Professor Bradley A. Hartlaub
Office 305 Rutherford B. Hayes Hall
Phone 740-427-5405
e-mail hartlaub@kenyon.edu
Office Hours

• 2:00 - 3:00 on Monday and Friday
• 9:00 - 11:00 on Tuesday
• 4:00 - 5:00 on Wednesday
• Additional appointments are available, please don't hesitate to ask for help.

Required Text

Ross, Sheldon (2014), A First Course in Probability, Ninth Edition, Pearson Education, Inc., Boston, MA.

Learning Disabilities

If you have a disability and feel that you may have need for some type of academic accomotation(s) in order to participate fully in this class, please feel free to discuss your concerns with me in private and also self identify yourself to Erin Salva, Coordinator of Disability Services at 740-427-5453 or via e-mail at salvae@kenyon.edu.

Title IX Reponsibilities

As a member of the Kenyon College faculty, I am concerned about the well-being and development of our students, and am available to discuss any concerns.  However, I want you to know that faculty members are legally obligated to share certain information with the University's Title IX coordinator.  This is to ensure the student's safety and welfare is being addressed, consistent with the requirements of the law. These disclosures include but are not limited to reports of sexual assault, relational/domestic violence, and stalking.

Homework & Labs

Homework and lab assignments will be given weekly throughout the semester. You should work on as many problems as possible. This includes problems which have not been assigned. Your papers will be collected and graded frequently. All papers that you turn in must be legible with problem numbers and solutions clearly marked. I encourage you to discuss the concepts and problem solving techniques presented in class with other students. However, you must submit your own solution for each of the assigned problems to be collected.

Homework assignments must be turned in at the beginning of the class period on the assigned due date. No credit will be given for late papers. If for any reason you cannot turn in your paper on the assigned date, you must contact me before class. If you are unable to contact me, you can leave a message with Connie Miller (the Administrative Assistant in RBH) or send e-mail to HARTLAUB.

During the semester we will have weekly problem sessions which will be conducted by you (the students). These sessions are designed to improve your understanding of probability concepts and enhance your mathematical maturity by requiring a clear, detailed presentation of the material to your peers. During these sessions, you will be responsible for solving an assigned problem and presenting the solution to the rest of the class. Answering all questions about your solution is a required part of the presentation. Being able to solve problems and being able to present the solutions to a group in a logical and coherent fashion are two different tasks. Our goal is to master both tasks.

Exam 1 - Wednesday, October 5

Exam 2 - Friday, November 18

Comprehensive Final Exam - December 15, 8:30 - 11:30 am

Project

Each group will prepare a 20 minute presentation for class. You may use the blackboard, a standard overhead projector, Power Point, or some other presentation software for your presentation.

Your presentation will focus on a probability topic of your choice. The topic should build on the basic foundation we have developed so far in the course, but the objective of this assignment is for you to apply the concepts and results we have learned to a probability problem that goes beyond what we have covered in class. For example, you may want to introduce a probability distribution (Cauchy, Logistic, Lognormal,Weibull, etc.) that we have not considered. You might want to look at the properties of this probability distribution (e.g., mean, variance, and moment generating function). You could also compare and contrast the probability model of your choice with the probability models we have studied.

Another possible project could focus on different applications of some of the probability models we have studied. In short, I want you to be creative.

Project Deadlines:

• November 25, 2016 (or before) - a short project proposal describing your topic. I will approve your project proposal or make suggestions as soon as possible after I receive your proposal. The proposal may be submitted via e-mail.
• December 7, 2016 (or before) - 20 minute presentation. You should prepare a short (1 page, front and back if necessary) handout which summarizes the main ideas from your presentation for members of the audience.

Grades

Your course grade will be based on your overall percentage. The categories used to determine your overall percentage are listed below with their respective weights.

Homework Assignments (20%)

Problem Sessions (20%)

Project (10%)

Exam 1(15%)

Exam 2 (15%)

Final Exam (20%)

Class participation will be used to help make borderline decisions.

Chapter 1 Combinatorial Analysis

Chapter 2 Axioms of Probability

Chapter 3 Conditional Probability and Independence

Chapter 4 Random Variables

Chapter 5 Continuous Random Variables

Chapter 6 Jointly Distributed Random Variables

Chapter 7 Properties of Expectation

Chapter 8 Limit Theorems

Chapter 10 Simulation

Chapter 9 Additional Topics in Probability (if time permits)