MATH 4510

MATH 4510: Intro to Probability


Spring 2017

MWF 10:00PM-10:50PM

Room: ECCR 151


Instructor: Dr. Janos Englander


How to reach me:

  • Office: MATH 324.
  • Phone: 303-492-4846 (with voice mail)


Office Hours: Monday and Friday 11-12



Grader and her email:

Huiyu Zhang

huzh1658@colorado.edu


PREREQS.:


  • MATH 2400 (Calc 3) or APPM 2350
  • MATH 3130 (Linear algebra)

Credit NOT granted for this course and APPM 3570, ECEN 3810, or MATH 3510.


Warning: In the course we will use double integrals several times. You really need to know this stuff from Calculus! If you are not comfortable with double integrals, you may want to reconsider taking this course.


Course Content:

  • combinatorial probability
  • random variables
  • discrete and continuous distributions
  • joint distributions
  • expected value
  • Law of Large Numbers and Central Limit Theorem

(This is more or less the first 8 chapters in the book.)

If time permits, we will study the basics of Poisson processes and Markov chains. (This is the beginning of Chapter 9.)


Course Grading:


  • 10 percent: Attendance (attendance means: attending class and not using cell phones)
  • 25 percent: HW (Here "HW" refers to the first 10 sets)
  • 13 percent: First Midterm
  • 12 percent: Second Midterm
  • 40 percent: Final Exam

NOTE: For HW sets 11 and 12, you will get extra points, with 10% weight. Even though they are not mandatory, it is for your own benefit to do them, besides the extra credit. (E.g., if you get 170 points combined for 11 and 12, then your final numerical score goes up by 17.)




The required text for this course is

A First Course in Probability, 8/E ,

by Sheldon Ross CLICK

It's important you buy this book because:

  • There will be required reading from the book
  • Homework assignments will come from the book
  • I will test on material from the book
  • It will help you get a better grade in my course


There is a new (9th) edition too, but we will follow the numbering of the 8th edition in the HW.



Enrollment questions:

Please see the Registrar's web page, or call their office. If you still have problems, then see Tiffany at the Math. Dept. Office

The median score for MT2 was 70. Here is the solution to MT2. (UG version) :


4510_MT2SOL_2017_Spring.pdf

Exam Dates:

Midterms: March 13 (M) and April 12 (W), in class. Solution to MT2: CLICK

Final is on May 8 (M) 1:30 p.m.– 4:00 p.m.

Note: The Midterms will be “up to the HW” and not up to the lecture. So the first MT is up to and including the material corresponding to HW set 6, that is, up to and including subsection 4.8.3. The second MT is up to HW set 9, that is, up to and including subsection 6.2.


HOMEWORK/READING ASSIGNMENTS:


Always Friday to Friday. After February 20, I won’t accept late HW for any reason!


(1) The numbers refer to the textbook (8th edition). NOT the theoretical exercises and NOT the self-test problems. Although they are useful too.

(2) You are strongly encouraged to use LaTeX for typing homework. If you have a mac, one possible easy way to get started is with texshop. If you are using linux, there are a number of other possible ways to go, using emacs, ghostview, etc.

(3) Homework is due in class and must be stapled, with your name and homework number on it, to receive credit.



SET 1: (Due February 3, Friday in class)

Chapter 1, Problems 7, 9, 13, 15, 18, 20, 27, 30

Read Chapter 1 and 2.1.-2.3


SET 2: (Due February 10, Friday in class)

Chapter 2, Problems 1,2,3,8,11,15,16

Read Chapter 2 and 3.1.-3.2c


SET 3: (Due February 17, Friday in class)

Chapter 3, Problems 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Read Chapter 3.3


SET 4: (Due February 24, Friday in class)

Chapter 3, Problems 13, 14, 15, 23, 26, 31(a)-(b)

Read Chapter 3.4, 3.5


SET 5: (Due March 3, Friday in class)

Chapter 4, Problems 1, 2, 3, 5, 25(a)-(b), 28

Read Chapter 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6


SET 6: (Due March 10, Friday in class)

Chapter 4, Problems 30(a)-(b), 33, 38(a)-(b), 40, 51, 52, 57(a)-(b)

Read Chapter 4.7, 4.8.1, 4.8.3


SET 7: (Due March 17, Friday in class)

Chapter 5, Problems 3,4,6,7,11,13

Read Chapter 4.10, 5.1, 5.2


SET 8: (Due March 24, Friday in class)

Chapter 5, Problems 15, 19, 21 (see table on p. 201)

Chapter 6, Problems 10, 11, 21

Read Chapter 5.3, 5.4 (except 5.4.1), 5.5, 6.1


SET 9: (Due April 7, Friday in class) ENJOY THE BREAK

Chapter 6, Problems 22, 23, 26, 27, 29, 39

Read Chapter 6.2


SET 10: (Due April 21, Friday in class)

Chapter 7, Problems 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 30

Read Chapter 7.2 (not 7.2.1-7.2.2), 7.5, 7.7 (not the joint one)


SET 11: (Due April 28, Friday in class)

Chapter 7, Problem 36, Chapter 8, Problems 3, 4, 5

Read Chapter 8.2, 8.3


SET 12: (Due May 5, Friday in class)

Chapter 8, Problems 6, 7, 8

Read Chapter 8.4, 8.5

Enrollment questions:

Please see the Registrar's web page, or call their office. If you still have problems, then see Tiffany at the Math. Dept. Office


Class policies:

  • Eating/drinking policy: That’s fine.
  • Texting policy: No texting in class.
  • Graded homework policy: It’s fine to keep the graded homework, but if you chose to keep it, then there will be no further discussions on partial credits.



Last but not least:

SOME IMPORTANT CU POLICIES (clickable)


Midterm from 2009:

MATH4510MT2009Fall.pdf

Midterm from 2011

4510MT2011Oct.pdf

Here is a past final. We will use it as a practice final in class on Friday, 5/5: click

Here are the solutions of the first MT: click

Here are the solutions to the Y/N part of the final:

YESNO.pdf

And here are the solutions to Q 2-6:

Sol to Fina Q2-6.pdf