Math 180A - Introduction to Probability (Fall 2007)

Lecture: MWF 4pm at Peterson 104 (sections each Thursday)


Instructor: Prof. Dimitris Politis
Email:  dpolitis@ucsd.edu
Tel.: 534-5861 Office: AP&M 5747
Office hours: M 2-3pm and 5-6pm, W 2-3pm or by appointment
Final's week office hours: Thu 3:30-5pm or by appointment
TAs
Mike Gao
Email:  tgao@ucsd.edu
Office: AP&M 5412
Office hours: Tu 4-5pm, W 3-4pm, and F 11am-12. (Also during final's week!!)

Homework Homework will be assigned each week, and will be due the next Thursday in section (directly to your TA).
Weekly quizes Every Friday, starting with Fri Oct.5, a 20-minute quiz will be given. The quizes are a most important part of the class; they will focus on the examples discussed in class as well as the most recent homework (that was handed-in and discussed in the last section). Quizes can not be made up if missed; however, the two lowest quiz scores will be dropped before calculating the quiz average for the final class grade. For the quizes, please bring a blue book and your calculator.
Final exam The final exam will be comprehensive, covering the material from the whole course with particular emphasis on the examples discussed in class, and the homework problems. For the final exam, please bring 1-2 blue books, your calculator, and a crib sheet (2 sides OK!) The 180a final is scheduled for Saturday 12/15/2007 from 3:00-6:00pm at Peterson 104 (same room as lectures).
Web resource  
SticiGui (an interactive statistics textbook--check out especially Ch. 7 and on.)
Textbook Probability by Jim Pitman; Springer 1993. The plan is to address most of the material contained in chapters 1 through 5 of the text; time permitting, we may see some of Chapter 6.
Course Webpage The course webpage will be updated regularly and students are advised to check it often. In particular, the webpage will list: the week's assigned homework, as well as the assigned readings from the textbook.
Course Grade
  • Homework: 20%
  • Quizes: 40% - bring blue books--blue books can be used more than once.
  • Final Exam: 40% - bring blue books
  • No Midterms!

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    Assignments/announcements:

  • Week 1. Read Ch. 1.1--1.3. as well as Appendix 1 (Counting) and SticiGui: Ch. 7-8.
    HW 1 (due Thu Oct 4): Ch. 1.1 ex. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7. Ch. 1.3 ex. 2, 4, 6.
  • Week 2. Read Ch. 1.4. as well as SticiGui: Ch. 9-10 (Let's make a Deal!).
    HW 2 (due Thu Oct 11): Ch. 1.3 ex. 8, 10, 13, 14,15,16. (Regarding ex.16: People unfamiliar with induction can just focus on the cases n=2 and n=3). Ch. 1.4 ex. 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12.
  • Week 3. Read Ch. 1.5-1.6. as well as SticiGui: Ch. 9-10.
    Prof. Politis will not have office hours on Wed Oct 17 (2-3pm).
    HW 3 (due Thu Oct 18): Ch. 1.5 ex. 2,3,4,5. Ch. 1.6 ex. 1,2,3,7. Ch. 1 Review (p. 74) ex. 6,8,10,11.
  • Week 4. Read Ch. 2 (except section 2.3). as well as SticiGui: Ch. 12.
    HW 4 (due Thu Oct 25): Ch. 2.1 ex. 1,2,4,7. Ch. 2.2 ex. 5,12,14. Ch. 2.4 ex. 2,5,6. Ch. 2.5 ex. 3,7. Due to UCSD's closure for a week, HW 4 will instead be due on Thu Nov 1.
  • Week 5. Read Ch. 3.1 and 3.2 as well as SticiGui: Ch. 12.
    HW 5 (due Thu Nov 8): Ch. 3.1 ex. 2, 6, 14, 16, 22, Ch. 3.2 ex. 3,4,5, 8, 9, 13, 16.
  • Week 6. Read Ch. 3.3 in detail; also read Ch. 3.4 and pages 222-224 from Ch. 3.5. Check out SticiGui: Ch. 13 and 15.
    HW 6 (due Thu Nov 15): Ch. 3.3 ex. 3,5,14,20, 22. Ch. 3.4 ex. 6, 15. Ch. 3.5 ex. 10, 15. Because of the holiday on Nov 12, HW6 can actually be handed in at the Friday class on Nov 16---sections will be held on Thu Nov 15 as usual.
  • Week 7. Read Ch. 4.1 and 4.2
    HW 7 (will be due FRI Nov 30 together with HW 8): Ch. 4.1 ex. 3, 4, 6, 8. Ch. 4.2 ex. 3,7,13.
  • Week 8. Read Ch. 4.4, 4.5 and 5.1
    HW 8 (due FRI Nov 30 together with HW 7): Ch. 4.4 ex. 3,4,5 and 10 (only parts a and c); Ch. 4.5 ex. 1, 3,7; Review ex. 7 (page 334); Ch. 5.1 ex. 4,7.
  • Week 9. Read Ch. 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4.
    HW 9 (due FRI Dec 7): Ch. 5.2 ex. 3,9,11,15. Ch. 5.3 ex. 1,3,13,15. Ch. 5.4 ex. 1,6. [THERE WILL BE A QUIZ ON FRI Dec 7 AS USUAL.]
  • REVIEW SESSION Thu Dec 13 11am-12 at Cal Lab APM B402A !!!
  • HW solutions (partial), quizes, etc. HW1. HW2. HW3--9. Quizes.


    • Some famous probabilists: