STAT 134, Spring 2015. Schedule, practice problems and homework.   J. Pitman

This page contains a weekly list of practice problems, including the subset which must be turned in to be graded as homework. These lists also indicate the material to be covered in lecture each week.

Recommended strategy: 
Step 1.  
Go through your lecture notes carefully. This is important - lecture is usually more succint than the text and will always contain examples.
Step 2.  Skim the text following this Reading Guide prepared by Prof. Adhikari. Note what the main ideas are and what techniques are being used in the examples.
Step 3. Try a problem.
Step 4. If you get stuck, return to Step 1.

Iterate a couple of times, reading more carefully each time and trying the same problem. Most likely you'll be able to solve it.  If you still can't, only then:
Step 5.  Move to another problem and seek help with the one that is giving trouble.

Students often start with Step 3 and, once they get stuck, proceed immediately to Step 5.  This method is inefficient and results in very little learning.  Before you come to me or to the GSIs or to the Student Learning Center, do the reading first!  You may not need to make the trip at all.

Notation: Exercise x.y.n is Problem n in the Exercises at the end of Section x.y. Exercise x.rev.n is Problem n in the Review Exercises at the end of Chapter x.

Homework Grading: Papers will be graded on a 1/0 scale. Each assignment will consist of 8 problems.  A good attempt at 6 or more problems will receive the score of 1; anything else will get 0. I get to define "good attempt." I will be looking for your reasoning and detailed work shown – it is assumed that you will show work whether or not the question asks for it. Please do not copy other people's solutions. Even if you feel you understand someone else's correct answer, copying creates an illusion of being able to do related problems without help; that might be cruelly shattered by exams.

WEEK 1. 1/21 1/23
Minimal practice: 1.1.7 (Example 2 will help), 1.3.3, 1.3.5, 1.3.7, 1.4.3, 1.4.5, 1.5.1, 1.5.5, 1.6.1, 1.6.5, 1.6.7a, 1.rev.7 (part d is on the next page).
Highly recommended: 1.1.8, 1.3.6, 1.3.10, 1.3.11, 1.3.12, 1.6.8, 1.rev.11, 1.rev.15, 1.rev.19, 1.rev.14a, 1.rev.12, 1.rev.16,
Homework 1 (due Thu 1/29): 1.3.13, 1.4.6, 1.4.10, 1.5.2, 1.5.4, 1.5.6, 1.rev.8, 1.6.6

WEEK 2. 1/26 1/28 1/30
Minimal practice: 2.1.1, 2.1.3, 2.1.5
Highly recommended: 2.1.2, 2.1.7, 2.1.11, 2.rev.8, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.4, 2.2.8, 2.2.12,
Homework 2 (due Thu 2/5): 2.1.4, 2.1.6, 2.1.8, 2.1.12, 2.rev.24 (be careful in part b) 2.2.6, 2.2.10, 2.2.14,

WEEK 3. 2/2 2/4 2/6
Minimal practice: 2.4.1a 2.4.1d, 2.5.1, 2.5.7, 2.rev.15, 3.1.3, 3.1.9, 3.1.15 (connect this with Example 3 of Section 1.1 and Exercise 1.1.8),
Highly recommended: 2.4.2, 2.4.9, 2.5.2, 2.5.3, 2.5.4, 2.5.5, 2.5.9, 2.5.13, 2.5.12e, 2.rev.12, 2.rev.14, 2.rev.16, 2.rev.18, 2.rev.28, 3.1.2, 3.1.10, 3.1.13, 2.rev.10, 2.rev.22,
Homework 3 (due Thu 2/12): 2.4.6, 2.4.8, 2.5.6, 2.5.8, 2.5.12c, 3.1.8, 3.1.12, 3.1.14
QUIZ 1 (on Chapters 1 and 2) Thursday 2/5

WEEK 4. 2/9 2/11 2/13
Minimal practice: 3.2.1, 3.2.3, 3.2.5, 3.2.7, 3.2.11
Highly recommended: 3.2.9, 3.2.13, 3.2.17, 3.2.19, 3.rev.26
Homework 4 (due Thu 2/19): 3.2.4, 3.2.6, 3.2.14, 3.2.16a 3.2.16b, 3.2.20, 3.rev.8, 3.rev.10,

WEEK 5. 2/18 2/20
Minimal practice: 3.3.1, 3.3.3, 3.3.13, 3.3.19, 3.4.1, 3.4.3, 3.4.5, 3.rev.15
Highly recommended: 3.3.5, 3.3.7, 3.3.9, 3.3.15, 3.3.23, 3.4.2, 3.4.11, 3.rev.26
Homework 5 (due Thu 2/26): 3.3.6, 3.3.8, 3.3.12, 3.3.16, 3.4.10, 3.4.12, 3.4.14, 3.rev.2

QUIZ 2 (on 3.1 3.2 and 3.3) Thursday 2/19

WEEK 6. 2/23 2/25 2/27
Minimal practice: 3.5.1, 3.5.5, 3.5.11, 3.6.1, 3.6.7,
Highly recommended: 3.5.2, 3.5.7, 3.5.9,
Homework 6 (due Thu 3/5): 3.5.4 (state your assumptions), 3.5.10, 3.5.12, 3.6.2 (turn the page for part d), 3.6.5, 3.6.6, 3.6.8, 3.6.9

WEEK 7. 3/2 3/4 3/6. Midterm review and Exam
MIDTERM EXAM in Class Friday 3/6
Homework 7: No homework is assigned for this week.

WEEK 8. 3/9 3/11 3/13
Minimal practice: 4.1.1, 4.1.3 (parts d and e are on the next page), 4.1.9, 4.2.1, 4.2.5, 4.rev.3, 4.rev.13
Highly recommended: 4.1.2, 4.1.5, 4.1.10, 4.1.11, 4.2.6, 4.rev.4, 4.rev.12
Homework 8 (due Thu 3/19): 4.1.4, 4.1.7, 4.1.8, 4.1.12, 4.2.4, 4.2.8 (be careful about the variance: the mean of the mixture is the mixture of the means, and this is true
too for mean squares, but not for variances), 4.rev.2, 4.rev.14 (part c is on the next page)

WEEK 9. 3/16 3/18 3/20
Minimal practice: 4.4.1, 4.4.3, 4.4.7, 4.5.3, 4.5.5, 4.6.1, 4.6.5a, 4.rev.5, 4.rev.11 (do not crank them out by calculus; use what you know gamma and beta densities), 4.rev.18, 4.rev.21
Highly recommended: 4.4.4, 4.4.5, 4.6.3abcd, 4.rev.22, 4.rev.23
Homework 9 (due Thu 4/2): 4.4.2, 4.4.6, 4.4.10, 4.5.2, 4.5.6, 4.6.2, 4.rev.6, 4.rev.16
QUIZ 3 (on Chapter 4) Thursday 3/19

SPRING RECESS 2/23 -- 2/27

WEEK 10. 3/30 4/1 4/3
Minimal practice: 5.1.1, 5.1.7, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.5, 5.2.11
Highly recommended: 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.2.4, 5.2.9, 5.2.10, 5.2.13
Homework 10 (due Th 4/9): 5.1.4, 5.1.6, 5.1.9 (let the stick have length 1; try drawing the right region), 5.2.6, 5.2.8, 5.2.12, 5.2.14, 5.2.16

WEEK 11. 4/6 4/8 4/10
Minimal practice: 5.3.1, 5.3.3, 5.3.7 (turn page for more parts), 5.3.9, 5.3.11, 5.4.1, 5.4.3,
Highly recommended: 5.3.1, 5.3.6 (it is helpful to draw figures as in 5.3.1), 5.3.4, 5.4.4, 5.rev.2, 6.1.5 (midterm problem), 6.2.7
Homework 11 (due Thu 4/16): 5.3.8, 5.3.12, 5.4.5, 5.4.13, 5.rev.5, 6.1.2, 6.2.4 (for part (b), look at page 487 where you will find the variance of a useful uniform variable), 6.2.10
QUIZ 4 (on Chapter 5 ) Thursday 4/9

WEEK 12. 4/13 4/15 4/17
Minimal practice: 6.1.1, 6.1.3, 6.2.1, 6.2.3, 6.2.11, 6.3.1,
Highly recommended: 6.3.4, 6.3.10, 6.rev.21, 6.4.8, 6.4.15a-c (don't redo (a) to prove (b) - use (a) to prove (b)!),
Homework 12 (due Thu 4/23): 6.1.4, 6.2.2, 6.3.2 6.3.4 , 6.3.7, 6.3.8, 6.3.10, 6.3.12

WEEK 13. 4/20 4/22 4/24
Minimal practice: 6.4.3, 6.4.5, 6.4.9, 6.4.11, 6.4.19, 6.4.21, 6.5.1,
Highly recommended: 6.4.22, 6.5.2, 6.5.5, 6.5.6
Homework 13 (due Thu 4/30): 6.4.4 6.4.8 6.4.10, 6.5.2, 6.5.3, 6.5.4 6.5.6 6.5.12