
- Each student is required to keep a 3-ring notebook with all assignments, notes and handouts. Assignments may be checked for completion each day. Everyone’s notebook will be collected on test day at the beginning of class. Points are taken off for late notebooks.
- You are required to show all steps used in obtaining an answer. Answers without work shown will not receive credit.
- Assignments must be complete to receive credit.
Tests and Quizzes
Tests will always be announced at least a week ahead of time. Tests take the entire class period; each test is worth 100 points. There will usually be 4 or 5 tests each nine-week period. Re-takes will be allowed once the student has shown an understanding of the material previously missed.
Announced and/or unannounced quizzes will be given on a weekly basis.
* Please note: cheating and unexcused absences on test day both result in a test grade of zero.
Attendance and Tardiness
- It is to your benefit to be in class every day. When scheduling guidance appointments, doctor appointments, and other activities try not to miss math class. When you are not here, you miss valuable instruction, which is almost impossible to duplicate on your own.
- The school tardy/ attendance policy will be followed. Please consult your agenda book.
Make Up Work
- All students will be given one week from the date of an absence to complete missed assignments and projects.
- Tests missed due to an excused absence must be retaken the day the student returns to class. Make-up tests will probably necessitate coming in during lunch or immediately after school.
- When you are absent, MAKE UP WORK IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Every student in the class will be keeping a list of assignments. Please exchange phone numbers with 2 other students to call should you need an assignment or log into the class website. If you are absent because of a school sponsored activity (i.e. field trip, sports event, etc.), please consult with me BEFORE your absence to get notes and the assignment.
- If you miss a review day, you must take the test with the class.
- Homework, tests, and quizzes not made up on time will receive a grade of zero.
Grades
- Your nine-weeks grade will be found by adding the points from tests, quizzes, activities and homework. Your grade will be a percentage found by taking the total points you have earned and dividing by the total possible points.
- The state grading scale is used: A: 100- 90 B: 89- 80 C: 79- 70 D: 69-60 F: 59- 0
Class Rules
- Be in your assigned seat and ready to begin before the tardy bell rings.
- Stay in assigned seat unless you have permission to do otherwise.
- Be polite, considerate and respectful toward others.
- When collaborating with others use the appropriate low tone of voice.
- Raise hand and wait for permission before speaking during lessons.
Policies
- Bring supplies to class every day.....ALWAYS BE PREPARED!
- Plan on working on math the entire class period, every day.
- No hats, MP3 players, gaming systems or cell phones.
- The school dress code will be enforced. Please consult your agenda book.
- No one should be out of their seat without teacher permission. Disorderly conduct will not be tolerated.
- It is your responsibility to ask questions in class and to come in for extra help with the teacher when needed. I am available at lunchtime almost any day if you need extra help. Make sure to ask in advance! J
This course is so much fun because it easily relates to “real life.” Anytime you see an interesting article pertaining to what we are learning, please bring it in for discussion. While this is an entertaining course it still requires a lot of effort on your part. Keep up with your homework, participate in discussions, and don’t hesitate to ask questions!
Let's have a good year.....Work smarter, not harder.......Be Positive !!!!
You are going to learn and apply yourself a great deal in this course!!!!!
Chapter P – Key Concepts
Statistics – the science and art of collecting, organizing, describing, and drawing conclusions from data. Involves data production, data analysis, probability, and statistical inference
Data- numbers within a context (100 does not mean anything until you put the “$” in front of it)
Data production- helps answer specific questions with an experiment or observational study
Population – a large group
Sample- a smaller, subgroup that represents the population
Probability – the study of chance behavior, tells you how likely or unlikely an event is to occur. Chance behavior is unpredictable in the short run by has a regular and predictable pattern in the long run
Available data – data that was produced in the past for some other purpose but that may be helpful to answer a present question
Survey- a popular way to gauge public opinion
Observational study – observe individuals and measure variables of interest but do not attempt to influence the responses
Experiment – deliberately do something to individuals in order to observe their responses
Data analysis – organizing, displaying, summarizing, and asking questions about the data
Individuals- the objects described by a set of data. Individuals may be people, animals, or things
Variable-any characteristic of an individual
Categorical variable- places an individual into one several groups or categories (gender, grade level)
Quantitative variable – takes numerical values for which arithmetic operations such as adding and averaging make sense (SAT score, salary)
Distribution – tells us what values the variable takes and how often it takes these values
*Many relationships between two variables are influenced by other variables lurking in the background
Exploratory data analysis- uses graphs and numerical summarizes to describe the variables in a data set and the relationships among them. May not be generalizable beyond the specific data studied
Statistical inference- produces answers to specific questions, along with a statement of how confident we can be that the answer is correct. Usually intended to apply beyond the individuals specifically studied.