Should you take Math 180a?

Some information for the undecided.

As mentioned before, Math 180a is a one quarter upper division course in probability for students who have a good background in calculus. You should note, though, that Math 180a will NOT cover any significant amount of statistics. Probability is an important subject with applications in many areas of science, engineering, economics, etc. One of the aims of any course in probability is to give different perspectives on finding an answer to the question “How likely is it?” It is a subject with a great deal of intrinsic interest and “Aha!” revelations.

Math 180a will not be highly theoretical; its focus will be on answering the question “How likely is it?” in many different contexts. However, students will be expected to have a certain amount of “mathematical maturity,” including the ability to follow delicate arguments and to do complicated calculations. If you did well in Math 20 abcd (or their equivalents), you may be well prepared for Math 180a. A course in mathematical reasoning, such as Math 109, also helps, but is not required. On the other hand, if you struggled in any of these courses, you may find Math 180a not to your liking. Even for very good students, this course requires a considerable amount of work outside of class. Students who have taken Math 180a in the past have reported putting in 5-7 hours per week outside of class.

If you are looking for a one quarter course that covers very basic probability and basic statistics for future applications, Math 180a is NOT the right one to take. One math course with this aim is Math 183, which will be offered in the Winter and Spring quarters this year. If you are interested in learning to use statistical software, you may need to find yet another course. If you start Math 180a, get behind and drop it, but want to try again, you should know that it will be given again in the Winter quarter (taught by Prof. Williams).