Syllabus 411

Instructor

Al Boggess; Office in BLOC 623; phone: 845-3261; (e-mail: boggess@math.tamu.edu). Office hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-2:30pm or by appointment.

Catalog Description

Math 411. Mathematical Probability. (3-0) Credit 3. Probability spaces, discrete and respectively continuous random variables, special distributions, joint distributions, expectations, law of large numbers, the central limit theorem. Prerequisite: Math 221.

Required Texts

The Essentials of Probability, by Richard Durrett, International Thomson Publishing

Grading

Your Grade will be determined by routine homework problem sets, formal homework, two exams, and a final exam. Formal homework assignments will be graded on presentation as well as mathematical correctness (as will exam problems). Click here for list of homework assignments. I will grade the formal homework assignments and exams. A grader will grade the routine homework assignments. The weights are as follows.


Routine Homework   Formal Homework     Exam I     Exam II       Final 
     15%                 15%            20%         20%          30% 
                                      (2/22/96)   (4/11/96)

Solutions to Practice Exams and Exams,

Policy on Late Work and Make-ups

Late homework assignments or make- ups for exams will be allowed only with an approved University Excuse (see University Regulations). A written notification from a doctor or the Health Center is required in order to make-up missed work due to sickness.

Topics for Math 411

The goal of this course is to introduce the basic principles of counting, and probability along with practical applications. Both discrete and continuous probability density functions will be discussed.

We will cover most of Durrett's book. A rough time-table is given below.


Week in the Semester                  Topic and Chapter 

Week 1       Sections 1.1-1.3 on sample spaces and counting 


Weeks 2-3    Sections 1.3-1.6 on urn problems and other experiments  
 

Weeks 4-5    Sections 2.1 - 2.4 and some of 2.5 on conditional probability 
 

Weeks 6      Exam I covering chapters 1 and 2 


Weeks 7-9    Sections 3.1-3.5 and 3.7 


Weeks 10-11  Sections 4.1-4.4 and some of 4.5 on expected value 
 

Week 12      Exam II covering chapters 3 and 4  


Week 13-14   Chapter 5 on limit theorems as time permits 


Week  15     Final Exam