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Th
3/1/012
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HW due: Write thoughtful, legible answers to all
questions from yesterday’s test. Sentence
fragments, bulleted lists, and abbreviations are all perfectly acceptable.
You may write directly on the printout if you wish.
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F 3/2/012
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HW due:
1. Prepare yesterday’s HW for submission and grading. Note: Make sure your handwriting is clear and legible. Slow down
if necessary. Illegible work will not be graded.
2. Read pp. 120-126 and answer all the questions posed.
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M 3/5/012
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No class.
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T 3/6/012
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No additional HW due.
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W 3/7/012
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HW due:
1. Read pp. 127-134 and answer all the questions on pp. 127-133.
2. From memory (if possible), or using your notes (if necessary), write out
the meaning of statistical significance.
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Th
3/8/012
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HW due: Write Activities 7-8 and 7-19.
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F 3/9/012
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HW due: Read pp. 215-218 and answer all questions on
pp. 215-217.
In class: Guest speaker from the NRC, Ms. Suzanne Schroer. Ms. Schroer is a
nuclear engineer and a graduate of the University of Missouri at Rolla.
Please bring some good questions for her!
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M 3/12/012
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No class.
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T 3/13/012
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HW due: Read the
article entitled “To Cut the Risk of a High-Fat Meal, Add Spice” (or
listen to the audio by clicking the link at the top of that website if you
prefer). Then answer the following questions.
1. The researchers prepared different types of meals and served them to the
subjects. What were the explanatory and response variables?
2. Was this an experiment? How can you tell?
3. List several potential problems with this study.
4. What additional information would you want to know before concluding, even
tentatively, that spicy Indian food is effective at reducing triglyceride
levels, at least in the short term? Hint:
It is statistical information that was surely included in the original study
but was omitted from the NPR summary.
5. How would you go about isolating which spice or spices are responsible for
the observed effect? Write a paragraph in which you describe the design of a
study that the researchers could execute in order to answer this question.
6. Is single-blinding necessary in this study? Why or why not?
7. Is double-blinding necessary in this study? Why or why not?
8. One of the aspects of a study that may cause it to be questioned is a
“lack of realism.” For example, when someone who has sleep apnea is given a
sleep test, it is necessary to put him into a real bed, with soft pillows
similar to the ones he has at home in his own bed, and the test must be
conducted overnight, not during normal working hours. If the test were
conducted during a time that the subject would not normally be asleep, the
sleep study is considered to be of no value because of a lack of realism. Do you wish to rethink your answers to #6 and
#7? Why or why not?
9. List as many factors as you can think of, other than spices,
that might be responsible for the triglyceride reduction seen in the
test subjects. Note: There is no
credit for saying something like, “The subjects who had the first high-fat
meal might have been replaced overnight by healthier subjects who ate the
spicy version of the meal.” That is not plausible in a published study, since
we can safely assume that the same subjects were used for both meals.
Similarly, while it is possible that the first meal was higher in fat or was
prepared differently from the second meal in some manner other than the
spices used, that is not plausible in a well-run study; we may safely assume that
the meals were essentially identical except for the presence or absence of
spices. Also, do not say something like, “The triglyceride levels might have
been measured incorrectly.” While plausible, a measurement difference of more
than 30% is not explainable by measurement error, unless the researchers were
completely incompetent. (Not only that, but as the article said, researcher
Sheila West “later this month will present the results of a second study that
replicated these triglyceride findings.”)
Bottom line: For #9, you need to think of real statistical explanations for
why something other than spices could be responsible for the observed
triglyceride reductions. We are not looking for “trick answers” or quibbles
here. You are going to have to think hard and use some common sense.
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W 3/14/012
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HW due:
1. If you have not already done so, make sure that you have at least 20
trials recorded in your table in Activity 11-1c on p. 217. It’s a small
class, which means everyone has to do more work!
2. Read from the top of p. 220 to the third line of p. 222.
3. Answer all the questions in Activity 11-2.
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Th
3/15/012
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HW due:
1. Read the Chapter 11 Wrap-Up on pp. 228-229.
2. Write Activity 11-3, parts (a) and (b) only. Note: Be sure to read the “Watch Out” paragraph between parts (a)
and (b).
3. Write Activity 11-4, all parts (a-h). Note:
Be sure to read the paragraphs after part (h).
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F 3/16/012
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HW due: Read p. 237 to middle of p. 242, and answer
all the questions on those pages.
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M 3/19/012
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No class.
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T 3/20/012
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HW due: Read pp. 242-251; write answers to all
questions on those pages, except for part e of Activity 12-2. After you have
completed Activity 12-4, check your answers and mark corrections.
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W 3/21/012
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HW due: Use any method you wish to estimate an
answer to both Chest of Drawers Problems
(Version A as well as Version B). Explain your reasoning clearly. Exact
answers are not required as long as you are “in the ballpark” and have used
good reasoning.
WARNING: There is no credit for
wrong answers. There is also no credit for answers that happen to be correct
if they are based on invalid reasoning.
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Spring break, March 22–April 1.
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