De La Salle High School Course Information

ADVANCED PLACEMENT STATISTICS Jim Olwell Email: [email protected] phone: 288-8100 ext 7035

COURSE DESCRIPTION: AP Stats is a college level, non-calculus based course in introductory statistics. This course is designed to present strategies for collecting, organizing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Students will learn to interpret and judge statistical information in the world around them. They will also work on projects involving hands-on gathering and analysis of data. A graphing calculator is required for this course. The “Bring Your Own Device” policy at DLS is in the student handbook.

COURSE OUTCOMES: By the end of the course the student should be able to:

Describe the shape and spread of a data distribution

Be able to plot a variety of graphs: dot plots, histograms, box plots, scatter plots, residual plots, and regression lines

Calculate summary statistics using formulas and a graphing calculator

Calculate simple probabilities

Evaluate probabilities based on normal distributions. t – distributions, chi – square distributions, and F – distributions.

Read statistical tables and use a graphing calculator to determine probabilities

Distinguish between observational studies, experiments, and surveys

Calculate confidence intervals for means and proportions

Conduct hypothesis tests for means and proportions

Conduct a chi – square test

Correctly interpret the meaning of a p-value

Work cooperatively with others in the class

Take the Advanced Placement exam in May SUCCESS IN THIS CLASS: Student success will be maximized if the student is organized, comes to class prepared, and stays current with the assigned work. The class work and homework are the MINIMUM that needs to be done for most students to master the material. Many students will require extra help outside of class. It is the student’s responsibility to complete the assigned work, prepare for quizzes and tests, and find out what was missed when the student misses a class.

CHEATING: Cheating is the giving or receiving of unauthorized help on any assignment, quiz, or test. The penalty is a ZERO on that assignment. Repeat offenders will be directed to the director of studies. DON’T DO IT!!

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: All students are to be prepared for class each day. There will be daily lecture and problem solving. A graphing calculator is required for the class and should be brought every day.

Homework will be done online using MATHXL. The student will have unlimited attempts to do the homework correctly, until the calendar deadline.

There will be some class work assignments done on paper, and completed in class. These will be 5 points each.

There will be SIX quizzes, worth 20 points each, and the low quiz will be dropped at the end of the semester. These quizzes are OPEN NOTE.

There will be a 50-point group project each semester.

There will be FOUR in class tests, worth 100 points each, and the low test score will be dropped at the end of the semester. Students may use a one page of notes for tests. (8.5 x 11). ALL TESTS ARE CUMULATIVE. The semester final will be open note, and is worth 150 points.

A student that signs up for the AP exam MAY be exempt from the spring semester final exam IF all four tests taken during the spring have an average of at least 65% AND test number four in the spring is at least 60%

MATHXL HW 100 POINTS CLASS WORK 50 POINTS QUIZZES 100 POINTS TESTS 300 POINTS PROJECT 50 POINTS FINAL EXAM 150 POINTS TOTAL 750 POINTS The grade breakdown by percentages is given in the student handbook.