Mathematics 350, Summer 2011

Illinois State University – Mathematics Department

Instructors

Classes Meet

Monday through Thursday, May 16, 2011 — June 22, 2011, 3:40 p.m. — 5:55 p.m., in Stevenson Hall room 325. Note that the class was initially scheduled in STV 310, but was moved to STV 325, as STV 310 was too small.

Office Hours

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 2:30-3:40 p.m. in STV 313G. Please ask for an appointment at other times.

Textbooks

You can use either of these books:

ASM Study Manual for the Course P/1 Examination, by Krzysztof M. Ostaszewski, (the first section of this book is posted free here), or
Modern Mathematical Statistics with Applications, by Jay L. Devore and Kenneth N. Berk.

The second book should be available at the ISU Bookstore. If not, please try Alamo II. The first book is available from Actex Publications or The Actuarial Bookstore. The class will be structured so that you can use any reasonable probability book, as long as it covers the entire material of the Society of Actuaries Course P examination (same as Casualty Actuarial Society Course 1 examination). Detailed information about the content of that examination is provided here. Older editions of the ASM Study Manual for the Course P/1 Examination are available on reserve at the Milner Library and at the Library of the Department of Mathematics.

All students enrolled in this class are also signed up for Course P/1 study resources on Blackboard at Illinois State University. Those resources include complete study notes and practice exams. Those resources are free to students at Illinois State University, they are intended for one-time educational use, and cannot be distributed in any form.

Links in the schedule of classes below also provide access to additional study notes and practice exercises. While there will be no official homework, you are expected to study all of those exercises and understand all of them in detail.

Any illegal copying of copyrighted and/or otherwise protected material by students in this class will be considered a serious offence warranting reporting it to the appropriate authorities.

Objective

The objective of this class is to help you learn about calculus-based probability theory. The class will cover all of the material tested on the Society of Actuaries Course P examination (same as the Casualty Actuarial Society Course 1 examination).

Use of calculators

You will be allowed to use any calculator, but using a calculator approved for professional actuarial examinations is strongly encouraged. Here is the information about calculators approved for professional actuarial examinations: http://www.beanactuary.org/exams/calculators.cfm.

Grading

There will be five examinations, all comprehensive. There will be no make-up tests. The best one of the five tests can count as your final examination. The final will count as 40% of your grade, and the best two of the remaining tests will count as 30% of your grade each. You will also receive up to 10% extra credit for the best of the your two worst tests. The grading scale will be as follows: 90% or better — A, 80% to 90% — B, 70% to 80% — C, 60% to 70% — D, below 60% — F. Graduate students taking this class for graduate credit will have their scores on tests multiplied by a factor of 0.9, i.e., they have to earn approximately 10% higher scores in order to receive a grade carrying graduate credit.

Disability concerns

Any student needing a special accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at Fell Hall, Room 350.

Administrative matters

Once a course has begun, students will need to obtain departmental permission to add a course even if seats are available. As of the date of the class beginning, students must register in-person at the Student Service & Referral Center, 107 Moulton Hall. Withdrawal dates for summer courses can be found on the Registrar’s Web site at http://www.registrar.ilstu.edu/registration/withdrawal/summer.shtml.

Schedule of classes

• Monday, May 16, 2011. General probability concepts.
• Tuesday, May 17, 2011. General probability concepts.
• Wednesday, May 18, 2011. General probability concepts.
• Thursday, May 19, 2011. Exercises on general probability concepts.
• Monday, May 23, 2011. Exercises on general probability concepts.
• Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Random variables and probability distributions.
• Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Random variables and probability distributions.
• Thursday, May 26, 2011. Random variables and probability distributions.
• Monday, May 30, 2011. Memorial Day Holiday, no class.
• Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Exercises on random variables and probability distributions.
• Wednesday, June 1, 2011. Exercises on random variables and probability distributions.
• Thursday, June 2, 2011. Multivariate distributions.
• Monday, June 6, 2011. Multivariate distributions.
• Tuesday, June 7, 2011. Multivariate distributions.
• Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Exercises on multivariate distributions.
• Thursday, June 9, 2011. Exercises on multivariate distributions.
• On Saturday, June 11, 2011 and Sunday, June 12, 2011, the Actuarial Program will hold a special intensive review seminar on the material on Course P/1 examination. More information is here. All students in this class can take that seminar at no charge, provided that they meet conditions listed at the review seminar web site.
• Monday, June 13, 2011. Test No. 1.
• Tuesday, June 14, 2011. Applications of probability.
• Wednesday, June 15, 2011. Applications of probability.
• Thursday, June 16, 2011: Review, practice exercises, questions and answers.
• Monday, June 20, 2011. Test No. 2.
• Tuesday, June 21, 2011. Test No. 3.
• Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Test No. 4.
• Thursday, June 23, 2011: Test No. 5.

---

All information contained here is, to our best knowledge, correct, but it is merely a representation, and should not be considered to be any form of professional advice. This electronic publication should not be misconstrued as the official position of Illinois State University, or its Department of Mathematics. We are glad to provide as much information as possible here, but we kindly ask that in any decision related to matters listed here you seek additional counsel and information. Comments on this Home Page are welcome and should be sent to Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski  at his e-mail address: krzysio@ilstu.edu.