Natural Science 0282 - Probability Theory

We will move from Wall Street to the North Pole, with a stop at the Hospital and a little break at the Casinos. Because from financial markets to meteorology, sports projections to medical testing, and scientific studies to gambling, probability and statistics are fundamental to analyzing data and making predictions that are scientifically sound. They are invaluable tools for any subject of study in any of the sciences. In this introductory course to probability we will cover topics that include the calculus of probability, combinatorial analysis, random variables, expectation, distribution functions, moment-generating functions, central limit theorem and joint distributions. Computers will be used throughout. Problem sets will be assigned for almost every class.

Quantitative Skills In this course students are generally expected to spend at least 6 to 8 hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.