MATH 201: Introduction to Probability

Instructors

Arjun Krishnan

• Office: Hylan 817
• Lectures: MW 2:00–3:15 pm Computer Studies Room 209
• Office Hours: M-W 1:00pm-2:00pm
• E-mail: rochester at shirleyarjun dot net

Sefika Kuzgun

• Office: Hylan 801
• Lectures: MW 10:25–11:40 pm Georgen Hall Room 108
• Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:00pm
• Email: skuzgun at ur dot rochester dot edu

Teaching Assistants

Lectures

If course recording facilities are available in your classroom, video recordings of the lectures will be available on your course blackboard page under Panopto 20 minutes after the lecture.

Blackboard

The page you are on is the main course page. Most course relevant material will be posted here.

Blackboard will contain:

1. Class-wide announcements
2. Webwork access link (that will link your webwork scores to blackboard)
3. Gradescope access link (that will link your homework scores to blackboard)
4. Academic honesty policy sign-off.

All other information will be maintained on this course webpage

Academic Honesty Policy

Honesty Policy sign-off

Please sign off on the academic honesty policy on the blackboard course page.

Math Dept policy on unauthorized online resources:

Any usage whatsoever of online solution sets or paid online resources (chegg.com or similar) is considered an academic honesty violation and will be reported to the Board on Academic Honesty. In particular, any assignment found to contain content which originated from such sources is subject to a minimum penalty of zero on the assignment and a full letter grade reduction at the end of the semester (e.g. a B would be reduced to a C). Depending on the circumstances, this may apply even if the unauthorized content was obtained through indirect means (through a friend for instance) and/or the student is seemingly unaware that the content originated from such sources. If you have any questions about whether resources are acceptable, please check with your instructor.

Homework

Written Homework

Written homework will be due on Sundays at 11:59pm through Gradescope.

The written homework problems problems will be posted here

There will be about 13 homeworks. You may skip up to 2 homework assignments.

Webwork

You will have to access webwork through blackboard. There is a link in the sidebar that says “Webwork”. Click on that, and then “Webwork link”. It will take you to the webwork site.

Webwork is due on Fridays at 11:59pm.

There will be about 13 or 14 webworks including webwork 0. You may skip up to 2 webwork assignments.

If you have questions about the webwork. Hit the ask webwork TA link from within webwork.

There is a webwork 0, but it does not count towards your 2 skipped assignments if you choose to skip it.

Grade

The final will consist of two parts. Part A will cover the material tested in both Midterms 1 & 2, while Part B will only contain questions related to material appearing after Midterm 2. Part A accounts for 15% of your course grade and Part B accounts for 20% of your course grade. In addition, the part A score will replace the lowest midterm score (but not both) if it is indeed higher. No Makeup Exams will be given for any reason. If you miss a midterm exam, then part A of the final exam will count as your makeup. Final Part A can only replace one midterm score, however.

You will NOT be permitted calculators or other electronic devices (iPhone, smart watches, etc.) on any exams. You will NOT be permitted books, notes, or “cheat sheets” on any exams.

Incomplete “I” grades are almost never given. The only justification is a documented serious medical problem or a genuine personal/family emergency. Falling behind in this course or problems with workload on other courses are not acceptable reasons.

In fall 2017 the grades were distributed as follows:

The grade distribution fluctuates from year to year, and the above distribution only serves as a generic performance indicator.

Exams

Please go to the exams page here.

Recitations

Recitations start the week of Sep 5. You will have to sign up for these using blackboard and sign ups will open on Sep 2 at 5pm. You may only attend recitations if you sign up in advance. Sessions are capped at 28 and will fill up quickly. Please sign up as soon as possible. You are free to sign up for any of the recitations each week but you may not sign up for more than one recitation each week.

Recitations will cover problems that will help you solve the weeks homework and webwork problems, and they will also cover problems that will be on the midterm and final. At least one problem on the midterms and finals will be the same as a recitation problem (with maybe numbers changed).

1. Wednesday, 3:25-4:15pm with Yuchen Li on zoom

2. Thursday, 6:15-7:05pm with Yulu Liu on zoom passcode: p54cpE

3. Friday, 3:25-4:15pm with Yulu Liu on zoom passcode: p54cpE

4. Friday, 6:15-7:05pm with Yuchen Li on zoom

Recitations will involve working in groups on problems posted online on the Recitation Questions page. These will be guided by Teaching Assistants. You will solve two or three problems per week.

Additional Resources

Math Department Study Hall

For additional help, the math study hall is staffed by math graduate students who will answer your questions on a walk-in basis. More details can be found here

This semester’s study hall will begin in the week of Sep 5. Study Hall schedule

CETL Study Group

This semester’s CETL study group is begin led by TBA.

More information can be found here

Textbook

Introduction to Probability by David F. Anderson, Timo Seppalainen and Benedek Valko (2018).

Prerequisites

Math 162 or the equivalent. This is a strict prerequisite; MTH 162 and 201 cannot be taken concurrently. Math 164 will help in some parts of the course but is not essential.

Help

If you are having difficulty seek help immediately - do not wait until it is too late to recover from falling behind. There are several avenues for you to get help and ask questions, outside of lecture:

• Attend instructor office hours or schedule an appointment to meet with your instructor.

• Attend MTH 201 department study hall and recitations.

• Attend student led study groups at CETL. Please contact cetl at rochester dot edu or watch this space for more information.

• There are also resources in the math department and at the university level.

Disability Support

The University of Rochester respects and welcomes students of all backgrounds and abilities. In the event you encounter any barrier(s) to full participation in this course due to the impact of disability, please contact the Office of Disability Resources. The access coordinators in the Office of Disability Resources can meet with you to discuss the barriers you are experiencing and explain the eligibility process for establishing academic accommodations. You can reach the Office of Disability Resources at: (585)275-9049; 1-154 Dewey Hall. Or, visit Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

To be granted alternate testing accommodations, you (the student) must fill out forms with CETL at least seven days before each and every exam. These forms are not sent automatically. Instructors are not responsible for requesting alternative testing accommodations at CETL, and they are not obligated to make any accommodations on their own.

College Credit-Hour Policy

This course follows the College credit hour policy for four-credit courses. This course meets 3 academic hours per week. Students may also be expected to deepen their understanding of the course material through close examination/evaluation of the readings assigned in the course.