MATH 201

Course description

Instructors

Joshua Sumpter

  • E-mail: jsumpter at math dot rochester dot edu
  • Office: Hylan 803
  • Lectures: MW 10:25-11:40am in Gavett 206
  • Office Hours: T: 4-5pm via Zoom (id 285 037 nine846), W 3:30-4:30pm in Hylan 803

Sevak Mkrtchyan

  • E-mail: sevak dot mkrtchyan at rochester dot edu
  • Office: Hylan 805
  • Lectures: TR 12:30-1:45pm in Lattimore Room 201
  • Office Hours: Tuesday 11:20-12:20 in Hylan 805, Fri 9-10pm via Zoom (id 881 nine84 3223)

Teaching Assistants and Recitations

You will be required to sign up for one of the following four recitations via Blackboard:

  • Tuesday 3:25-4:40pm in Hylan Building Room 201
  • Tuesday 6:15-7:30pm in Hylan Building Room 202
  • Thursday 4:50-6:05pm in Gavett Hall Room 301
  • Thursday 6:15-7:30pm in Hylan Building Room 201

We will provide more information about when you will be able to sign up for recitations as well as the first day of recitations during the furst week of instruction. During recitations, you will be working through various examples with the TAs to help you better understand the topics covered in lecture and practice working through some more challenging problems that you might encounter.

This semester’s TAs:

  • Lily Testa ltesta6 at u dot rochester dot edu
  • Yuchen Li yli230 at u dot rochester dot edu
  • Yu Xin yxin13 at u dot rochester dot edu
  • Shaosong Liu sliu72 at u dot rochester dot edu

Shaosong will be the grader for the written homework this semester. He will hold an office hour each Wednesday 1-2pm in Hylan 1103.

Written Homework

Written homework will be due most weeks on Tuesday at 11:59 pm starting January 20. Homework assignments will be posted on the Homework page. Homework should be submitted using Gradescope. See the Homework page for homework rules and more details.

Your lowest written homework score will be dropped.

Webwork

Webwork sets will be due in most weeks on Tuesday at 11:59pm, starting January 20.

(Note: The day of the week was amended from Friday to Tuesday.)

Your lowest webwork set will be dropped.

To access webwork click the Webwork link in 201 Front Page on the Math 201 Blackboard site.

Textbook

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

Prerequisites

Math 162 or the equivalent. This is a strict prerequisite; Math 162 and 201 cannot be taken concurrently. Math 164 will help in some parts of the course but is not essential. That being said, we highly recommend that students look over some material pertaining to double integrals (Sections 15.1 & 15.2 in Calculus Early Transcendentals by Stewart) before we get to the topic of jointly continuous distributions in class. While we will briefly discuss double integrals in class, most students greatly benefit from having some prior exposure to the material.

Exams and Grading

Your grade for the course will be based on your performance on exams and homework:

  • WeBWorK assignments - 12.5%
  • Written homework - 12.5%
  • Two Midterm Exams - 20% each
  • Final Exam - 35% See the Exams page for more details.

Final Exam and Missed Exam Policy

The final exam will consist of two parts: Part A and Part B. 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 if it is indeed higher (but not both). Makeup exams are typically not offered. If you miss a midterm exam for some reason, then Part A of the final exam will count as your makeup.

Academic honesty

All assignments and activities associated with this course must be performed in accordance with the University of Rochester’s Academic Honesty Policy. More information is available at: www.rochester.edu/college/honesty.

In this class, you are encouraged to discuss homework with each other, but your work must be your own, and you may not copy someone else’s answers. The detailed policy on homework collaboration can be found on the Homework Rules page.

Be aware of the Mathematics Department 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). This applies 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.

Help

If you run into trouble in the course, do not hesitate to attend instructor office hours or TA office hours. You can form a study group with your friends, since talking about the material is an excellent way to increase your understanding. Math study hall is on the 11th floor of Hylan Mon-Thurs from 5-8.

The Learning Center will also be running a study group for Math/Stat 201. These study groups will meet weekly on Wednesdays from 4:50 to 6:05 PM in Dewey 1-160B.

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) 275-3424; Taylor Hall. Or, visit Disability Resources.

Please note that to be granted alternate testing accommodations, you (the student) must fill out forms with Disability Resources 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 or making 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.