UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO SCARBOROUGH

Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences

STAB22H3 STATISTICS I Winter 2026
Course Description: Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing and in-
terpreting data. In science, society and everyday life, people use data to help
them understand the world and choose how to act, and statistical methods
help to separate sense from nonsense.

In this course, we learn about some of the most important techniques used
in statistical work. The emphasis of this course is on concepts and techniques
and will be useful to students who seek to gain an understanding of the use of
statistics in their own field. Our ultimate goal is to gain understanding from
data, going from data collection to analysis to conclusions.

Content, emphasis, etc. of the course is defined by means of the lecture ma-
terial - not only the textbook. It is important to attend all lectures, as there
is normally no simple way to make up for missed lectures (perhaps obtain
another student’s notes). There will also be many lecture examples using sta-
tistical software, which students will be using.

Important announcements, problem sets, additional examples, and other

course info will be posted on Quercus. Check it regularly.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the basic concepts of statistics, including the collection, organi-

zation, and interpretation of data.

• Describe and visualize data using tables, graphs, and numerical summaries
for both categorical and quantitative variables.

• Analyze relationships between variables, including correlation, linear regres-

sion, and interpretation of residuals.

• Apply principles of probability to model uncertainty and understand ran-

dom variables and sampling distributions.

• Perform statistical inference, including constructing confidence intervals

and conducting hypothesis tests for proportions and means.

• Design and evaluate studies, understanding the differences between exper-

iments, observational studies, and sample surveys.

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 • Draw valid conclusions from data, integrating statistical reasoning with re-
sults to inform decisions and interpretations.

• Communicate statistical findings effectively, using appropriate language, graphs,

and numerical summaries.

Instructor: Mahinda Samarakoon

E-mail: [Link]@[Link]

Head TA: Henry Lu

E-mail: [Link]@[Link]

Note 1: When sending e-mail to an instructor, please use your U of T e-mail

address, and put ”STAB22” in the subject line of your email.
Note 2: Depending on e-mail volume, we might not be able to reply every
email received. We have prepared an FAQ page which gives answers to some
of the most frequent questions that we have received from students. You can
find this FAQ page on the course Quercus site (under useful links).

Note: Before sending us emails, please check if the answer to your question
is on this FAQ page.

Office: IA 4048

Office hours:

• Mon 12-1, Fri 11-12, Fri 3-5pm in room IA 3100

Note: This is right after the lecture on both days. I have noticed that most
students like to ask questions in classroom right after the lecture. If our
classroom does not have an event right after the lecture, we will be able
to have a part (or full) of some office hours in the classroom.

Lectures:

LEC01: MO 9:00-10:00, WE 10:00-11:00, FR 10:00-11:00

LEC02: MO 11:00-12:00, WE 11:00-12:00, FR 14:00-15:00

Webpage: Course information will be posted on Quercus course page.

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Textbook and Software

• The text

– Stats: Data and Models. DeVeaux, Velleman, Bock, Vukov, Wong

4th Canadian edition, publ. Pearson Canada
– We will use the statistical package R for some calculations and gen-
erating graphs

Assessment
Item Percentage of grade
Worksheets during tutorials 20%
Midterm Test 30%
Final Exam 50%

Usually 20%-25% of the students in this course get A’s. Less than 5% of all
students who complete the course work fail.

Worksheets

• There will be weekly tutorials from Monday Jan 12. Enroll in a tutorial
asap if not already done.

• There will be a worksheet in each tutorial

• Intended to be straightforward if you are keeping up with material.

• I expect you to remember everything we discuss in class. I will allow you

to refer to your class notes and/or the textbook when working on work-
sheets. However, you are not allowed to use electronic devices, including
laptops, iPads, or cell phones when working on worksheets/test/final
exam.

• I drop your worst worksheet when calculating your tutorial grade.

• You must complete worksheets in the tutorial section in which you are
registered. If it is impossible for you to attend your registered tutorial,
you must obtain the instructors’ or Head TAs’ permission to complete
the worksheet in a different tutorial, and this permission will be granted
for one week only. If you complete a worksheet in any tutorial other than
the one in which you are registered without the instructors’ or Head TAs’
permission, you will receive a zero for that worksheet.

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 • Your tutorial grades should appear on Quercus within one week of writ-
ing the worksheet (i.e., before the next worksheet). TAs will distribute
the marked worksheets during the tutorial, one week after the worksheet
is written. You are responsible for collecting all of your worksheets and
for keeping the marked worksheets until the end of the term.
Please check Quercus every week. If a worksheet grade does not ap-
pear, you must first check with your TA. If the worksheet grade still does
not appear on Quercus, you may then contact your course instructor or
the Head TA. The course instructor/Head TA will ask to see the marked
worksheet. If you do not have the marked worksheet, they may not be
able to proceed further.
Test and Exam
• The midterm test and the final exam are based on multiple choice ques-
tions.

• I will allow the use of cheat sheets during assessments as follows: one
letter-sized (8.5 × 11 inch) sheet for the midterm test and two letter-sized
sheets for the final exam. No other books, notes, or materials will be per-
mitted. Each cheat sheet must be handwritten by you only and may use both
sides of the sheet(s).
I expect you to remember and understand the course material.

• You need a calculator for test, exam and worksheets.

Calculators

Hand calculators are cheap and useful. Any cheap one with a square root
and one memory button will do. Mean, standard deviation, sum, and sum of
squares keys may save you a bit of time on occasion, but we do not recom-
mend the purchase of expensive calculators to get keys with special statistical
calculations. Tests and exams will be designed so that those calculators give
no advantage. We emphasize the use of statistical software (R) for doing any
tedious or complex calculations. However, it is important to have a calculator
during tutorials/test/exam.

Missed Tests and Worksheets

There are no make up tests or worksheets in this course. If the test is missed
for a valid reason, you must submit appropriate documentation to the course
instructor within one week of the test. Print on it your name, student number,
course number, and date. If documentation is not received in time, your test
mark will be zero. If a test is missed for a valid reason, its weight will be
shifted to the final exam.

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If a worksheet is missed due to a valid reason and if the supporting documents
are provided on time, you will be excused from that worksheet and your tu-
torial grade will be calculated from the remaining worksheets only. If you are
excused from a worksheet, we will indicate that by the code “-1” in place of
your grade for that worksheet on Quercus.

Notation -1 in place of your grade on Quercus indicates “missed with doc-

umentation”

If you continue to be sick for a prolonged period during the term and unable
to submit a significant part of the term work, you should take the course in a
future term. This course is offered in all three terms and so you can take it in
the next term, when your condition improves.

Computing

Students will be using R for plotting graphs and some calculations. No pre-
vious computing experience is assumed. With this software, you will analyze
the data sets posted on Quercus or on the publisher’s web site.

Facilitated Study Groups

• These weekly study sessions are open to everyone in the class.
• Attendance is voluntary, but students who attend regularly often earn
higher grades.
• Please be sure to fill out the survey in the first week of class to help ensure
the study groups are scheduled at optimal times.
• If you have any questions on FSGs, please ask your facilitator
Frequently asked questions
Posted on Quercus under useful links. Check before you ask your instructor.

Quercus

• Course announcements, worksheet marks etc. will be on Quercus.

• You are responsible for keeping up with announcements posted on Quer-
cus by course instructors, course coordinator, etc.
• Any problems with recording of marks should be brought to the atten-
tion of your TA (worksheets) or course instructor (test, exam). Contact
your instructor if you cannot resolve problems with your TA.

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ACCESSABILITY STATEMENT

Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course.
In particular, if you have a disability/health consideration that may require
accommodations, please feel free to approach me and/or the AccessAbility
Services Office as soon as possible. I will work with you and AccessAbility Ser-
vices to ensure you can achieve your learning goals in this course. Enquiries
are confidential. The UTSC AccessAbility Services staff (located in AA142)
are available by appointment to assess specific needs, provide referrals and ar-
range appropriate accommodations (416) 287-7560 or ability@[Link].

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT

Academic integrity is essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarship in

a university, and to ensuring that a degree from the University of Toronto is a
strong signal of each student’s individual academic achievement. As a result,
the University treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously. The Uni-
versity of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters
([Link]
htm) outlines the behaviours that constitute academic dishonesty and the pro-
cesses for addressing academic offences. Potential offences include, but are
not limited to:

IN PAPERS AND ASSIGNMENTS: Using someone else’s ideas or words

without appropriate acknowledgment. Submitting your own work in more
than one course without the permission of the instructor. Making up sources
or facts. Obtaining or providing unauthorized assistance on any assignment.

ON TESTS AND EXAMS: Using or possessing unauthorized aids. Looking at

someone else’s answers during an exam or test. Misrepresenting your identity.

IN ACADEMIC WORK: Falsifying institutional documents or grades. Fal-

sifying or altering any documentation required by the University, including
(but not limited to) doctor’s notes. All suspected cases of academic dishon-
esty will be investigated following procedures outlined in the Code of Be-
haviour on Academic Matters. If you have questions or concerns about what
constitutes appropriate academic behaviour or appropriate research and ci-
tation methods, you are expected to seek out additional information on aca-
demic integrity from your instructor or from other institutional resources (see
[Link]

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STAB22 - TENTATIVE LECTURE GUIDE

We cover chapters 1-21 of the textbook. A tentative schedule is given below:

Week 1:
1. Stats Starts Here
2. Displaying and Describing Categorical: One Categorical Variable, Two Categorical Vari-
ables, Three Categorical Variables
Week 2:
3. Displaying and Summarizing Quantitative Data: Displaying Quantitative Variables and
Describing the Distribution, Describing Quantitative Variables with Numbers
4. Understanding and Comparing Distributions
Week 3:
5. The Standard Deviation as a Ruler and the Normal Model: Standardizing, Density Curve
and the Normal Model, Normal Quantile Plots, The 68-95-99.7 rule
Week 4:
6. Scatterplots, Association, and Correlation
7. Linear Regression - Finding the Best Line
Week 5:
8. Regression Wisdom: Patterns on Residual Plots, Outliers, Leverage, and Influence, Cau-
tions
Week 6:
9. Sample surveys: Three keys of sampling, Sample Survey vs Census, Populations and Pa-
rameters, Samples and Statistics, Sampling Methods
Week 7:
10. Experiments and Observational Studies: Observational Studies, Experiments
Week 8:
11. From Randomness to Probability
12. Probability Rules
Week 9:
13. Random Variables
Week 10:
14. Sampling Distribution Models
15. Confidence Intervals for Proportions
16. Testing Hypotheses about Proportions
Weeks 11 and 12:
17. More about Tests
18. Tests and Confidence Intervals for the Population Mean
19. Comparing Two Means of Independent Samples
20. Comparing Two Means of Paired Samples
21 Comparing two proportions