M362K, Probability I


  • Unique number: 55520
  • Meeting time and place: MWF 9-10,  RLM 6.104.
  • Web page: http://www.ma.utexas.edu/users/sadun/F10/362K
  • Professor: Lorenzo Sadun, RLM 9.114, x1-7121
  • email: sadun@math.utexas.edu
  • Office hours: M 11-12, Tu 11-12:15. I generally keep an open door and welcome visitors at all times.
  • Textbook: A First Course in Probability, 8th edition, by Sheldon Ross.
  • Prerequisites: M408D or M408L with a grade of at least C-. In particular, you really do need to know about infinite series (at least the simple ones) and know how to integrate by parts. instructor
  • Syllabus: We will cover almost all of chapters 1-5, most of chapters 6 and 7, and half of chapter 8. You can find an online day-by-day schedule here.
  • Homework: There will be weekly problem sets, due in class on Wednesday. Because of budget cuts, there is limited grader support for the class. As a result, only a few problems per week will be marked for correctness, with feedback given. The rest will be marked only for completion.
  • Exams: There will be three in-class midterm exams, on September 29, November 3 and December 1, plus a final exam on Thursday, December 9, 9-12. These exams will all be closed book. However, each student will be allowed to bring a single letter-sized ``crib sheet'' (2-sided) to each midterm, and 2 crib sheets to the final. These notes must be HANDWRITTEN ORIGINALS - NO XEROXING ALLOWED.
  • Grading: Each midterm counts 20%. The final exam counts 40%. The homework, taken together, counts 20%. At the end of the term I will drop your lowest 20%. The final grade distribution, which does include +/- grading, is neither a straight scale nor a fixed curve. It will depend on how well the class does as a whole, but the cutoffs for the major grades (A- vs B+, B- vs C+, etc) are guaranteed not to be any tougher than the straight scale 90/80/70/60.
  • Disabilities: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY