Instructor:  Jianfeng Zhang, DRB 228, (213)7409805, jianfenz@usc.edu , http://almaak.usc.edu/~jianfenz

Teaching Assistant:

Time and location:

  • Lecture (39538R and 39542R): MWF 1:00pm – 1:50pm, ZHS 159.
  • Discussion (39539R), Wagner: TTh 2:00pm-2:50pm, KAP 167
  • Discussion (39540R), Wagner: TTh 3:00pm-3:50pm, KAP 167
  • Discussion (39541R), Wagner: TTh 4:00pm-4:50pm, KAP 167
  • Discussion (39543R), Ko: TTh 11:00am-11:50am, KAP 113
  • Discussion (39544R), Ko: TTh 12:00pm-12:50pm, KAP 113
  • Discussion (39545R), Ko: TTh 1:00pm-1:50pm, KAP 113

Course Materials (required):

  • D. H. Hildebrand, R. L. Ott, Statistical Thinking for Managers, 4th ed., ISBN 0-534-20406-6.
  • MINITAB Student Release 14 for Windows, ISBN 0-534-41975-5.
  • D. K. Hildebrand, P. J. Hildebrand, Student Solution Manual for Hildebrand and Ott’s Statistical Thinking for Managers, 4th ed., ISBN 0-534-35372-x.

Instructor Office hours: W 2:00pm-3:30pm (Math Center), F 2:00pm-3:30pm (DRB 228)

Prerequisite: Math 118x

Important Dates:

  • MidExam 1: 2/15, Friday
  • MidExam 2: 3/14, Friday
  • FinalExam: 5/8, Thursday, 8:00am-10:00am

Course Content: 
This course in probability geared toward students of business will cover basic probability concepts, discrete and continuous distributions, expectation and variance, joint probability, independent events, sampling distributions, estimation, and an introduction to hypothesis testing (Chapter 3 – Chapter 8). Examples will be drawn from finance, operations management, accounting, and other applications in business.

Grading and Examination Policies 
35% of the grade will be based on the common final exam, 50% will be based on the two midterm exams (25% each), 15% will be based on homeworks/quizs.

The (50 minutes) midterm exams will be given in regular class time. The 2nd midterm exam will cover the material after the 1st exam. The common final exam will be comprehensive. All exams are closed books, but you are allowed to bring one sheet of notes. Calculators are allowed.

Homework problems will be assigned in lectures and collected in Discussion class. Some problems require the use of MINITAB. There will be weekly quizs given in Discussion class. Details about the homeworks/quizs will be specified by in Discussion class.

You must take the common final exam in order to get the grade. There is no fixed quota for the letter grade. The cutoffs will be based on the overall performance of the whole class.

Feedback and Questions 
It is extremely important for me to get feedback and questions, both inside and outside class. You are very welcome to visit me during my office hours, and/or make appointments to see me at other time.