STAT 134, Fall 08
A. Adhikari

PRACTICE PROBLEMS AND HOMEWORK
This page contains a weekly list of practice problems, including the subset which must be turned in to be graded as homework.

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 (see the Reading page). 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.

In my experience many students 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 GSI or to the Student Learning Center, do the reading first!  You may not need to make the trip at all.

Homework Grading: As discussed in class, papers will be graded on a 2/1/0 scale. Each assignment will consist of 6 problems.  For five or six problems mostly right the grade will be A=2; for 3 or 4 mostly right it will be B=1; no credit will be given for fewer than 3 mostly right.  

WEEK 1.
Minimal practice: 1.1.7 (Example 2 will help), 1.3.3, 1.3.5, 1.3.7, 1.4.3, 1.4.5
Homework 1 (due Wed 9/3)
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 96   Number of 2's: 49   Number of 1's: 32   Number of 0's: 15
A few more, selected to illustrate standard techniques, with answers.

WEEK 2.
Minimal practice: 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)
Homework 2 (due Wed 9/10): 1.5.2, 1.5.6, 1.6.4, 1.6.6, 1.rev.8, 1.rev.12
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 91   Number of 2's: 76   Number of 1's: 8   Number of 0's: 7
A little more: Compare 1.6.6 and 1.rev.16 - if you can do one you should be able to do the other. 1.rev.5 is cute.

WEEK 3.
Minimal practice: 2.1.1, 2.1.3, 2.1.5, 2.1.7, 2.1,11, 2.2.1, 2.2.5, 2.2.9
Homework 3 (due Wed 9/17): 2.1.4, 2.1.6,  2.rev.8, 2.2.6, 2.2.10, 2.2.14 [From now on: Homework MUST be stapled; underline your last name and write the same first name that appears on Bearfacts.]
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 94   Number of 2's: 78   Number of 1's: 12   Number of 0's: 4
A small selection of problems to show varied uses of the binomial formula, with answers.

WEEK 4.
Minimal practice: 2.4.3, 2.4.5, 2.4.9 (done in lecture Mon 9/15), 2.5.1, 2.5.7, 2.5.3 (you may find it harder than 2.5.7), 2.rev.15
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 85   Number of 2's: 58   Number of 1's: 24   Number of 0's: 3
Homework 4 (due Wed 9/24): 2.4.1a,d (just those two parts; show some of your calculations and give the area of each bar that you draw; use a ruler!), 2.4.6, 2.5.8, 2.5.12a-d (just those four parts), 2.rev.10, 2.rev.18

WEEK 5.
Minimal practice: 3.1.3, 3.1.9, 3.1.15 (connect this with Example 3 of section 1.1 and Exercise 1.rev.8 which you did in HW 1), 3.2.3, 3.2.5, 3.2.7, 3.2.11.
Homework 5 (due Wed 10/1)
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 89   Number of 2's: 68   Number of 1's: 17   Number of 0's: 4

WEEK 6.
Minimal practice: 3.3.1, 3.3.7, 3.3.13, 3.3.19, 3.4.1, 3.4.3, 3.rev.15
Homework 6 (due Wed 10/8): 3.3.6, 3.3.12,  3.3.16, 3.4.4, 3.4.12, 3.rev.2
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 85   Number of 2's: 56   Number of 1's: 22   Number of 0's: 7
A few problems in which you must use standard results in slightly non-standard ways: 3.3.9, 3.3.23, 3.4.11.

WEEK 7.
Minimal practice: 3.4.7, 3.4.11, 3.4.17, 3.5.1, 3. 5.5, 3.5.9, 3.5.11, 3.5.15
Homework 7 (due MONDAY 10/13; note change in schedule!): 3.4.14, 3.5.4, 3.5.10, 3.5.12, 3.6.6 (you did part (a) in an earlier hw, but do it again anyway; you don't have to check 2.rev.28 but it's instructive to do so), 3.6.8
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 85   Number of 2's: 41   Number of 1's: 28   Number of 0's: 16

WEEK 8.
Homework 8: Recover from the midterm.  There is nothing to turn in on Wed 10/22. 

WEEK 9.
Minimal practice: 4.1.1, 4.1.3, 4.1.5, 4.1.11, 4.2.1, 4.2.5,  4.rev.3, 4.rev.15 (Fall 07 midterm revisited)
Homework 9 (due Wed 10/29): 4.1.4, 4.1.8, 4.1.12, 4.2.4, 4.2.8, 4.rev.16
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 81   Number of 2's: 47   Number of 1's: 26   Number of 0's: 8

WEEK 10.
Minimal practice: 4.4: all odd-numbered problems apart from Problem 11; 4.5.5, 4.5.7, 4.rev.5, 4.rev.21
Homework 10 (due Wed 11/5): 4.4.2, 4.4.6, 4.4.10, 4.5.2, 4.6.2, 4.rev.6
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 78   Number of 2's: 48   Number of 1's: 21   Number of 0's: 9

WEEK 11.
Minimal practice: 5.1.1, 5.1.3, 5.1.7, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.5, 5.2.11
Homework 11 (due Wed 11/12): 5.1.4, 5.1.6, 5.2.2, 5.2.8, 5.2.12, 5.rev.2
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 83  Number of 2's: 32   Number of 1's: 33   Number of 0's: 18

WEEK 12.
Minimal practice: 5.3.1, 5.3.3, 5.3.7, 5.3.9, 5.3.11, 5.4.1, 5.4.3, 5.4.5
Homework 12 (due Wed 11/19): 5.3.4, 5.3.6, 5.3.12, 5.4.2, 5.4.4, 5.rev.22
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 72  Number of 2's: 30   Number of 1's: 32   Number of 0's: 10

WEEK 13.
Minimal practice: 6.1.1, 6.1.3, 6.2.1, 6.2.3, 6.2.11, 6.3.1, 6.3.7
Homework 13 (due Wed 11/26 the day before Thanksgiving; DUE NEXT!!): 6.1.2, 6.2.4, 6.2.10, 6.3.4, 6.3.10, 6.rev.21 (yes it's an odd-numbered problem, and no the answer isn't in the back of the book)
Highly recommended: Over the Thanksgiving Break summarize what you have learned so far in the course. You made such a summary of the first half of the course; now expand it to include what you know about continuous random variables. It may help you to go through your lecture notes and look at the start of each lecture. That's where we summarize what happened in the previous lecture. And of course it will help to look at the Chapter Summaries in the text. Look for parallels between the discrete case and the continuous case.
Grade distribution: Number of papers: 75  Number of 2's: 46   Number of 1's: 18   Number of 0's: 11

WEEK 14.
Minimal practice: 6.4.3, 6.4.5, 6.4.9, 6.4.11, 6.4.19, 6.4.21
Homework 14 (due Wed 12/3): 6.4.8, 6.4.10, 6.4.12, 6.4.15a-c (yes it's an odd-numbered problem, and no the answers to a-c aren't in the back of the book; don't redo (a) to prove (b) - use (a) to prove (b)!), 6.4.22, 6.2.18

WEEK 15.
Practice from Sec 6.5: 6.5.1-4, 6.5.8, 6.5.12