Math 15: Elementary Statistics
At College of the Redwoods, Math 15 is the course number for our Elementary Statistics course. The information on this page is designed for use by a number of constituencies:
- instructors of Elementary Statistics,
- students enrolled in Elementary Statistics, and
- all others interested in gathering information about our Elementary Statistics course.
Be sure to visit this page often, as there may be updates to the information provided.
Course Philosophy
- This is an introductory course in the science of statistics. Statistics is the science of making sense out of data. Descriptive statistics, the most basic level of the discipline, is how to organize and describe data. Inferential statistics is where decisions are made based upon data and is used extensively in the solution of real-world problems. At the end of this course you will be able to critically exam statistical information and decide if the decisions were good ones and if the conclusions are valid. You will also be able to collect and analyze a data set and come to sound conclusions based upon the data. This is the start of your journey in statistics, but it should be a lifetime adventure.
Course Content
- The Scientific Method, Data collection, Types of Variables, Graphical Displays, Summary Statistics, Basics of Probability, Distrbutions and Models Hypothesis Testing, Parameter Estimation, Linear Regression and Correlation
Student Information and Help Resources
- Textbook: Interactive Statistics, 3rd Ed., by Aliaga and Gunderson. ISBN 0-13-149756-1
- Student Solutions Manual: Interactive Statistics Student Solutions Manual, 3rd Ed., by Gunderson. ISBN 0-13-149837-1
- Companion Website - Aliaga, 3rd Ed.
- Math Lab: Math 52 is the Math Lab course for Math 15 students.
- OPTIMATH is our locally-developed online practice and testing system. The portal for OPTIMATH is
http://msenux.redwoods.edu/optimath
For information on how to get started, see the Introduction to OPTIMATH.
Instructor Resources
- Instructor resources are available on our Math Moodle site.