MAT 110: Quantitative Reasoning for

Mathematical Problem Solving

Fall 2025 Course Packet
Author: Dr. Erich Jauch

Student Name:
MAT110 Fall 2025

Contents
About this Packet ii
Important Links ii
1 Thinking Critically............................................................................................................................................1
1A Living in the Media Age....................................................................................................................................1
1B Propositions and Truth Values.........................................................................................................................4
1C Sets and Venn Diagrams....................................................................................................................................9
1D Analyzing Arguments.....................................................................................................................................15
2 Approaches to Problem Solving...................................................................................................................20
2A Understand, Solve, and Explain......................................................................................................................20
2B Extending Unit Analysis..................................................................................................................................25
3 Numbers in the Real World...........................................................................................................................30
3A Uses and Abuses of Percentages....................................................................................................................30
3B Putting Numbers in Perspective....................................................................................................................41
3C Dealing with Uncertainty................................................................................................................................45
5 Statistical Reasoning......................................................................................................................................49
5A Fundamentals of Statistics.............................................................................................................................49
5B Should You Believe a Statistical Study?..........................................................................................................56
5C Statistical Tables and Graphs..........................................................................................................................61
6 Putting Statistics to Work..............................................................................................................................66
6A Characterizing Data........................................................................................................................................66
6B Measures of Variation.....................................................................................................................................72
6C The Normal Distribution................................................................................................................................78
7 Probability: Living with the Odds................................................................................................................86
7A Fundamentals of Probability..........................................................................................................................86
7B Combining Probabilities.................................................................................................................................97
7E Counting and Probability..............................................................................................................................103
8 Exponential Astonishment.........................................................................................................................109
8A Growth: Linear vs. Exponential....................................................................................................................109
8B Doubling Time and Half-Life........................................................................................................................112
MAT110 Fall 2025

About this Packet

This packet is created to assist students in MAT 110: Quantitative Reasoning for Mathematical Problem
Solving by giving them an organized system to keep their notes for the course. Additionally, it will allow
students to focus more on what is happening in class instead of trying to write everything down.
We will be following the material based on the textbook Using & Understanding Mathematics: A
Quantitative Reasoning Approach, 7th edition by Jeffrey O. Bennett and William L. Briggs with additional
material created by Dr. Erich Jauch.
We will be using Canvas for this course which can be found (here).
Important Links
Email Dr. Jauch My WC

Dr. Jauch’s Website

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MAT110 1A - Living in the Media Age Fall 2025

1 Thinking Critically
1A Living in the Media Age

The Concept of Logical Argument

Definitions.

Logic is the study of methods and principles of reasoning.

• An argument uses a set of facts or

supporta premiesis assumptions, called arguments , to
.

• A is a deceptive argument, that is an argument in which the conclusion is not

well supported by the premises.

Common Fallacies

Exercise 1A.1.
“Ford makes the best pickup trucks in the world. More people drive Ford pickups than any other light
truck.”

• Premise(s): more people drive ford pick ups then any other light truck

• Conclusion: ford trucks are the best in the world

• Fallacy: appeal to popularity

Exercise 1A.2.
“I placed the quartz crystal on my forehead, and in five minutes my headache was gone. The crystal made
my headache go away.”

• Premise(s): they placed a quartz crystal on their head and after some time their headache went away

• Conclusion: quartz crystals cure headaches

• Fallacy: false cause

Exercise 1A.3.

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MAT110 1A - Living in the Media Age Fall 2025

“Scientists have not found any concrete evidence of aliens visiting Earth. Therefore, anyone who claims to
have seen a UFO must be hallucinating.”

• Premise(s): scientists have not found any concrete evidence

• Conclusion: anybody who has seen a ufo must be hallucinating

• Fallacy: appeal to ignorance

Exercise 1A.4.
“Two cases of childhood leukemia have occurred along the street where the high-voltage power lines run.
The power lines must be the cause of these illnesses.”

• Premise(s):children have leukemia where the high voltage power lines runs

• Conclusion: the power lines caused the illnesses

• Fallacy: hasty generalization

Exercise 1A.5.
“You don’t support the President, so you are not a patriotic American.”

• Premise(s): you don’t support the president

• Conclusion: your not a patriotic American

• Fallacy: limited choice

Exercise 1A.6.
In ads for Michelin tires, a picture of a baby is shown with the words “because so much is riding on your
tires.”

• Premise(s): that you care about yourself and potentially your child

• Conclusion: their tires are the best

• Fallacy: appeal to emotion

Exercise 1A.7.
Gwen: “You should stop drinking because it’s hurting your grades, endangering
people when you drink and drive, and destroying your relationship with
your family.”
Merle: “I’ve seen you drink a few too many on occasion yourself!”
• Premise(s): Gwen also drinks

• Conclusion: merle should not listen to gwen

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MAT110 1A - Living in the Media Age Fall 2025

• Fallacy: personal attack

Exercise 1A.8.
“Society has an obligation to provide health insurance because health care is a right of citizenship.”

• Premise(s): health care is the right of citizenship

• Conclusion: society has an obligation to provide health insurance

• Fallacy: circular reasoning

Exercise 1A.9.
“We should not continue to fund cloning research because there are so many ethical issues involved. Strong
ethical foundations are necessary to the proper functioning of society, so we cannot afford to have too many
ethical loose ends.”

• Premise(s): strong ethical foundation is necessary for proper functioning of society

• Conclusion: stop funding cloning research

• Fallacy: diversion

Exercise 1A.10.
Suppose that the mayor of a large city proposes decriminalizing drug possession in order to reduce
overcrowding in jails and save money on enforcement. His challenger in the upcoming election says, “The
mayor doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with drug use, but I do.”

• Premise(s): mayor does not care about drugs

• Conclusion: do not vote for the mayor

• Fallacy: straw man

Evaluating Information

1. Consider the source.

2. Check the date.

3. Validate Accuracy.

4. Watch for hidden agendas.

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MAT110 1A - Living in the Media Age Fall 2025

5. Don’t miss the big picture.

Exercise 1A.11. Evaluate the following claim: “On August 27, Mars will look as large and bright as the full
Moon. Don’t miss it, because no one alive will ever see this again.”

1) There is no source

2) The date is aug 27th however there is no year

3) Easily debunked with minimal research

4) Not clear if there is an agenda here

5) Doesn’t really make sense anyway

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MAT110 1B - Propositions and Truth Values Fall 2025

1B Propositions and Truth Values

Definition. A proposition makes a claim (either an assertion or denial) that may be either

true or false. It must have the structure of a complete sentence.

Definition. Any proposition has two possible truth values: True or false .
Definition. A proposition with the opposite truth value of another proposition p (it makes the opposite claim) is
called the negation and it written as not P or ~p.

We typically organize multiple propositions in table called a truth table where each column is a different
proposition and each row is the possible combinations of truth values.
Exercise 1B.1.
p not
p
T F
F t
Exercise 1B.2. Find the negation of the proposition “Amanda is the fastest runner on the team.”
Question. What would it mean if this negation is false?

Double Negation

Question. What is the truth value of the negation of the negation of a proposition p?

p not p not not p

T
F
Note. We do not often see “not not” in normal language, so we need to analyze phrases carefully.
Exercise 1B.3. A health scientist was reviewing data showing an association between low-level radiation
and cancer amongst older laboratory workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. When asked about the
possibility of a similar association amongst younger workers at a different national laboratory, they were
quoted as saying:
“My opinion is that it’s unlikely that there is no association.”
Does the scientist think there is an association between low-level radiation and cancer in this new population?
Exercise 1B.4. Explain the following statement to your neighbor and then answer the question that follows:
“Sarah did not decline the offer to go to dinner.”
Did Sarah go to the dinner or not?

Logical Connectors

Propositions are often joined together using connectors. We will discuss three. -And-

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MAT110 1B - Propositions and Truth Values Fall 2025

Definition. Given two propositions, p and q, the statement p and q is called their .

It is true only if p and q are both true.

p q p and q
T T

T F

F T

F F
Exercise 1B.5. Is the following statement true or false?
“The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C and the capital of Missouri is Jefferson City.”
Exercise 1B.6. Is the following statement true or false?
“The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C and the capital of Missouri is Fulton.”
Triple Conjunction

Question. Imagine we have three propositions p, q and r. Make a truth table for the conjunction p and q and
r. When (if at all) is the conjunction true?

-Or-

The word or can be interpreted in two different ways:

• An inclusive or means “ .”

• An exclusive or means “ .”
In everyday life, which we mean is determined by context. For logic we assume the or is inclusive unless explicitly
told otherwise.
Definition. Given two propositions, p and q, the statement p or q is called their .

It is true if either p or q are true, and false only if both are false.
p q p or
q
T T

T F

F T

F F
Exercise 1B.7. Is the following disjunction true? (Create a truth table to justify your answer)
“Airplanes can fly or cows can read.”

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MAT110 1B - Propositions and Truth Values Fall 2025

Exercise 1B.8. Is the following disjunction true? (Create a truth table to justify your answer)
“Cars swim or dolphins drive.”

-If...Then-

Definition. A statement of the form if p, then q is called a (or

). The proposition p is called the andtheproposition
q iscalledthe . Which has the following truth table:
p q If p, then q
T T

T F

F T

F F
Let us explore this via an exercise to understand each of these cases.
Exercise 1B.9. Consider the statement:

“If I am elected, then the minimum wage will increase.”

In this situation, p = “I am elected” and q = “The minimum wage will increase”.

1. p and q are both true: In this I was elected and the minimum wage did increase, so the conditional is .
2. p is true, but q is false: In this case I was elected, but the minimum wage did not go up. This means that
my claim that “If I am elected, then the minimum wage will increase” is .
3. p is false: If I am not elected, then whether the minimum wage increases or not, in logic we say that the
conditional is .
Exercise 1B.10. Is the following conditional true or false?
“If 2 + 2 = 4, then 3 + 3 = 5.”

-Alternative Phrases for Conditionals-

Here are few different ways we might use for a conditional instead of “If p, then q”:

p is sufficient for q p will lead to q p implies q q is necessary of p q

if p q whenever p

Exercise 1B.11. Rephrase the following

conditionals as “If p, then q”:
• A rise in sea level will devastate Florida. ⇔
• A red tag on an item implies it’s on sale. ⇔
• Eating vegetables is necessary of good health. ⇔

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MAT110 1B - Propositions and Truth Values Fall 2025

Converse, Inverse, and Contrapositive

For conjunctions and disjunctions the order of the propositions had no bearing on the meaning, changing the
order in a conditional does. Here are some variations and their names:
Name Form Example

Conditional If p, then q. If you are sleeping, then you are breathing.

Converse
Inverse
Contrapositive
Using our understanding of truth values for negations and conditionals, we can understand the truth values of
each of the above variations:
p q not not if p, then q
p q
T T F F T

T F F T F

F T T F T

F F T T T
Definition. Two statements are if they share the same truth values.

That is, if one is true, so is the other, and if one is false, so is the other.
Exercise 1B.12. Write the Converse, Inverse, and Contrapositive for the phrase “If a creature is a whale, then it
is a mammal.”
• Converse:
• Inverse:
• Contrapositive:
Exercise 1B.13. Write the Converse, Inverse, and Contrapositive for the phrase “The patient is alive implies the
patient is breathing.”
• Converse:
• Inverse:
• Contrapositive:

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MAT110 1C - Sets and Venn Diagrams Fall 2025

1C Sets and Venn Diagrams

Sets

Definition. A is a collection of objects where the individual objects are the

(or ).

Example 1C.1. Here are two examples of how we write sets using set notation:

• capital letters:

• negative integers :

Exercise 1C.2. Write the following in set notation:

• months of the year:

• prime numbers less than 10 :

Venn Diagrams

Some sets are related to each other and a good visual realization of these relationships are called .
They are best understood through examples.

Example 1C.3. The image below represents the relationship between the set of mammals and the set of
whales. The relationship depicted is called where one set lives completely inside

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MAT110 1C - Sets and Venn Diagrams Fall 2025

another.

Example 1C.4. The Venn diagram below represents the relationship between the set of dogs and the set of
cats. We call these types of sets because they have no members in both sets.

Example 1C.5. The Venn diagram below represents the relationship between the set of doctors and the set
of women. We call these types of sets because they have some members in

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MAT110 1C - Sets and Venn Diagrams Fall 2025

bothsets.

Exercise 1C.6. Draw the Venn diagram that represents the relationship between the set of animals that can
swim and the set of birds.

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MAT110 1C - Sets and Venn Diagrams Fall 2025

-Sets of Numbers-

Categorical Propositions

Definition. A proposition that claim a particular relationship between two categories or sets is called a
thesubjectofthesentence,calledthe . These have an important general feature that one set appears as
calledthe .
, and the other appears as the predicate,

-The Four Standard Categorical Propositions-

Form Example Subject Set (S) Predicate Set (P)

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MAT110 1C - Sets and Venn Diagrams Fall 2025

All S are P.
No S are P.
Some S are P.
Some S are not P.

Here are Venn diagrams corresponding to each of these standard propositions:

Venn Diagrams with Three Sets

We can draw Venn diagrams with more than two circles and it allows for more complicated relationships.
Consider the diagram below.

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MAT110 1C - Sets and Venn Diagrams Fall 2025

honorstudents athletes

Y
employed

Example 1C.7. The represents honor students who are athletes, but are unemployed. While the
represents that there are non-honor student non-athletes who are employed.

Exercise 1C.8. Put a Z on the above diagram that would represents the set of non-honor student athletes
who are employed.

Exercise 1C.9. Put a W on the above diagram that would represents the set of non-athletes who are
employed and are honor students.
Venn Diagrams with Numbers

We can make Venn diagrams even more useful by providing specific information such as the number of
members of the set or the percentage size of the set compared to the whole.

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MAT110 1C - Sets and Venn Diagrams Fall 2025

Example 1C.10. Consider the table below:

Low Birth Weight Normal Birth Weight

Mother Smoked 18 132

Mother Did Not Smoke 14 186
We can represent the same information in a Venn diagram:

186

smokingmothers lowbirthweight

132 18 14

Exercise 1C.11. Answer the following questions regarding the diagram below of Blood Type percentages in
the U.S.

• What percentage of people have the blood

type A−?

A B

8% 1% 2%
• What percentage of people have any blood
type that is positive?
3%
34% 8%

35%
• What percentage of people have a blood type
Rh positive
that contains either the A or B antigen?
9%

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MAT110 1D - Analyzing Arguments Fall 2025

1D Analyzing Arguments
Two Types of Arguments

Definition. An makes a case for a general conclusion from more spe-

cific premises.

Example 1D.1.

Premise: Birds fly into the air but eventually come back down.
Premise: People who jump in the air fall back down.
Premise: Rocks thrown into the air come back down. Conclusion:

Definition. An makes a case for a specific conclusion from more gen-

eral premises.

Example 1D.2.

Premise: All politicians are married.

Premise: Senator Harris is a politician. Conclusion:

Evaluating Arguments

An inductive argument cannot prove its conclusion is true, so we can only evaluate it in terms of its
. We say an argument is if it makes a compelling case for

its conclusion. It is if the conclusion is not well supported by its premises.

Example 1D.3. A movie director tells her producer not to worry – her film will be a hit. As evidence, she
cites the following facts: She’s hired big stars for the lead roles, she has a great advertising campaign
planned, and it’s a sequel to her last hit movie. Evaluate the strength of this argument.

Exercise 1D.4. Evaluate the following argument, and discuss the truth of its conclusion:

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MAT110 1D - Analyzing Arguments Fall 2025

“Geological evidence shows that, for thousands of years, the San Andreas Fault has suffered a major
earthquake at least once every hundred years. Therefore, we should expect another earthquake on the fault
during the next one hundred years.”
For deductive arguments, we apply two criteria when evaluating:

• The argument is if its conclusion follows necessarily from its premises, regardless
of the truth of those premises or conclusions (i.e. it follows the rules of logic).

• The argument is if it AND its premises are all true.

We typically test deductive arguments using Venn diagrams (see Section 1C).

-Venn Diagram Test of Validity-

1. Draw a Venn diagram that represents all the information contained in the premises.

2. Check to see whether the Venn diagram confirms the conclusion. If it does, the note argument is valid.
Otherwise, the argument is not valid.

Example 1D.5. We will complete a test of validity on example from the previous page.

Exercise 1D.6. Evaluate the validity and soundness of the following argument:
Premise: All fish live in the water.
Premise: Whales are not fish.
Conclusion: Whales do not live under water

Exercise 1D.7. Evaluate the validity and soundness of the following argument:
Premise: All 20th-century U.S. Presidents were men.
Premise: John F. Kennedy was a man.
Conclusion: John F. Kennedy was a 20th-century U.S. President.

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MAT110 1D - Analyzing Arguments Fall 2025

Question. What if we changed “John F. Kennedy” to a different man who was not a president, say Dr. Jauch.
Would anything change?
Conditional Deductive Arguments

Example 1D.8. Consider the following argument:

Premise: If a person lives in Chicago, then the person likes windy days.
Premise: Carlos lives in Chicago.
Conclusion: Carlos likes windy days.

Notice the first premise is a conditional statement (if p, then q). These are some of the most common and
important types of arguments which we call a . They come in 4 forms

based with names that are clear if you remember p is called the hypothesis and q is called the conclusion.

Affirming the Affirming the Denying the Denying the Hypothesis*

Conclusion Hypothesis Conclusion** Structure

Validity

Example 1D.9. We will use a Venn diagram to validate the Carlos and Chicago argument.

Example 1D.10. Use a Venn diagram to test the validity of the following argument:
Premise: If an employee is regularly late, then the employee will be fired.
Premise: Sharon was fired.
Conclusion: Sharon was regularly late.
Example 1D.11. Use a Venn diagram to test the validity of the following argument:

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MAT110 1D - Analyzing Arguments Fall 2025

Premise: If you liked the book, then you loved the movie.
Premise: You did not like the book.
Conclusion: You did not love the movie.

Example 1D.12. Use a Venn diagram to test the validity of the following argument:
Premise: A narcotic is habit-forming.
Premise: Aspirin is not habit-forming. Conclusion:
Aspirin is not a narcotic.

-Chains of Conditionals-

Another common occurrence is to have multiple related conditionals for example:

Premise: If p, then q.
Premise: If q, then r.
Conclusion:

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MAT110 1D - Analyzing Arguments Fall 2025

Fact 1.1
If the arrows for the conditionals , then the chain is valid.
Example 1D.13. Determine the validity of this argument:

“If elected to the school board, Maria Lopez will force the school district to raise academic standards, which
will benefit my children’s education. Therefore, my children will benefit if Maria Lopez is elected.”

Example 1D.14. Evaluate the validity of this argument.

Premise: If a natural number is divisible by 18, then it is divisible by 9. Premise:
If a natural number is divisible by 9, then it is divisible by 3.
Conclusion: If a natural number is divisible by 18, then it is divisible by 3.

Example 1D.15. Determine the validity of this argument:

“We agreed that if you shop, I make dinner. We also agreed that if you take out the trash, I make dinner.
Therefore, if you shop, you should take out the trash.”

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 MAT110 2A - Understand, Solve, and Explain Fall 2025

2 Approaches to Problem Solving

2A Understand, Solve, and Explain
There is no one method that works for solving every problem you will come across. The process below is a
nice framework for approaching problems that will help in general.

Three-Step Problem Solving: Understand-Solve-Explain (U-S-E)

Step 1. UNDERSTAND the problem. You cannot solve a problem until you understand it, so always start by
thinking carefully about the problem.

• What does the problem want you to do?

• Draw any diagrams that can help you understand the setting of the problem.
• Think about what you expect the solution to look like and map a path to solve.

Step 2. SOLVE the problem. Once you feel you understand the problem, start to follow the path you
created/envisioned.

• Obtain any information or data.

• Keep work organized to understand and review.
• Double-check that you answers still make sense with your expectations for the problem and
reevaluate your plan as you go through the problem.

Step 3. EXPLAIN the result. This step is often skipped, but is arguably the most important. Especially as a
result is useless if it wrong or misinterpreted. Therefore it is important to be able to explain the
solution to a problem.

• Be sure that the result makes sense. For example, do the units match your expectations, is the
value sensible, etc.
• Recheck your calculations.
• Identify an possible sources of uncertainty in your result/work.

Note. It is not always necessary (or useful) to write out all of the steps of the U-S-E method, but you will
likely find it useful to at least think through all of the steps.

Example 2A.1. How far is a light-year in terms of a more common unit of distance?

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 MAT110 2A - Understand, Solve, and Explain Fall 2025

Definition. The of a quantity describe what the quantity measures or costs, and is the process of working
with them to help solve problems.

Example 2A.2. Using the U-S-E method (write out the steps) to answer the following question:

How much does a typical water bed weigh?

(Useful data: 1 cubic foot of water weighs 64.2 pounds and a typical water bed holds 28 cubic feet of
water.)

Key Words

-Per and Of-

In mathematics the word per which means “for every” tells us to , and the word of
typically means to

Example 2A.3. Apply U-S-E to the following:

You are buying 30 acres of farm land at a prices of $12,000 per acre. What is the total cost?

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 MAT110 2A - Understand, Solve, and Explain Fall 2025

Exercise 2A.4. Apply U-S-E to the following:

A car travels 25 miles every half-hour. How fast is it going?

-Squares, Cubes, and Hyphens-

• In mathematics, are put on units when dealing with areas. For example, if

we want the area of a rectangular carpet that is 2 feet wide by 4 feet long, we multiply the dimensions
together:

• While(or ) are put on units when dealing with volumes.

For example if we want to find the volume of a cardboard box that is 6 inches wide, 4 inches deep, and
10 inches high, then we multiply all the dimensions together:

• Sometimes we mix different kinds of units using multiplication, and we combine their symbols using
. For example, if we are interested in the energy used by a 0.5 kilowatt light

bulb across 6 hours. We would multiply the power and time together:

Note. For the first two examples it important to notice that the units were the same, so be sure to convert
them all before starting.

Exercise 2A.5. Identify the units of the answer in each of the following cases:

• The price you paid for gasoline, found by dividing it total cost in dollars by the number of gallons of
gas you bought -

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 MAT110 2A - Understand, Solve, and Explain Fall 2025

• The area of the circle, found with the formula πr2, where r is the radius measured in centimeters.
(Note: π is a constant without any units) -

• A volume found by multiplying an area measured in acres by a depth measured in feet. -

Exercise 2A.6. How many crates do you need to hold 2000 apples if each crate

holds 40 apples?

Exercise 2A.7. You are a grader for a course, and an exam question read: “Eli purchased 5 pounds of apples
at a price of 50 cents per pound. How much did he pay for the apples?” On the paper you are grading, a
student has written: “50 ÷ 5 = 10. He paid 10 cents.” Write a note to the student explaining what went
wrong.

Unit Conversions

Like we saw in the first problem of this section, we often need to convert units to not only better
understand them, but also to combine different measurements with related units.

Example 2A.8. A common conversion is feet to inches using the fact that there are inches to 1
foot, so if we wanted to know how many inches are in 3 feet we do the following:

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 MAT110 2A - Understand, Solve, and Explain Fall 2025

-Conversion Factors-

Definition. A conversion factor is a fraction that behaves like “one” and changes the unit of a measurement.
What this means that multiply a measurement by the correct conversion factor, will only change the unit,
but still remains equal to the previous measurement even if the “number” changes.

Exercise 2A.9. Convert a length of 102 inches to feet.

Exercise 2A.10. Convert a time of 3000 seconds into minutes.

Exercise 2A.11. How many seconds are there in a day?

-Conversions with Units Raised to Powers-

To convert between feet and yards, we would use that . What if we wanted

to convert between square feet (ft2) and square yards (yd2)?

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 MAT110 2A - Understand, Solve, and Explain Fall 2025

Exercise 2A.12. You want to carpet a room that measures 10 feet by 12 feet, making an area of 120 square
feet, but carpet is typically sold in square yards. How many square yards of carpet would you need?

Exercise 2A.13. You are preparing a vegetable garden that is 40 feet long and 16 feet wide, and you will
need to fill it with enough soil to have a depth of 1 foot. You buy soil by cubic yard, so how much soil should
you buy?

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MAT110 2B - Extending Unit Analysis Fall 2025

2B Extending Unit Analysis

Standardized Unit Systems

There are two major systems of standardized units: the U.S. customary system and the international metric
system (commonly referred to as SI)

-U.S. Customary System-

Below is table the relationships for units in the U.S. customary system to other units:
LENGTHS 1 inch (in) = 2.54 centimeters 1 furlong = 40 rods = mile

1 foot (ft) = 12 inches 1 mile (mi) = 1760 yards = 5280 feet

1 yard (yd) = 3 feet 1 nautical mile = 1.852 km ≈ 6076.1 feet

1 rod = 5.5 yards 1 league (marine) = 3 nautical miles

1 fathom = 6 feet
WEIGHTS Avoirdupois Troy Apothecary
1 grain = 0.0648 gram 1 grain = 0.0648 gram 1 grain = 0.0648 gram

1 ounce (oz) = 437.5 grains 1 carat = 0.2 gram = 3.086 grains 1 scruple = 20 grains

1 pound (lb) = 16 ounces 1 pennyweight = 24 grains 1 dram = 3 scruples

1 ton = 2000 pounds 1 troy ounce- 480 grains 1 apoth. ounce = 8 drams

1 long ton = 2240 pounds 1 troy pound = 12 troy ounces 1 apoth. pound = 12 apoth. ounce

VOLUMES Liquid Measures Dry Measures

1 tablespoon (tbsp or T) = 3 teaspoons (tsp or t) 1 in3 ≈ 16.387 cm3

1 fluid ounce (fl oz) = 2 tablespoons = 1.805 in3 1 ft3 = 1728 in3 = 7.48 gallons

1 cup (c) - 8 fluid ounces 1 yd3 = 27 ft3

1 pint (pt) = 16 fluid ounces = 28.88 in3 1 dry pint (pt) = 33.60 in3

1 quart (qt) = 2 pints = 57.75 in3 1 dry quart (qt) = 2 dry pints = 67.2 in3

1 gallon (gal) = 4 quarts 1 peck = 8 dry quarts

1 barrel of petroleum = 42 gallons 1 bushel - 4 pecks

1 barrel of liquid = 31 gallons 1 cord = 128 ft3

Exercise 2B.1. The length of the Kentucky Derby horse race is 10 furlongs. How is the race in miles?

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MAT110 2B - Extending Unit Analysis Fall 2025

Exercise 2B.2. You are planning to make pesto and need to buy basil. At the grocery store, you can buy
small containers of basil priced at $2.99 for each 2/3-ounce container. At the farmer’s market, you can buy
basil in bunches for $12 per pound. Which is the better deal?
-International Metric System-

One of the main reasons for the creation of this system was to simplify the mess from the previous table. It
has the following basic units:

• the for length

• the formass
• the fortime
• the forvolume

Each of the can be combined with the prefixes below which adjust the unit by a corresponding power of
10:
Small Values Large Values

Abbr Value Abbrev. Value

ev 10−1 (one-tenth) 10 (ten)
. da h k 102(hund
10−2 (one-
d M red)
hundredth)
c G 103(thous
m 10−3 (one-
T and)
thousandth)
µ or
10−6 (one- 106
m
millionth) (million)
c Prefix
n 10−9 (one- 109
decahecto
billionth) (billion)
Prefix kilo-
decicentimillimicro p 10−12 (one- megagigat 1012
nanopico- trillionth) era- (trillion)
Example 2B.3. Convert 2759 centimeters to meters.

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MAT110 2B - Extending Unit Analysis Fall 2025

Exercise 2B.4. How many nanoseconds are in a micro second?

-Metric-USCS Conversions-

USCS to Metric Metric to USCS

1 in = 2.540 cm 1 cm = 0.3937 in
1 ft = 0.3048 m 1 m = 3.28 ft
1 yd = 0.9144 m 1 m = 1.094 yd
1 mi = 1.6093 km 1 km = 0.6214 mi
1 lb = 0.4536 kg 1 kg = 2.205 lb
1 fl oz = 29.574 mL 1 mL = 0.03381 fl oz
1 qt = 0.9464 L 1 L = 1.057 qt
1 gal = 3.785 L 1 L = 0.2642 gal
Example 2B.5. The marathon running race is about 26.2 miles. About how long is it in kilometers?

Exercise 2B.6. How many square kilometers are in one square mile?

Exercise 2B.7. Convert 100 cubic centimeters to cubic inches.

-Standardized Temperature Units-

There are 3 common temperature scales:

• The Fahrenheit scale is defined so water freezes at and boils at .

29
MAT110 2B - Extending Unit Analysis Fall 2025

• The Celsius scale is defined so water freezes at and boils at .

• The Kelvin scale is a shifted version of the Celsius scale. It places the coldest possible temperature at
which corresponds to . We call this coldest possible temperature
.

Unlikes all of the previous conversions, to change between temperature scales we use simple linear
formulas.

To Conversion Formula Conversion in

Convert Words
from ...

Celsius to Fahrenheit + 32 Multiply by (or 1.8), then add 32.

Fahrenheit to Celsius 32) Subtract 32, then multiply by (or divide by 1.8).
Celsius to Kelvin K = C + 273.15 Add 273.15.

Kelvin to Celsius C = K -273.15 Subtract 273.15.

Exercise 2B.8. The average human body temperature is 98.6◦F. Find this temperature on the Celsius and
Kelvin scales.

Energy and Power

Definition. Energy is what makes matter move or heat up. The international metric unit of energy is the
.

Definition. Power is the RATE at which energy is used. The international metric unit of power is the
, defined as
=

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MAT110 2B - Extending Unit Analysis Fall 2025

Example 2B.9. As you ride an exercise bicycle, the display states you are using 500 Calories per hour. If 1
Calorie = 4184 joules, are you generating enough power to light a 100-watt bulb?

Definition. Another unit of energy is which a single unit of is equal to 3.6

million joules.

Example 2B.10. Your utility company charges 15¢ per kilowatt-hour of electricity. How much does it cost to
keep a 100-watt light bulb on for a week? How much would you save if you replaced the bulb with an LED
bulb that uses only 25 watts of power instead?

31
MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

3 Numbers in the Real World

3A Uses and Abuses of Percentages
Percentages Review

Definition. The word literally means “per 100” or “divided by 100”. For example,
50% means
50% = =
More generally,
P% =

Example 3A.1. Convert 25% to a decimal.

Example 3A.2. Convert 20% to a simplified fraction.

Example 3A.3. Convert to a percentage

Three Ways of Using Percentages

We see percentages regularly in our lives, below are three ways that we might see them in the news:

• A total of 13,000 newspaper employees, 2.6% of the newspaper work force, lost their jobs.

• The company’s stock fell 15% last week, to $44.25.

• A new battery lasts 125% longer than the old battery, but costs 200% more.

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MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

The first example uses a percentage as a . The second uses it to describe a

.Whilethethirdusesitasa .
-Using Percentages as Fractions-

We saw that percent just means “divide by 100” so they P% really is just a variation on the fraction .

Example 3A.4. An opinion poll finds that 35% of 1069 people surveyed said that the President is doing
good job. How many people said the President is doing a good job?

Exercise 3A.5. Out 215 incoming students, 11% are Chemistry majors. How many incoming students are
Chemistry majors?

-Using Percentages to Describe Change-

There are two basic types of change:

Definition. The describes the actual increase or decrease from a reference

value, or starting value, to a new value that is

Definition. The describes the size of the

33
MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

in comparison to the reference value and can be expressed as a percentage:

= × = ×
Example 3A.6. During 6-month period, Lunar Industry’s stock doubled in price from $7 to $14. What were
the absolute and relative changes in the stock price?

Example 3A.7. The estimated world population increased from 2.7 billion in 1953 to 7.5 billion in 2018.
Find the absolute and relative changes over this 65-year period.

Exercise 3A.8. You bought a new laptop three years ago for $1000. Today, it is worth only $300. Describe
the absolute and relative changes in the laptop’s value. (Note: This number will be negative)
-Using Percentages for Comparisons-

There are two basic types of difference that are very similar to our changes from before:

Definition. The describes the actual increase or decrease from a

reference value, or starting value, to the comparison value that is

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MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

Definition. The describes the size of the

in comparison to the reference value and can be expressed as a percentage:

= × = ×

Example 3A.9. Let’s compare the price of $50,000 Mercedes to the price of a $40,000 Lexus.

35
MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

Exercise 3A.10. Some data showed that California had an average income of $68,900 per person and West
Virginia was $46,600 per person.

(a) How much lower is the average income in West Virginia than in California?

(b) How much higher is the average income in California than in West Virginia?

Answer both questions in terms of absolute and relative terms.

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MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

Of versus More Than

Example 3A.11. Consider a population that triples in size from 200 to 600, there are two equivalent ways
to describe this with percentages. One using more than and one using of.

• If the new or compared value is P% more than the reference value, it is %

of the reference value.

• If the new or compared value is P% less than the reference value, it is % of

the reference value.

Exercise 3A.12. Carol earns 200% more than William. What is Carol’s income as a percentage of William’s?
How many times as large as William’s is Carol’s?
Percentages of Percentages

Question. Suppose an interest rate changes from 3% to 4%. How could we describe that change?

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MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

Definition. When you see a change or difference expressed in , you can

assume it is an absolute change or difference. If it expressed with the % sign or the word percent, it should
be relative change or difference.

Exercise 3A.13. According to a poll, the percentage of adults who regularly read a daily newspaper fell from
54% in 2004 to about 38% in 2017. Describe the change in readership.
Exercise 3A.14. Assume that 40% of the registered voters in Carson City are Republicans. The percentage
of voters registered as Republicans is 25% higher in Freetown than in Carson City. What percentage of
registered voters in Freetown are Republicans?

Exercise 3A.15. Assume that 40% of the registered voters in Carson City are Republicans. The percentage
of voters registered as Republicans is 25 percentage points higher Freetown that in Carson City. What
percentage of registered voters in Freetown are Republicans?
Solving Percentage Problems

If a problem states that something is P% more than (or less than) an initial (or reference) value, it is better
to change it a percentage of problems using (100 + P)% (or (100 − P)%) Then you can write the statement
as multiplication like follows:

= or =

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MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

Exercise 3A.16. The wholesale price of an item is $10. If retail prices are 25% more than the wholesale
price, what would the retail price of this item be?

Exercise 3A.17. You purchase a t-shirt with a labeled (pre-tax) price of $17. The local sales tax rate is 5%.
What is your final cost (including tax)?

Exercise 3A.18. Your receipt shows that you paid $19.26 for your purchase with tax. The local sales tax rate
is 7%. What was the labeled (pre-tax) price of the case?
Exercise 3A.19. You are eligible for a 15% student discount for basketball tickets that otherwise cost $55.
How much will you pay?

Abuses of Percentages

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MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

-Beware of Shifting Reference Values-

Example 3A.20. You and your employer agree to a temporary 10% pay cut. Your employer promises to give
you a 10% pay raise after six months. Will that pay raise restore your original salary?

Exercise 3A.21. A stockbroker offers the following defense to angry investors: “I admit that the value of
your investments fell 60% during my first year on the job. This year, however, their value has increased by
75%, so you are now 15% ahead!” Evaluate their defense.
-Less Than Nothing-

Note. We will frequently see “more than” percentages that are over 100%. However, in most cases it is
impossible to have a “less than” percentage more than 100%.

Example 3A.22. A store advertises a “150% off sale” on all their merchandise. What should happen when
you go to checkout to buy a $500 item?

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MAT110 3A - Uses and Abuses of Percentages Fall 2025

-Don’t Average Percentages-

Example 3A.23. Suppose you got 70% on an exam with 10 questions, and 90% on an exam with 100
questions. Is it right to say that you got 80% of the questions right?

41
 MAT110 3B - Putting Numbers in Perspective Fall 2025

3B Putting Numbers in Perspective

Writing Large and Small Numbers

Definition. is a format in which a number is expressed as a number

between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10.

-Converting to Scientific Notation-

Step 1) Move the decimal to the the point the first nonzero digit.

Step 2) For the power of 10, use the number of places the decimal moves; the power is positive if the decimal
moved to the , and negative if the decimal moved to the .

Example 3B.1. Rewrite the following in scientific notation:

Total spending in the new federal budget is $4,200,000,000,000.

Exercise 3B.2. Rewrite the following in scientific notation:

The diameter of a hydrogen nucleus is about 0.000000000000001 meter.

-Convert from Scientific Notation-

Step 1) The power tells you how many places to move the decimal; move it to the if it

is positive, and to the if it is negative.

Step 2) If moving the decimal point creates open places, fill them with .

Example 3B.3. Rewrite the following from scientific notation to ordinary notation:

5.7 × 10−3

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 MAT110 3B - Putting Numbers in Perspective Fall 2025

More on Scientific Notation on pg. 141 of the textbook.

-Approximating with Scientific Notation-

Example 3B.4. Approximate the following using scientific notation:

5795 × 326

Exercise 3B.5. New York City’s population was about 8.6 million, and you find online that an average
resident produces about 2.4 pounds, or 0.0012 ton, of garbage each day. Approximately how many tons are
produced each day?

Exercise 3B.6. According to a report, around 1,382 shipping containers are lost at sea every year. If 48,000
bananas fit in a standard shipping container and we assume every container lost contained bananas,
approximately how many bananas would be lost every year?
Giving Meaning to Numbers

-Perspective Through Estimation-

Definition. An estimate specifies only a broad range of values, usually

within one or two powers of ten.

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 MAT110 3B - Putting Numbers in Perspective Fall 2025

Example 3B.7. The US population is “on the order of 300 million” which is to say it is closer to 300 million
than 200 or 400 million.

Note. In science, this specifically refers to powers of 10.

Exercise 3B.8. Let us make an order of magnitude estimate of the total annual spending on ice cream in the
United States.

-Perspective Through Comparisons-

Example 3B.9. $100 billion is a value we see in the news frequently, but how large is it really? To gain some
perspective, let’s see how long it would take us to count it out in $1 bills.
-Perspective Through Scaling-

Example 3B.10. The distance between the Earth to the Sun is about 150 million kilometers. The diameter
is about 1.4 million kilometers, and the equatorial diameter of the Earth is about 12,760 kilometers. Put
these numbers into perspective using a scale model of the solar system with a scale of 1 to 10 billion.

44
MAT110 3C - Dealing with Uncertainty Fall 2025

3C Dealing with Uncertainty

Significant Digits

Definition. The digits in a number that represent actual measurements are called

Question. When are digits significant?

Type of Digit Significance Example

Nonzero digits. 123

Zeros that follow a nonzero digit and lie to the right 1.40 of the decimal point.

Zeros between nonzero digits or other significant ze- 4002 or 30.0 ros.

Zeros to the left of the first nonzero digit. 0.006

Zeros to the right of the last nonzero digit, but before 40,000 the decimal point.

Example 3C.1. Give the number of significant digits for the following:

(a) 11.90 seconds

(b) 0.00067 meter

(c) 0.0030 gram

(d) 240,000 people

(e) 2.40 × 105 people

Exercise 3C.2. Give the answer to the following with 2 significant digits:

7.7 mm × 9.92 mm

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MAT110 3C - Dealing with Uncertainty Fall 2025

Exercise 3C.3. Give the answer to the following with 4 significant digits:

240,000 × 72,106

Understanding Errors

There are two basic types of errors when dealing with measurements

Definition. occur because of random and inherently unpredictable events

in the measurement process.

Definition. occur when there is a problem in the measurement system

that affects all measurements in the same way, such as making them all too low or too high by the same
amount.

Example 3C.4. For each of the following select the error type that best describes it:

(a) A baby moving around on a scale while you are trying to weigh them.

(b) A scale reads 1.2 pounds when empty.

Note. If you discover a systematic error, you adjust your measurements after the fact. In contrast, with
random error, you can only do your best to minimize its effects. For example, using repeated measurements.
-Size of Errors-

Definition. The describes how far a measured (or claimed) value is from the
true value:

= −

Definition. The describes the size of the in

comparison to the true value and can be expressed as a percentage:

= × = ×
Example 3C.5. Find the absolute and relative error in the following:

“Your true weight is 125 pounds, but a scale says you weight 130 pounds.”

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MAT110 3C - Dealing with Uncertainty Fall 2025

Exercise 3C.6. Find the absolute and relative error in the following:

“The government claims that a program costs $49.0 billion, but an audit shows that
the true cost is $50.0 billion.”

-Describing results-

Definition. describes how closely a measurement approximates a true value.

Definition. describes the amount of detail in a measurement.

Example 3C.7. Suppose your true weight is 102.4 pounds. You scale at home can be read to the nearest
quarter pound, says that you weigh 102 pounds. The scale at the gym, which gives a digital read out to the
nearest 0.1 pound, says you weigh 100.7 pounds. Which scale is more precise? Which is more accurate?
Combining Measured Numbers

• Rounding for +/−: Round your answer to the same precision as the

number in the problem.

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MAT110 3C - Dealing with Uncertainty Fall 2025

• Rounding for ×/÷: Round your answer to the same number of significant digits as the measurement
with the significant digits in the problem.

Example 3C.8. A book written 30 years ago states that the oldest Mayan ruins are approximately 2000
years old. Approximately how old are they now?

Exercise 3C.9. The government of a town of 82,000 people plans to spend $41.5 million this year. Assuming
all this money comes from taxes, what average amount must the city collect from each resident?

48
MAT110 5A - Fundamentals of Statistics Fall 2025

5 Statistical Reasoning
5A Fundamentals of Statistics
How Statistics Work

Definitions. Statistics has two definitions depending on context:

• Statistics is theof collecting, organizing, and interpreting data.

• Statistics are the (numbers or other pieces of information) that describe or summarize
something.

Definition. The in a statistical study is the complete set of people or things

being studied.

Definition. The is the subset of the from which the

raw data are actually obtained.

[Link] specific numbers of interest to

researchers that
describecertaincharacteristicsofthe .

Definition. are numbers describing characteristics of the

,
found by consolidating or summarizing the raw data collected.

Example 5A.1. Describe the population, sample, population parameters, and sample statistics for the following:

Agricultural inspectors for Jefferson County measure the levels of residue from three common pesticides on
25 ears of corn from each of the 104 corn-producing farms in the county.

Exercise 5A.2. Describe the population, sample, population parameters, and sample statistics for the following:

Anthropologists estimate the average brain size (skull size) of early Neanderthals in Europe by studying skulls
found at three sites in southern Europe.

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MAT110 5A - Fundamentals of Statistics Fall 2025

-The Process of a Statistical Study-

(1) State the of your study. That is, determine the population you want to study

and exactly what you would like to learn about it.

(2) Choose a (see below) from the population.

(3) Collect from the sample and summarize it by finding sample statistics of interest.

(4) Use the sample statistics to infer.

(5) : Determinewhatyoulearnedandhowitaddressesyourgoals.

Definition. A is a sample in which the relevant characteristics of

the sample members are generally the same as those of the population.

Example 5A.3. Each month, the U.S. Labor Department surveys 60,000 households to determine
characteristics of the U.S. work force. One population parameter of interest is the U.S. unemployment rate,
defined as the percentage of people who are unemployed among all those who are either employed or
actively seeking employment. Describe how the 5 steps above apply to this study.

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MAT110 5A - Fundamentals of Statistics Fall 2025

-Choosing a Sample-

We know we want a representative sample to make sure that we can actually draw inferences from the data
about the population we are interest in. Here are four common sampling methods:

• – Choose a sample of items in such a way that every sample

of the same size as an equal chance of being selected.

• – Use a simple system to choose the sample, such as selecting

every 10th or every 50th member of the population.

• – Choose a sample that is convenient to select, such as people

who happen to be in the same classroom.

• – We use this method when we are concerned about differences

among subgroups, or , within a population. First identity the
subgroups and then draw a simple random sample within each
subgroup. The total sample consists of all the samples from each
subgroup combined together.

Regardless of what method used, keep the following in mind:

• A study can only be successful if the sample is of the

population.

• While the is important, a large well-chosen sample has a better

chance to be representative than a smaller one, the is more
important. That is, a small well-chosen sample will likely give better
results than a large poorly chosen sample.

• Even if we do everything the best possible way, we can be sure that

a sample is representative. We can only talk about the that a sample
is representative.

Example 5A.4. Identify the type of sampling used in each of the following cases and comment on whether the
sample is likely to be representative of the population.

(a) You are conducting a survey of students in a dormitory. You choose your sample by knocking on the
door of every 10th room.

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MAT110 5A - Fundamentals of Statistics Fall 2025

(b) To survey opinions on a possible property tax increase, a research firm randomly draws the addresses
of 150 homeowners from a public list of all homeowners.

(c) Agricultural inspectors for Jefferson County check the levels of residue from three common pesticides
on 25 ears of corn from each of the 104 corn-producing farms in the county.

(d) Anthropologists determine the brain size of early Neanderthals in Europe by studying skulls found at
three sites in Southern Europe.
-Watching Out for Bias-

Definition. A statistical study suffers from if its design or conduct tend to favor certain
results.

Types of Statistical Study

There are two basic types of statistical study

Definition. In an , researchers observe or measure characteristics of

the sample members but do not attempt to influence or modify those characteristics.

Examples:

Definition. In an , researchers apply a treatment to some or all of the sample

members and then observe the effects of the treatment.

Example:

In experiments, we often need to compare groups of samples to actually make conclusions. Two common groups
are the following:

Definition. The in an experiment is the group of sample members who

52
MAT110 5A - Fundamentals of Statistics Fall 2025

receive the treatment being tested.

Definition. The in an experiment is the group of sample members who do

NOT receive the treatment being tested.

Note. It is important that both groups be selected and to be the

in all respects except the treatment.

Example 5A.5. Imagine for our experiment we wanted to create our two groups. If we used a computer
program to select 100 participants and label them 1 to 100. How could we create our two groups from this
scenario?
-The Placebo Effect and Blinding-

When conducting an experiment that involves people, just the knowledge of being a part of the experiment
can have effects on the outcomes. There are several methods for attempting to minimize this possible
source of bias.

Definitions. A lacks the active ingredients of the treatment being tested in a

study, but looks or feels enough like the treatment so the participants cannot distinguish whether they are
receiving the placebo or the real treatment. The refers to a situation in

which patients improve simply because they believe they are receiving a useful treatment.

Definition. In statistical terminology, the practice of keeping people in the dark about who is in the treatment group
and who is in the control group is called .

There are two main kinds that are used in experiments:

Definition. An experiment is if the participants do not know whether they

are members of the treatment group or members of the control group, but the experimenters do know.

Definition. An experiment is if neither the participants nor the experimenters

(people administering the treatment) know who belongs to the treatment group or the control group.

Example 5A.6. For the experiment described below, identify any problems and explain how the problems could
have been avoided.

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MAT110 5A - Fundamentals of Statistics Fall 2025

A chiropractor performs adjustments on 25 patients with back pain. Afterward, 18

patients say they feel better. The chiropractor concludes the adjustments are an effective
treatment.
Example 5A.7. For the experiment described below, identify any problems and explain how the problems could
have been avoided.

A new drug for a type of attention disorder is supposed to make children less
disruptive. Randomly selected children suffering from the disorder are divided into
treatment and control groups. The control group receive a placebo that looks just like
the real drug. The experiment is single-blind. Experimenters interview the children
individually to decide whether they have become more polite.

-Retrospective Studies-

Definitions. A (or ) is an observational study that uses data from the past, such as official records or past
interviews, and in which the sample naturally divides into a group of who engaged in the behavior under
study and a group of who did not.

Example 5A.8. For each of the following questions, what type of statistical study is most likely to lead to an
answer? Why?

(a) What is the average income of stockbrokers?

(b) Do seat belts save lives?

(c) Can lifting weights improve runners’ times in 10-kilometer races?

54
MAT110 5A - Fundamentals of Statistics Fall 2025

(d) Can a new herbal remedy reduce the severity of colds?

Error and Confidence

Definitions. The in a statistical study is used to describe a

that is likely to contain that true population parameter. We find this interval by
subtracting and adding the from the sample statistic obtained in the study.
We visualize this idea below:

Example 5A.9. An election eve poll find that 52% of surveyed voters plan to vote for candidate Smith, and
she needs a majority (more than 50%) to win without a runoff. The margin of error in the poll is 3
percentage points. Should we assume she will win?

Example 5A.10. What if we changed the survey results found that it was 65% with the same margin of error?

55
MAT110 5B - Should You Believe a Statistical Study? Fall 2025

5B Should You Believe a Statistical Study?

There are 8 guidelines I suggest for evaluating a statistical study.

Guideline 1: Get a Big Picture View of the Study

Example 5B.1. Imagine you read the following news report:

“Researchers gave 100 participants their astrological horoscopes and asked whether
the horoscopes appeared to be accurate; 85% of the participants answered yes (the
horoscopes were accurate). The researchers concluded that horoscopes are valid most
of the time.”
Analyze this study according to Guideline 1.

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MAT110 5B - Should You Believe a Statistical Study? Fall 2025

Guideline 2: Consider the Source

While studies are supposed to be carried out in an objective manner, but the people who carry them out or
fund them may be biased.

Example 5B.2. By 1963 enough research on the health dangers of smoking and accumulated the surgeon
general of the United States, publicly announced that smoking is bad for health. Research done since that
time has built further support for this claim. However, while the vast majority of studies show smoking is
unhealthy, a few past studies found no changes from smoking, and perhaps even health benefits. These
studies generally were carried out by the Tobacco Research Institute, funded by tobacco companies.
Analyze the Tobacco Research Institute studies according to Guideline 2.

Guideline 3: Look for Bias in the Sample

There are two common forms of bias that can occur in sample selection.

Definitions.

• (or ) occurs whenever researchers select their sample in a way

that would tend to make it unrepresentative of the population. For
example, a pre-election poll that surveys only registered
Republicans.

• occurs whenever people choose whether to participate. For exam-

ple, if participants must take action to participate in a survey rather than being selected at random,
those who feel more strongly about the survey issue are more likely to participate.

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MAT110 5B - Should You Believe a Statistical Study? Fall 2025

Example 5B.3. Imagine if a state Democratic Party polls its members to determine if their candidate for
Governor is likely to win against the Republican candidate. Evaluate this polly according to Guideline 3.
Guideline 4: Look for Problems in Defining or Measuring the Variables of Interest

is any item or quantity that can vary or take on different values. in

a statistical study are the that the
Definitions. A
The
study seeks to measure.

Example 5B.4. A survey of randomly selected individuals were among the wealthiest 1% of Americans
found that these people would pay an average of $487,000 for “true love,” $407,000 for “great intellect.”
$285,000 for “talent,” and $259,000 for “eternal youth.”’ Analyze this result according to Guideline 4.

Example 5B.5. A commonly quoted statistic is that law enforcement authorities succeed in stopping only
about 10% of the illegal drugs entering the United States. Should you believe this statistic?
Guideline 5: Beware of Confounding Variables

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MAT110 5B - Should You Believe a Statistical Study? Fall 2025

Definition. Variables that are NOT intended to be part of the study can make it difficult to interpret results
properly. We call such variables, .

Example 5B.6. Radeon is a radioactive gas, produced by natural causes (the decay of uranium) in the
ground. The gas can leach into buildings through the foundation and can accumulate in relatively high
concentrations if doors and windows are closed. Imagine a study that seeks to determine whether radon
gas causes lung cancer by comparing the lung cancer rate in Colorado, where radon gas is fairly common,
with lung cancer rate in Hong Kong, or radon gas is less common. Suppose that the lung cancer rates in the
two sites are nearly the same. Is it fair to conclude that radon is not a significant cause of lung cancer?

Guideline 6: Consider the Setting and Wording in Surveys

Even if a survey conducted with proper sampling and clearly defined terms and questions, we should be
careful of the setting and wording of the questions themselves. We need to make sure to avoid situations
where the setting/wording might produce inaccurate or dishonest results.

Example 5B.7. Is the question, “Do you cheat on your income taxes?” likely to elicit honest responses?

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MAT110 5B - Should You Believe a Statistical Study? Fall 2025

Example 5B.8. The Republican National Committee commissioned a poll to find out whether Americans
supported its proposed tax cuts. Asked “Do you favor a tax cut?” a large majority answered yes. Should we
concluded that Americans supported the proposal?
Guideline 7: Check That Results Are Presented Fairly

Even when everything is done well in a statistical study, the results can be misrepresented in graphs or
concluding statements. This can be done by either the researchers or those outside observers.

Example 5B.9. The school board in Boulder, Colorado, created a hubbub when it announced that 28% of
Boulder school children were reading “below grade level” and hence concluded that methods of teaching
reading needed to be changed. The announcement was based on reading tests on which 28% of Boulder
school children scored below the national average for their grade. Does this data support the board’s
conclusion?

Guideline 8: Stand Back and Consider the Conclusions

Finally, if everything seems reasonable based on the first 7 guidelines, you should still stand back and
consider the conclusions. Ask yourself:

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MAT110 5B - Should You Believe a Statistical Study? Fall 2025

Example 5B.10. An experiment is conducted is which the weight losses of people who try a new “Fast Diet
Supplement” are compared to weight losses of a control group of people who try to lose weight in other
ways. After eight weeks, the results show that the treatment group lost an average of one-half pound more
than the control group. Assuming that it has no dangerous side effects, does this study suggest that the Fast
Diet Supplement is a good treatment for people wanting to lose weight?

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MAT110 5C - Statistical Tables and Graphs Fall 2025

-Eight Guidelines for Evaluating a Statistical Study-

(1) Get a Big Picture View of the study – You should understand the goal of the study, the population that
was under study, and whether the study was observational or an experiment.

(2) Consider the Source – Look for potential sources of bias on the part of the researchers.

(3) Look for Bias in the Sample – Decide whether the sampling method was likely to produce a
representative sample.

(4) Look for problems defining or measuring the variables of interest – Ambiguity in the variables can
make it difficult to interpret reported results.

(5) Beware of Confounding Variables – If the study neglected potential confounding variables, its results
may not be valid.

(6) Consider the Setting and Wording in Surveys – Look for anything that might tend to produce
inaccurate or dishonest responses.

(7) Check That Results Are Presented Fairly – Check whether the study supports the conclusions that are
presented in the media.

(8) Stand Back and Consider the Conclusions – Evaluate whether the study achieved its goals. If so, do the
conclusions make sense and have practical significance?

5C Statistical Tables and Graphs

Frequency Tables

Definition. A basic has two columns:

• Thefirstcolumnlistsallthe ofdata.
• Thesecondcolumnliststhe foreach ,whichisthe
numberofdatavaluesinthe .

Example 5C.1. A Teacher makes the following list of the letter grades she gave her 25 students on a essay:

A C C B C D C C F D C C C B B A B D B A A B F C B

Let’s create a frequency table for the letter grades.

Definitions. The of any category is the fraction (or percentage) of the

data values that fall in that category:

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MAT110 5C - Statistical Tables and Graphs Fall 2025

The of any category is the number of data values in that category

and all preceding categories.

Example 5C.2. Let’s add the relative and cumulative frequencies to the table from the previous page.

-Data Types-

Definitions. consist of values that can be placed into nonnumerical categories. While
, represent counts or measurements.

Example 5C.3. Classify each of the following types of data:

(a) Brand names of shoes in a consumer survey

(b) Heights of students

(c) Audience ratings of a film on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 means excellent

-Binning Data-

Definition. When dealing with quantitative data, it is often useful to group, or , the data in categories that
cover a range of possible values.

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MAT110 5C - Statistical Tables and Graphs Fall 2025

Example 5C.4. Consider the following set of 20 scores on a 100-point exam:

76 80 78 76 94 75 98 77 84 88 81 72 91 72 74 86 79 88 72 75

Determine appropriate bins, and construct a frequency table. Include columns for relative frequency and
cumulative frequency, and interpret the cumulative frequency for this case.

Bar Graphs and Pie Charts

The following are typically used the display qualitative data. You are likely familiar with both, but let’s
review the basic ideas.

Definition. A is a diagram that uses a set of bars to represent the frequency

(or relative frequency) of each category: the higher the frequency, the larger longer the bar.

Example 5C.5. Here is a bar graph representing the letter grades from earlier:

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MAT110 5C - Statistical Tables and Graphs Fall 2025

-Important Labels for Graphs-

• Title/caption: The graph should have a title or caption (or both) that explains what is being shown
and, if applicable, lists the source of the data.

• Vertical scale and title: Numbers along the vertical axis should clearly indicate the scale. The
numbers should line up with – marks along the axis that precisely locate
the numerical values. Include an axis title that describes the variable that the numbers represent.

• Horizontal scale and title: The categories should be clearly indicated along the horizontal axis; tick
marks are not necessary for qualitative data, but should be used with quantitative data. Include an
axis title that describes the variable that the categories represent.

• Legend: If multiple data sets are displayed on a single graph, include a legend or key to identify the
individual data sets.

Definition. are used primarily for relative frequencies, because the total pie
must always represent the total relative frequency of 100%. The size of each wedge is proportional to the
relative frequency of the category it represents. That is the wedge spans the angle given by

= ×

Example 5C.6. Here is a pie chart representing the letter grades from earlier:

Histograms and Line Charts

The following are the two most common types of graphs for quantitative data.

Definition. A is a bar graph in which the data categories are quantitative.

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MAT110 5C - Statistical Tables and Graphs Fall 2025

The bars follow the natural order of the numerical categories, and the widths of the bars have a specific
meaning.

Example 5C.7. Below is a histogram that represents the exam scores from earlier.

Definition. A shows the data value for each category as a dot, with the dots
connected by lines. For each dot, the horizontal position is the of the bin it
represents and the vertical position is the data value for the bin.

Example 5C.8. Below is a line chart that represents the exam scores from earlier.

Exam Scores
8
7
6
Frequency
5
4
3
2
1
0
70 75 80 85 90 95 100
Scores

Definition. A is a line chart or histogram in which the horizontal axis

represents time.

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MAT110 6A - Characterizing Data Fall 2025

6 Putting Statistics to Work

6A Characterizing Data

Definition. The of a variable refers to the way its values are spread over all
possible values. We can display this with a table or graph.

What is Average?

Definitions.

• The is what we most commonly call the average value. It is found as

follows:

• The is the middle value in the sorted data set, or halfway between the two
middlemost values if the number of values is even.

• The is the most common value (or group of values) in a distribution.

Example 6A.1. Eight grocery stores sell the PR energy bar for the following prices:

$1.09 $1.29 $1.29 $1.35 $1.39 $1.49 $1.59 $1.79

Find the mean, median, and mode for this data set.

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MAT110 6A - Characterizing Data Fall 2025

Definition. An in a data set is a data value that is much higher or much lower than
almost all other values.
Example 6A.2. Imagine there are 5 seniors graduating from the men’s college basketball team. If we
consider that one received a $10 million contract offer to play professionally, but the others did not, then we
would have the following data set:

0 0 0 0 $10000000

What would the mean value be, and what does it mean?

Takes Every
Value into
Measure How Common? Existence Account? Affected by Outliers? Advantages
Commonly understood; works
Mean Most common “average” well with many statistical
methods

When there are outliers, may be

Median Common more representative of an
“average” than the mean

Most appropriate for qualitative

Mode Sometimes
data
Example 6A.3. A track coach wants to determine an appropriate heart rate for her athletes during their
workouts. She chooses five of her best runners and asks them to wear heart rate monitors during a
workout. In the middle of the workout, she records the following heart rates:

130 135 140 145 325

Which is a better measure of average in this case: the mean or median? Why?
“Average” Confusion

The different meanings of “average” can often lead to confusion. Here are some examples to illustrate how it
can occur.

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MAT110 6A - Characterizing Data Fall 2025

Example 6A.4. A newspaper surveys wages for assembly workers in regional high-tech companies and
reports an average of $42 per hour. The workers at one larger firm immediately request a pay raise,
claiming that they work as hard as employees at other companies but their average wage is only $36 per
hour. Management rejects their request, telling them that they are overpaid because their average wage, in
fact, is $48 per hour. Can both sides be right? Explain.

Example 6A.5. All 100 first-year students at a small college take three courses in the Core Studies Program.
Two courses are taught in large lecture, with all 100 students in a single class. The third course is taught in
10 classes of 10 students each. Students and administrators get into an argument about whether the classes
are too large. The students claim that the mean size of their core studies classes is 70. The administrators
claim that the mean class size is only 25 students. Can both sides be right? Explain.
Shapes of Distributions

When we look at a distribution of data on a graph, there are certain shapes that indicate certain properties
of the data.

-Number of Modes-

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MAT110 6A - Characterizing Data Fall 2025

1.5

0.5

Example 6A.6. How many peaks would you expect for each of the following distributions? Why? Make a
rough sketch for each distribution, with labeled axes.

(a) Heights of 1000 randomly selected adult women

(b) Hours spent watching football on TV in January for 1000 randomly selected adult Americans

(c) Weekly sales throughout the year at retail clothing store for children

(d) The numbers of people with particular last digits (0 through 9) in their Social Security numbers -
Symmetry or Skewness-

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MAT110 6A - Characterizing Data Fall 2025

Definition. Adistributionis ifitslefthalfisamirrorimageofitsrighthalf.

1.5 2

1
1
0.5

0 0
0 5 10 15 0 5 10 15 20

Definitions. If the values of a distributions are spread more to one side we call it . A distribution is if its
values are spread out on the left side of the distribution. While it is if they
are spread to the right instead.

Example 6A.7. For each of the following situations, state whether you expect the distribution to be
symmetric, left-skewed, or right-skewed. Explain.

(a) Heights of a sample of 100 women

(b) Number of books read during the school year by fifth-graders

(c) Speeds of cars on a road where a visible patrol car is using radar to detect speeders

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MAT110 6A - Characterizing Data Fall 2025

-Variation-

Definition. describeshowwidelythedatavaluesarespreadoutfromthecenter
ofadataset.

Example 6A.8. How would you expect the variation to differ between times in an Olympic marathon and
times in the New York Marathon? Explain.

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 MAT110 6B - Measures of Variation Fall 2025

6B Measures of Variation
Why Variation Matters

Example 6B.1. Imagine customers are waiting in line for tellers at two different banks. Bank A has three
different lines each with their own teller, while Bank B has one line for three tellers where you move up to
the next available teller. Here are the wait times (in minutes) for eleven customers at both banks around the
same time (in ascending order):

Bank A4.1 5.2 5.6 6.2 6.7 7.2 7.7 7.7 8.5
9.3 11.0 Bank B6.6 6.7 6.7 6.9 7.1 7.2
7.3 7.4 7.7 7.8 7.8

What is the mean wait time for both banks, and what do their distributions look like?

Range

Definition. The of a data set is the difference between its highest and lowest data

values:

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 MAT110 6B - Measures of Variation Fall 2025

= highest value (max) − lowest value (min)

Example 6B.2. Consider the following two sets of quiz scores for nine students. Which set has the greater
range? Would you also say that set has the greater variation?

Quiz 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Quiz 22 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Quartiles and the Five-Number Summary

Definitions.

• The (or ) divides the lowest 1/4 of a data

set from the upper 3/4. It is the median of the lower half of the data (excluding the middle value if the
number of data points is odd).

• The (or ) is the median of the entire

data set.

• The (or ) divides the highest 1/4 of a

data set from the lower 3/4. It is the median of the upper half of the data (excluding the middle value
if the number of data points is odd).

Example 6B.3. Let’s find these three values for the bank wait times from before:

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 MAT110 6B - Measures of Variation Fall 2025

Bank A4.1 5.2 5.6 6.2 6.7 7.2 7.7 7.7 8.5
9.3 11.0 Bank B6.6 6.7 6.7 6.9 7.1 7.2
7.3 7.4 7.7 7.8 7.8

Definition. The for a data set consists of the following five numbers:

Example 6B.4. Compute these numbers for the bank wait times.
Definition. We can display the five-number summary with a (or

), which is a type of graph for visualizing variation using a box in the

middle and “whiskers” on the outside edges. They are created using the following procedure:

Step 1) Draw a number line that spans all the values in the data set.

Step 2) Enclose the values from the lower to the upper quartile in a box. (Thickness does not matter)

Step 3) Draw a vertical line through the box at the median.

Step 4) Add whiskers (horizontal lines with short vertical segments at their ends) extending to the lowest and
highest values.

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 MAT110 6B - Measures of Variation Fall 2025

Example 6B.5. Create two such graphs for the bank wait time data sets.

Exercise 6B.6. Consider the following two sets of twenty 100-meter running times (in seconds):
Set 1:
9.92 9.97 9.99 10.01 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.10 10.13 10.13
10.14 10.15 10.17 10.17 10.18 10.21 10.24 10.26 10.31 10.38
Set 2:
9.89 9.90 9.98 10.05 10.35 10.41 10.54 10.76 10.93 10.98
11.05 11.21 11.30 11.46 11.76 11.81 11.81 11.85 11.87 12.00
Compare the variation in the two data sets with five-number summaries and boxplots.
Standard Deviation

Definition. The of a variable is a measure of how far data values are

spread around the mean of a data set, and is calculated as follows:

Step 1) Compute the mean of the data set.

Step 2) Find the deviation from the mean for every data value using subtraction that is:

deviation from the mean =

Step 3) Find the squares of all the deviations from the previous step.

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 MAT110 6B - Measures of Variation Fall 2025

Step 4) Add all of the squares together.

Step 5) Divide this sum by the total number of data values minus 1.

Step 6) The is the square root of this quotient.

All of these steps can be summarized by the following formula:

s
sum of (deviations from the mean)2
=
total number of data values − 1

Example 6B.7. Compute this number for the bank wait times.

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 MAT110 6B - Measures of Variation Fall 2025

Exercise 6B.8. The ages of a group of infants are (in days): 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12. Calculate the standard
deviation for these ages.

Exercise 6B.9. The following set gives the approximate lengths of Beethoven’s nine symphonies (in
minutes). Find the standard deviation for this data set.

28 36 50 33 30 40 38 26 68 Interpreting the Standard Deviation

Definition. We often approximate the standard deviation using the :

range

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 MAT110 6B - Measures of Variation Fall 2025

standard deviation
That is If we know the range of a data set, we can use this rule to approximate the standard deviation for
the data set. Alternatively, if we know the standard deviation for a data set, we can estimate the lowest and
highest values as follows:

lowest value ≈
highest value ≈

Note. This does not work well when the highest or lowest value is an outlier or if the data is not distributed
fairly evenly.

Example 6B.10. Estimate the standard deviations for the waiting times at the banks and compare them to
the actual values from Example 6B.7.

Example 6B.11. Studies of the gas mileage of a Prius under varying driving conditions show that it gets a
mean of 45 miles per gallon with a standard deviation of 4 miles per gallon. Estimate the minimum and
maximum gas mileage that you can expect under normal driving conditions.

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MAT110 6C - The Normal Distribution Fall 2025

6C The Normal Distribution

Definition. The is a symmetric, bell-shaped distribution with a single

peak (mode). Its peak corresponds to the mean, median, and mode of the distribution. Its variation is
characterized by the standard deviation of the distribution.

Example 6C.1. Below we have two distributions: (a) a famous data set of the chest sizes of 5738 Scottish
militiamen collected in about 1846 and (b) the distribution of the population densities of the 50 states. Is
either distribution a normal distribution? Explain.

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MAT110 6C - The Normal Distribution Fall 2025

35 40 45 14
12
1,000
10
800
8
600 6

400 4
2
200
0
0
1,000
0 100200300400500600700800900 1,100
1,200

What is Normal?

A data set that satisfies the following four criteria is likely to have a nearly normal distribution:

(1) Most data values are clustered , giving the distribution a well-defined single peak.

(2) Data values are spread , making the distribution symmetric.

(3) Larger deviations from the mean become increasingly , producing the symmetric tapering tails of the
distribution.

(4) Individual data values result from a combination of , such as

genetic and environmental factors.

Example 6C.2. Which of the following variables would you expect to have a normal or nearly normal
distribution?

(a) Scores on a very easy test

(b) Foot lengths of a random sample of adult women.

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MAT110 6C - The Normal Distribution Fall 2025

-The 68-95-99.7 Rule for a Normal Distribution-

• About 68% (more precisely, 68.3%), or just over two-thirds, of the data points fall within
standard deviation of the mean.

• About 95% (more precisely (95.4%) of the data points fall within standard
deviations of the mean.

• About 99.7% of the data points fall within standard deviations of the mean.

Example 6C.3. The tests that make up the individual parts of the SAT are designed so that their scores are
normally distributed with a mean of 500 and a standard deviation of 100 (and a range from 200 to 800).
Interpret this statement based on the rule from above.
Example 6C.4. Vending machines can be adjusted to reject coins above and below certain weights. The
weights of legal U.S. quarters are normally distributed with a mean of 5.67 grams and a standard deviation
of 0.0700 gram. If a vending machine is adjusted to reject quarters that weigh more than 5.81 grams and
less than 5.53 grams, what percentage of legal quarters will be rejected by the machine?

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MAT110 6C - The Normal Distribution Fall 2025

Example 6C.5. A survey finds that prices paid for two-year-old Ford Fusion cars are normally distributed
with a mean of $17,500 and a standard deviation of $500. Consider a sample of 10,000 people who bought
two-year-old Ford Fusions.

(a) How many people paid between $17,000 and $18,000?

(b) How many paid less that $17,000?

(c) How many paid more than $19,000?

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MAT110 6C - Fall 2025

Standard Scores

Definition. The number of standard deviations a data value lies above of below the mean is called its
(or ) defined by

z=

The is positive
fordatavalues for data values the mean and negative
the mean.

Example 6C.6. The Stanford-Binet IQ test is scaled so that is scores are normally distributed with a mean of
100 and a standard deviation of 15. Find the standard score for IQ scores of 85, 100, and 125.

Definition. The of a data value is the percentage of all data values in a data

set that are less than or equal to it.

z-score Percentile z-score Percentile z-score Percentile z-score Percentile
-3.5 0.02 -1 15.87 0 50 1.1 86.43
-3 0.13 -0.95 17.11 0.05 51.99 1.2 88.49
-2.9 0.19 -0.9 18.41 0.1 53.98 1.3 90.32
-2.8 0.26 -0.85 19.77 0.15 55.96 1.4 91.92
-2.7 0.35 -0.8 21.19 0.2 57.93 1.5 93.32
-2.6 0.47 -0.75 22.66 0.25 59.87 1.6 94.52
-2.5 0.62 -0.7 24.2 0.3 61.79 1.7 95.54
-2.4 0.82 -0.65 25.78 0.35 63.68 1.8 96.41
-2.3 1.07 -0.6 27.43 0.4 65.54 1.9 97.13
-2.2 1.39 -0.55 29.12 0.45 67.36 2 97.72
-2.1 1.79 -0.5 30.85 0.5 69.15 2.1 98.21
-2 2.28 -0.45 32.64 0.55 70.88 2.2 98.61
-1.9 2.87 -0.4 34.46 0.6 72.57 2.3 98.93
-1.8 3.59 -0.35 36.32 0.65 74.22 2.4 99.18

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MAT110 6C - Fall 2025

-1.7 4.46 -0.3 38.21 0.7 75.8 2.5 99.38

-1.6 5.48 -0.25 40.13 0.75 77.34 2.6 99.53
-1.5 6.68 -0.2 42.07 0.8 78.81 2.7 99.64
-1.4 8.08 -0.15 44.04 0.85 80.23 2.8 99.74
-1.3 9.68 -0.1 46.02 0.9 81.59 2.9 99.81
-1.2 11.51 -0.05 48.01 0.95 82.89 3 99.87
-1.1 13.57 0 50 1 84.13 3.5 99.98
Example 6C.7. Cholesterol levels in men 18 to 24 years of age are normally distributed with a mean of 178
and a standard deviation of 41.

(a) In what percentile is a 20-year-old man with a cholesterol level of 190?

(b) What cholesterol level corresponds to the 90th percentile, the level at which treatment may be
necessary?

Exercise 6C.8. The quantitative section of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) has a mean score of 152 and a
standard deviation 8.9.

(a) What percentage of students scored below 150?

(b) What percentage of students scored above 165?

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 MAT110 Fall 2025
6C - The Normal Distribution

(c) What score would correspond to the 75th percentile?

Example 6C.9. The heights of American women ages to 18 to 24 are normally distributed with a mean of 65
inches and standard deviation of 2.5 inches. In order to serve in the U.S. Army, women must be between 58
inches and 80 inches tall. What percentage of American women are ineligible to serve based on their
height?

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
7 Probability: Living with the Odds
7A Fundamentals of Probability
Definitions.

•are the most basic possible results of observations or experiments.

• An consist of one or more outcomes that share a property of interest.

Example 7A.1. Let’s discuss the outcomes and events that could occur for flipping two coins.

Example 7A.2. Consider families with two children. List all possible outcomes for birth orders based on the
sex of the child (male/female). If we are only interested in the number of male children, what are the
possible events?
Expressing Probabilities

The probability of an event, expressed as , is always between

and (inclusive). A means the event is impossible and a
probabilityof
probability of means the
event is certain.

Here is a nice way to visualize probabilities:

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
Example 7A.3. When flipping a coin there is a 50% chance it will be heads, and a 50% chance it will be
tails, so we can express the probabilities as follows:

Note. If possible, express a probability as an exact fraction or decimal; otherwise, round the result, usually
to three significant digits.
Computing Probabilities

Definition. A is based on the assumption that all outcomes are

equally likely. It is calculated as follows:

Step 1) Count the total number of possible outcomes.

Step 2) Among all the possible outcomes, count the number of ways the event of interest, A, can occur. Step 3)

Determine the probability, P(A), from

P(A) =

Exercise 7A.4. Compute the probability of getting two heads when flipping two coins.

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
Exercise 7A.5. Find the probability of getting exactly one head when you toss two coins.
Exercise 7A.6. What is the probability of getting a 3 when you roll a 6-sided die?

Exercise 7A.7. A standard deck of playing cards has a total of 52 cards. There are 4 suits: hearts, spades,
diamonds, and clubs. Each suit has cards labeled 2 through 10, plus a jack, queen, king, and ace (for a total
of 13 cards). If you draw one card a random from a standard deck, what is the probability that it is a spade?
-The Multiplication Principle-

Suppose there are M possible outcomes for one process and N possible outcomes for a second process. The
total number of possible outcomes for the two processes combined is .

Example 7A.8. How many outcomes are there for flipping a coin 4 times?

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
Exercise 7A.9. How many outcomes are possible if you roll 3 fair dice?
Definition. A is based on observations or experiments. It

is calculated as follows:

Step 1) Repeat or observe a process many times and count the number of times the event of interest, A,
occurs.

Step 2) Estimate P(A) using the following:

P(A) ≈

Example 7A.10. Geological records indicate that a river has crested above a particular high flood level in 4
of the past 2000 years. What do you think the probability that the river will crest above this flood level next
year?

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
Exercise 7A.11. Suppose we toss two coins 100 times and get the following results:

• 0 heads occur 32 times.

• 1 head occurs 41 times.

• 2 heads occurs 27 times.

Compare the relative frequency probabilities to the theoretical probabilities. Do you have reason to believe
these two coins are unfair?

Definition. A is an estimate based on experience or intuition.

Example 7A.12. Identify which type of probability best fits the following statements:

(1) I am certain that you’ll be happy with this car.

(2) Based on housing data, the chance that someone will move to a new residence during the coming year
is about 1 in 8.

(3) The probability of rolling a 7 with a 12-sided die is 1/12.

Probability of an Event NOT Occurring

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
If the probability of an event A is P(A), we write the probability that event A does not occur as
(or ). Because an event either does or does not occur,

the sum of these probabilities is 1. That is:

Which means

Exercise 7A.13. Using Exercise 7A.7, what is the probability that we do not draw a spade from a standard
deck of cards?

Exercise 7A.14. What is the probability of not getting 3 tails when flipping 3 fair coins?
Probability Distributions

Definition. A

interest. We make one as follows:

Step 1) List all possible outcomes.

represents the probabilities of all possible events of
Step 2) Identify outcomes that represent the same event. Find the probability of each event.

Step 3) Make a table or figure that displays all the probabilities. The sum of all the probabilities must be 1.

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
Example 7A.15. Make a probability distribution for the number of heads that occur when three fair coins
are tossed simultaneously.

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
Exercise 7A.16. Make a probability distribution for the sum of two fair dice rolled together. What is the
most probable sum?

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 MAT110 7A - Fundamentals of Probability Fall 2025
Stating the Odds

Definitions.

• The an event A are given by

• The an event A are given by

Note. Even though odds are defined as fractions, we usually write the result as a ratio.

Example 7A.17. Find the odds for and against of rolling a 4 on a fair dice

Exercise 7A.18. What are the odds for getting two heads when tossing two coins together? What are the
odds against it?

Example 7A.19. At a horse race, the odds on a horse, Blue Moon, are given as 7 to 2. If you bet $10 and Blue
Moon wins, how much will gain?

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MAT110 7B - Combining Probabilities Fall 2025

7B Combining Probabilities
AND Probabilities

Definition. Two events are if the occurrence of one event does not affect the

probability of the other event.

-Examples-

• The results of two different dice rolled at the same time;

• The results on each individual coin when three coins are flipped.

Definition. Consider two independent events A and B with probabilities P(A) and P(B). The probability
that both AandB both occur is called the (or ),

and is found by

P(A and B) =

This can be extended to any number of independent events. For example, if we had three independent events A,
B, and C, the probability of them occurring together would be

P(A and B and C) =

Exercise 7B.1. Suppose you toss three fair coins. What is the probability of getting three tails?

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MAT110 7B - Combining Probabilities Fall 2025

Exercise 7B.2. What is the probability of rolling three 6’s in a row with a single fair die?
Definition. Two events are if the occurrence of one event affects the probability

of the other event.

-Examples-

• Drawing one type of card followed by drawing a second type of card without replacement;

• Removing a chocolate candy for both your first and second pull from a bag containing an assortment of
candy types.

Definition. Consider two dependent events A and B, the and probability that both A and B occurs is

P(A and B) =

where means the probability of B given the occurrence of event A. This can

also be extended to any number of dependent events. If we have three events, A, B, and C, then the probability
would be:

P(A and B and C) =

Exercise 7B.3. Imagine you have a box of candies containing 5 chocolates and 5 caramels. What is the probability
that you remove a chocolate candy for both your first and second choice?

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Exercise 7B.4. The game of Bingo involves drawing labeled balls from a bin at random, without replacing
those drawn. There are 75 balls, 15 for each of the letters B, I, N, G, and O. What is the probability of drawing
two B balls in the first two selections?

Exercise 7B.5. A three-person committee must be selected at random from a pool that has 4 men, 4 women, and
4 non-binary individuals. What is the probability of selecting an all-male committee?
EITHER/OR Probabilities

Definition. Two events are if they cannot occur together. If A and B

are such events, the probability that A or B occurs is

P(A or B) =

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This principle can be extended to any number of such events. For example, the probability of either event
A, event B, or event C occurs is

P(A or B or C) =

Exercise 7B.6. Suppose you roll a single die. What is the probability of rolling either a 2 or a 3?

Exercise 7B.7. Suppose you flip a single coin. What is the probability of getting heads or tails?
Definition. Two events are if they can occur together. If A and B are two

such events, the probability that either A or B occurs is

P(A or B) =

Exercise 7B.8. There are eight people in a room: two Democratic men, two Republican men, two
Democratic women, and two Republican women. If you select one person at random from this room, what is
the probability that you will select either a woman or a Democrat?

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Exercise 7B.9. What is the probability of randomly pulling a spade or an ace from a standard deck of cards?
The At Least Once Rule

Suppose that the probability of an event A occurring in a single trial is P(A). If all trials are independent, the
probability that event A occurs at least once in n trials is

P(at least one event A in n trials) = =

Exercise 7B.10. The find the probability of getting at least one head when you toss three coins.

Exercise 7B.11. You purchase 10 lottery tickets, for which the probability of winning some type of prize on
a single ticket is 1 in 10. What is the probability that you will have at least one winning ticket among the 10
tickets?

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7E Counting and Probability

Arrangements with Repetition

Fact 7.1
If we make r selections from a group of n choices, there are a total of

different arrangements are possible.

Example 7E.1. How many seven-character license plates are possible if both numerals and uppercase
letters can be used in any order (with repetition)?

Exercise 7E.2. How many six-character passwords can be made by combining lowercase letters, uppercase
letters, numerals, and the characters @, $, !, *, and & (with repetition)?
Permutations

Definition. The product of the form n × (n − 1) × ···2 × 1 is called , and is given the shorthand .

Example 7E.3. Evaluate the following:

• 1! =

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• 2! =

• 3! =

• 4! =

• 5! =

Note. We define 0! = .

Exercise 7E.4. Calculate the following:

6!
(a)
4!

(b)

Definition. A is a selection from a single group of items where:

• no item may be selected more than once;

• the order of the arrangement does MATTER

If each member of the group is. selected in each possible , then the total number possible for a group with n
elements is
Exercise 7E.5. A middle school principal needs to schedule six different classes–algebra, English, history,
Spanish, science, and gym–in six different time periods. How many different class schedules are possible?

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Question. What if swim coach wanted to create a 4 person relay team from a total of 10 possible swimmers.
How many possibilities do they have?
Definition. If we make r selections from a group of n items, the number of permutations, denoted nPr, is

nPr =

We read nPr as “the number of permutations of n items taking r at a time.”

Exercise 7E.6. A city has 12 candidates running for three leadership positions. The top vote-getter will
become the mayor, the second-place vote-getter will become the deputy mayor, and the third-place vote-
getter will become the treasurer. How many outcomes are possible for the three leadership positions?

Exercise 7E.7. A Little League manager has 15 children on their team. How many ways can they form a 9-
player batting order?
Combinations

Definition. A is a selection from a single group of items where:

• no item may be selected more than once;

• the order of the arrangement does NOT matter

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If we make r selections from a group of n items, the number of possible is

n Cr =

Example 7E.8. Suppose that you select 3 different flavor scoops of ice cream in a shop that carries 12
flavors. How many flavor combinations are possible?

Exercise 7E.9. How many different five-card poker hands can be dealt from a standard deck of 52 cards?
What is the probability of one particular hand, such as a royal flush of hearts (ace, king, queen, jack, and 10
of hearts)?
Exercise 7E.10. Suppose you play a lottery in which the winner is chosen by drawing 6 balls at random
from a drum containing 52 numbered balls (numbered 1 through 52). What is the probability that your 6
numbers will match the 6 winning numbers?

Probability and Coincidence

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Exercise 7E.11. Suppose there are 25 students in your class. Find each of the following probabilities
(assuming there are 365 days in a year).

(a) The probability that at least one person in the class has the same birthday as you.

(b) The probability that some pair of students in the class share the same birthday.

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8A -

8 Exponential Astonishment
8A Growth: Linear vs. Exponential
Two Basic Growth Patterns

Definitions.

• occurs when a quantity grows by the same absolute amount in each

unit of time.

• occurs when a quantity grows by the same relative amount –

that is by the same percentage – in each unit of time.

We can also refer to something decreasing instead of increasing. In this case, we replace the word growth by
.

Example 8A.1. For each of the following situations, state whether the growth (or decay) is linear or
exponential, and answer the question about it.

(a) The number of students at a high school has increased by 50 in each of the past 4 years. If the student
population 4 years ago was 750, what is it today?

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(b) The price of milk has been rising 3% per year. If the price of a gallon of milk was $4 a year ago, what is
it now?
8A - Growth: Linear vs. Exponential

(c) Tax law allows you to depreciate the value of your equipment by $200 per year. If you purchased the
equipment 3 years ago for $1000, what is its depreciated value today?

(d) The price of high-definition TV sets has been falling by about 25% per year. If the price is $1000
today, what can you expect it to be in 2 years?
8A - Growth: Linear vs. Exponential

The Impact of Doublings

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Example 8A.2. Imagine you were given a magic penny that turns into two magic pennies at the start of
every day. This means that your number of pennies doubles every day. Let’s fill out a table to see what
happens:
Day Total Money
0

... ...
30

Example 8A.3. Imagine we have a bottle in which we have placed a single bacteria at 11:00 AM.
Additionally, imagine that every minute that bacteria divides into two bacteria, that once again divide into
two bacteria after a minute, and so on. If the bottle is full at 12:00 PM, when was the bottle half-full?

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Exercise 8A.4. How many bottles would the bacteria fill at the end of the second hour?

Fact 8.1
Exponential growth leads to repeated doublings. With each doubling, the size of the most recent doubling is
approximately equal to the of all the preceding doublings.

Fact 8.2
Exponential growth cannot continue . After only a relatively small number of

doublings, exponentially growing quantities reach impossible proportions.

8B Doubling Time and Half-Life

Definition. The time for something growing exponentially to double is called the .

-Calculations-

After a time t, an exponentially growing quantity with a doubling time of Tdouble increases in size by a factor of .
The new value is related to its initial value (at t = 0) by

new value =

Example 8B.1. If a population of a town has a doubling time of 10 years and an initial population of 10,000. How
large will the population be in 34 years to the nearest whole person.

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Exercise 8B.2. The world population doubled from 3 billion in 1960 to 6 billion in 2000. Suppose the
population continued to grow at this rate (i.e. with the same double time of 40 years), what would the
population be in 2050? In 2200?

The Approximate Double Time Formula

Fact 8.3
For a quantity growing exponentially at a rate of P% per time period, the double time is approximately

Tdouble ≈

This approximation works best for small growth rates and breaks down quickly for growth rates over about
15%.

Exercise 8B.3. The world population reached 7.5 billion in 2017 and was growing at a rate of about 1.1%
per year. What would the approximate doubling time be based on this growth rate? If this growth continued
what would the population be in 2050? Compare this to your answer to the problem above.
Exercise 8B.4. In Exercise 8B.2, we noted that the population doubled in 40 years. What would the expected
growth rate be based on the formula from the previous page.

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Exponential Decay and Half-Life

Definition. The time for something decaying exponentially to reach half the original amount is called the
.

-Calculations-

After a time t, an exponentially decaying quantity with a half-life of Thalf decreases in size by a factor of
. The new value of the decaying quantity is related to its initial value (at t = 0)

by
new value =

Exercise 8B.5. Radioactive carbon-14 has a half-life of about 5700 years. It collects in organisms only while
they are alive. Once they are dead, it only decays. What fraction of the carbon-14 in an animal bone still
remains 1000 years after the animal has died?
The Approximate Half-Life Formula

Fact 8.4
For a quantity decaying exponentially at a rate of P% per time period, the half-lief is approximately

Thalf ≈

This approximation works best for small decay rates and breaks down quickly for decay rates over about
15%.

Exercise 8B.6. Suppose that inflation causes the value of the Russian ruble to fall at a rate of 12% per year
(relative to the dollar). At this rate, approximately how long does it take for the ruble to lose half its value?

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Exact Formulas for Doubling Time and Half-Life

Definition. If a quantity is growing exponentially at a rate of P%, the

is defined as
r=

If a quantity is instead decaying treat the P as negative in the above formula, and we call r the
.
Fact 8.5
For an exponentially growing quantity with a fractional growth rate r, the doubling time is

Tdouble =

Note: the units for Tdouble and r must be the same.

Fact 8.6
For an exponentially decaying quantity with a fractional decay rate r, the half-life is

Thalf =

Note: the units for Thalf and r must be the same.

Note. Since r is positive for a growth and negative for decay, both of these formulas will yield positive values.

Exercise 8B.7. A population of rats is growing at a rate of 80% per month. Find the exact doubling time for this
rate, and compare it to the doubling time found with the approximate doubling time.

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Exercise 8B.8. Suppose the Russian ruble is falling in value against the dollar at 12% per year. Using the
exact half-life formula, determine how long it takes the ruble to lose half its value. Compare that to our
answer from Exercise 8B.6

Exercise 8B.9. Suppose a certain medication breaks down in the body at a rate of 15% per hour. Using the
exact half-life formula, determine how long it takes half of the medicine to remain in the body.

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TheEnd

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