MCS 142 Examination 1

• What: Examination on chapters 1-3 and topics covered in class
• When: 9:00-9:50, Monday, March 17
• Where: Olin 318

The exam will cover:

• Looking at data--distributions
  • Displaying distributions with graphs
  • Describing distributions with numbers
  • The normal distributions
• Looking at data--relationships
  • Scatterplots
  • Correlation
  • Least-squares regression
  • Cautions about regression and correlation
  • The question of causation
  • Transforming relationships
• Collecting data
  • Design of experiments
  • Sampling design
  • Toward statistical inference

Suggested study and preparation:

• Review the summaries at end of each section of the text. Make sure that you know and understand the terminology of statistics (populations, sample, experiment, observational study, treatments, etc.).
• Be prepared to demonstrate statistical thinking in context.
• Computation will not be a big part of the test, but you should be able to compute and interpret five-number summaries, means, standard deviations, and z-scores. You should be able to interpret a least-squares regression equation in context.
• You should be able to use Table A (standard normal probabilities) and Table B (random digits).
• Be prepared to draw graphical displays: stemplots, histograms, boxplots, timeplots, and scatterplots.
• Know the principles of experimental design, and be able to diagram experimental designs.