The course is an introduction to the basic concepts and techniques of
Probability. As with any other mathematical
course, a deeper understanding can only be obtained by doing it
yourself with the guidance and explanations given in class and in the
course's videos. Active participation is therefore essential and homework
assignments as well as all other course activities play a crucial role
for a successful experience.
The course is taught online (Zoom meeting ID: 298 570 5759) in the
so-called flipped classroom format. This means that you are asked to
watch the lectures online on this
website before coming to class. After watching the lecture, you take a
quiz on the material presented in the video in the course's
Canvas space. In class you will be working
on activity sheets in smaller groups (in Zoom breakout rooms)
as I will "walk around" providing any necessary guidance. Weekly
homework will also be assigned.
They are schedule for Wednesday and Friday 1-2pm on Zoom (same meeting as the class).
This course does not have any teaching assistant.
Overleaf is an online LaTeX suite which allows for remote
collaboration. We shall use it for class conversations, for group work on
activity sheets, and for homework. If you are not familiar with LaTeX,
use the documentation available through Overleaf or through the links
provided on this website under Resources.
LaTeX is a document preparation system for high-quality typesetting
that is particularly well-suited for scientific writing. Learning how
to use it is intergral part of this course and one of its secondary goals.
Please create your own UCI account on Overleaf (using your UCI ID so it is free for you
to use) and join the class project I invited you to. Then create your
own homework project and share it with the course's TA and instructor.
You will also create a third project for group work to be shared among
the group members, TA, and instructor. Sharing is done by providing
the corresponding UCI email addresses.
We will keep a class journal in Overleaf. It is an online asynchronous meeting place where you can ask any questions, provide any answers, and leave any comments about the material we are learning. It is a great way to learn from each other in an interactive way. I will monitor posts for accuracy. Active participation in the Journal will factor in the computation of your final grade.
Homework is assigned weekly and needs both to be added to your
personal Overleaf project (which you are asked to share with the TA,
the grader(?), and myself). Homework needs to be uploaded by 10:59am
on Monday of each week and consists of your choice of 4 problems from
two of the sets available on this website, for a total of 8 problems
weekly. Problems assigned on week n are to be
chosen from problem sets 2n-1 and 2n. Try to choose the
problems wisely from those you are not sure how to approach or are
about a topic you need to understand better.
Use the template provided (here and in the Overleaf class project) to
type your homework. Make sure to identify it by naming it
FnameLnameHW.tex, obviously replacing Fname and
Lname with your first name, last name. For
instance, if I were to create my Homework Assignments file, I
would call it PatrickGuidottiHW.tex.
There is a quiz due after you watched each online lecture.
There will be one in class Midterm during the second hour of Wednesday, August 18. The final exam will be on ??day, September ?? 11am-12:50pm.
The final grade will be based on
There will be NO makeup midterm examination. If any emergency were to
arise which makes it impossible for you to take the scheduled midterm
you will need to provide documentation for the cause of the emergency
and obtain the instructor's approval. If the midterm is missed due to
an approved emergency, only the final and the other factors mentioned
above will determine the final grade.
Cheating will be accepted under no circumstance and whoever is caught
cheating will automatically receive an F in the course and his/her
Dean will be notified. Only fully documented and justified absences
from exams will be accepted. Unjustified no shows will result in a
grade of F.
Solve homework problems regularly. Try and read about topics covered in the video lectures in the textbook or use other (re)sources. Ask as many questions as you need and direct your questions to the instructor and/or TA. Use homework assignments and quizzes to test your understanding of the material and your ability to solve problems within a time constraint.
This course is loosely based on Sheldon Ross's A First Course in Probability (8th Edition), Prentice Hall.