20804241Introduction to Engineering Statistics
Course Information
Description
This is an introductory course with many examples and applications chosen from the engineering disciplines and physical science. The course covers techniques for the collection, presentation, analysis and interpretation of experimental results and develops procedures to deal with the uncertainty present in making inferences and decisions based on sample data. Topics covered include descriptive statistics; probability concepts, random variables and discrete probability distributions; continuous probability and sampling distributions, the Central Limit Theorem; hypothesis tests and confidence intervals for one- and two-sample problems; one-way analysis of variance and basic ideas in experimental design; linear regression, model checking, and inference.
Total Credits
3
Course Competencies
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Interpret Basic Statistical Terminology.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou distinguish between a sample and a populationyou distinguish between a sample statistic and a population parameter
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Generate Frequency Distributions.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou generate a frequency distribution from a given data setyou group a frequency distribution into classesyou calculate the frequency, relative frequency, and cumulative frequency of each classyou calculate the width and midpoint of each classyou interpret the frequency, relative frequency and cumulative frequency of each classyou use technology to generate a frequency distribution
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Generate Graphical Representations of Data.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou generate an x-bar chart showing a time series of sample averagesyou interpret an x-bar chart showing a time series of sample averagesyou generate a Pareto diagram and its corresponding cumulative frequency distributionyou interpret a Pareto diagram and its corresponding cumulative frequency distribution or Ogiveyou generate a dot diagramyou interpret a dot diagramyou generate a stem-and-leaf displayyou interpret a stem-and-leaf displayyou generate histograms of frequency distributionsyou interpret histograms of frequency distributionsyou generate a box plot from a frequency distributionyou interpret a box plot from a frequency distributionyou analyze a box plot for outliersyou use a histogram or box plot to estimate measures of central tendency and dispersionyou demonstrate the connections between information found in a histogram or a box plot and calculated descriptive statisticsyou use technology to generate graphical representations of data
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Calculate Descriptive Measures of a frequency distribution.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou calculate the mode of a frequency distributionyou interpret the mode of a frequency distributionyou calculate the mean of a frequency distributionyou interpret the mean of a frequency distributionyou calculate the median of a frequency distributionyou interpret the median of a frequency distributionyou calculate the quartiles of a frequency distributionyou interpret the quartiles of a frequency distributionyou calculate the percentile scores of a frequency distributionyou interpret the percentile scores of a frequency distributionyou calculate inter-quartile range of a frequency distributionyou interpret the inter-quartile range of a frequency distributionyou calculate the range of a frequency distributionyou interpret the range of a frequency distributionyou calculate the variance of a frequency distributionyou interpret the variance of a frequency distributionyou calculate the standard deviation of a frequency distributionyou interpret the standard deviation of a frequency distributionyou demonstrate the relationship between the variance and standard deviationyou distinguish the population standard deviation from the sample standard deviationyou use the properties of the mean and standard deviationyou calculate the coefficient of variation of a frequency distributionyou interpret the coefficient of variation of a frequency distributionyou calculate z scores for a frequency distributionyou interpret z scores for a frequency distributionyou use the properties of z scoresyou demonstrate the connections between z scores and the properties of the meanyou demonstrate the connections between z scores and the properties of standard deviationyou use both Chebyshev's inequality and the percentage points for a normal distribution to estimate the fraction of scores beyond a given z scoreyou use technology to calculate the descriptive statistics of a frequency distribution
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Use the Definitions and Axioms of Probability.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou distinguish between theoretical and empirical probabilitiesyou generate a representation of a sample space of an experiment by listing all outcomes, drawing Venn diagrams, making tree diagrams, or constructing tablesyou use a representation of the sample space of an experiment and the fair experiment or equi-probability model to compute probabilitiesyou use the fundamental rule of counting, the number of permutations, the number of combinations, and binomial coefficients to compute the number of outcomes in a given eventyou recognize computations which count the number of outcomes corresponding to a given eventyou formulate and evaluate computations which count the number of outcomes corresponding to a given eventyou use counting rules to compute event probabilitiesyou use set theory rules to calculate the probability of unions, intersections, and complements of eventsyou distinguish mutually exclusive events from events with non-null intersectionyou recognize conditional probabilitiesyou formulate and evaluate conditional probabilitiesyou use and interpret Bayes' Theorem for calculating conditional probabilitiesyou determine if two events are independentyou compare and contrast the intuitive notion of event independence from the formal definitionyou distinguish between mutually exclusive and independent eventsyou recognize events that are neither independent nor mutually exclusiveyou use a tree diagram to distinguish the probabilities of a false positive and a false negative testyou use a tree diagram to compute the probabilities of a false positive and a false negative testyou recognize computations which calculate the reliability of systems consisting of components arranged in series or parallelyou formulate and evaluate computations which calculate the reliability of systems consisting of components arranged in series or parallel
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Use Probability Distributions of a Discrete Random Variable.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou generate the probability distribution of a discrete random variableyou generate histograms for the probability distribution of a discrete random variableyou interpret histograms for the probability distribution of a discrete random variableyou compute the mean of a discrete random variableyou compute the variance of a discrete random variableyou compute the standard deviation of a discrete random variableyou demonstrate the connections between the formulas for the mean, variance and standard deviation of a random variableyou demonstrate the connections between the formulas for the mean, variance and standard deviation of a random variable and those used in descriptive statisticsyou distinguish a drawing without replacement from a drawing with replacementyou formulate and compute probabilities of events associated with random drawingsyou recognize when the hypergeometric distribution applies to a drawing without replacementyou formulate and compute probabilities of events associated with the hypergeometric distributionyou recognize when an experiment is a succession of simple Bernoulli trialsyou formulate and compute event probabilities for an experiment consisting of simple Bernoulli trials using the binomial distributionyou calculate the mean of a hypergeometric or binomial random variableyou calculate the variance of a hypergeometric or binomial random variableyou calculate the standard deviation of a hypergeometric or binomial random variableyou interpret the mean of a hypergeometric or binomial random variableyou interpret the variance of hypergeometric or binomial random variableyou interpret the standard deviation of a hypergeometric or binomial random variableyou demonstrate the connections between the formulas for the mean, variance and standard deviation of hypergeometric and binomial random variables and the corresponding formulas for a generic random variableyou demonstrate the connections between the formulas for the mean, variance and standard deviation of both hypergeometric and binomial distributionsyou use the binomial distribution to approximate the hypergeometric distribution for large populationsyou justify the validity of the binomial distribution to approximate the hypergeometric distribution for large populationsyou state and interpret Chebyshev's Theorem and apply it to a large number of simple Bernoulli trialsyou justify the "Law of Large Numbers" using Chebyshev's Theoremyou use the Poisson distribution to approximate a binomial distribution with large sample sizes and fixed mean number of successesyou justify why and when the Poisson distribution approximation is valid for a binomial distribution with large sample sizes and fixed mean number of successesyou use the geometric distribution to calculate the probability of a first success in a sequence of of simple Bernoulli trialsyou calculate the mean of a geometric distributionyou use the multinomial distribution to analyze Bernoulli trials with multiple outcomesyou use technology to compute answers involving discrete probability distributions
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Solve Applications Using Discrete Probability Distributions.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou use the concept of a fair experiment to model simple experiments such as coin or die tossesyou compare the theoretical and empirical probability distributions for a random variable associated with the simple experimentsyou formulate and solve verbally stated applications which require using the hypergeometric, binomial, geometric, multinomial or Poisson distributionsyou use probability distributions to analyze processes such as games of chance, insurance rates, instrument reliability and medical testsyou use fundamental counting rules and recursion to analyze models of simple experimentsyou use technology to compare the theoretical and empirical probability distributions for a random variable associated with simple experiments
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Apply the Properties of a Continuous Probability Distribution.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou distinguish between a continuous and a discrete random variableyou recognize the connection between the area under a probability density curve and the probability of an eventyou recognize the connection between the definite integral of a probability density function and the probability of an eventyou formulate a definite integral of a probability density function to calculate the probability of an eventyou formulate a definite integral involving the probability density function to calculate the mean of a probability distributionyou formulate a definite integral involving the probability density function to calculate the variance of a probability distributionyou calculate event probabilities for a random variable with a uniform distributionyou relate the mean and standard deviation of a uniform distribution to its parametersyou estimate the mean of a continuous probability distribution from the graph of its probability density curveyou estimate the standard deviation of a continuous probability distribution from the graph of its probability density curve
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Apply the Normal Distribution.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou use the normal distribution to approximate the binomial distribution for large sample sizes and a fixed probability of successyou justify why and when the normal distribution approximation is valid for the binomial distribution for large sample sizes and a fixed probability of successyou compute the area between two scores in a normal distribution by transforming to z scores and using the standard normal distributionyou determine critical z scores of a standard normal distribution from a stated probabilityyou use the probability density function of the standard normal distribution to generate a power series which computes standard normal probabilitiesyou use integration by parts to obtain an asymptotic approximation to a standard normal probabilityyou formulate and solve verbally stated applications which involve using the normal distributionyou generate a normal scores plot to check if scores are approximately normally distributedyou transform data to better approximate a problem with a normal distributionyou use technology to compute normal probabilities
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Apply Other Continuous Probability Distributions.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou calculate event probabilities of a log-normal distributionyou relate the mean and standard deviation of a log-normal distribution to its parametersyou calculate event probabilities of a gamma distributionyou relate the mean and standard deviation of a gamma distribution to its parametersyou recognize the exponential distribution as a special case of the gamma distributionyou recognize the chi-squared distribution as a special case of the gamma distributionyou determine critical scores of a chi-squared distribution from a stated probabilityyou relate the mean and standard deviation of a chi-squared distribution to the degrees of freedomyou calculate event probabilities of a beta distributionyou relate the mean and standard deviation of a beta distribution to its parametersyou calculate event probabilities of a Weibull distributionyou relate the mean and standard deviation of a Weibull distribution to its parameters
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Apply Joint Probability Distributions of Multiple VariablesAssessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou verify that a function of multiple discrete random variables is a valid joint probability distributionyou construct the marginal or individual probability distributions for multiple discrete random variables from the discrete joint probability distributionyou construct the conditional probability distributions for multiple discrete random variables from the discrete joint probability distributionyou determine whether two discrete random variables are independent from the joint probability distributionyou construct the joint cumulative distribution for multiple discrete random variables from the discrete joint probability distributionyou determine whether two discrete random variables are independent from the joint cumulative distributionyou compute the expected value of a function of multiple discrete random variables from the joint probability distributionyou compute the covariance and correlation of two discrete random variables from the joint probability distributionyou relate the independence of two discrete random variables to their covarianceyou compute the expected value and variance of a linear combination of discrete random variables from the joint probability distributionyou relate the variance of a linear combination of discrete random variables to their independenceyou verify that a function of multiple continuous random variables is a valid joint probability density functionyou construct the marginal or individual probability density functions for multiple continuous random variables by evaluating a multiple integral of the continuous joint probability density functionyou construct the conditional probability distributions for multiple continuous random variables from the continuous joint probability density functionyou determine whether two continuous random variables are independent from the joint probability density functionyou compute the expected value of a function of multiple continuous random variables by evaluating a multiple integral of the continuous joint probability density functionyou compute the covariance and correlation of two continuous random variables by evaluating a multiple integral of the continuous joint probability density functionyou relate the independence of two continuous random variables to their covarianceyou compute the expected value and variance of a linear combination of continuous random variables by evaluating a multiple integral of the continuous joint probability density functionyou relate the variance of a linear combination of continuous random variables to their independenceyou compute the mean and variance of a sample mean of independent measurementsyou compute the mean of a sample variance of independent measurements
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Apply Results of Various Sampling Distributions.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou recognize the importance of random sampling from a populationyou distinguish random sampling with replacement from random sampling without replacementyou identify the sampling distribution of meansyou represent the sampling distribution of meansyou distinguish the mean and standard deviation of the parent population from the mean and standard deviation of the sampling distribution of meansyou determine the mean of the sampling distribution of means from the mean of the parent populationyou calculate the standard deviation of the sampling distribution of means from the mean and standard deviation of the parent populationyou recognize the significance of the finite population correction factor in the variance of the sampling distribution of means when the random sampling is done without replacement from a finite populationyou verify the content of the Central Limit Theorem by computational simulationyou use the Central Limit Theorem to compute probabilities for a range of values of a sample meanyou calculate at a given level of significance a confidence interval for a sample mean in terms of parent population parametersyou recognize the use of the t distribution to analyze the sampling distribution of means for small random samples taken from a normal distribution with unknown population standard deviationyou identify the correct degrees of freedom associated with a t distributionyou demonstrate the connections between the standard normal distribution and a t distributionyou demonstrate the similarities between the standard normal distribution and a t distributionyou demonstrate the differences between the standard normal distribution and a t distributionyou use a table to locate a critical t score given the degrees of freedom and a probability value, alphayou identify the sampling distribution of the varianceyou recognize the use of the chi-squared distribution to analyze the sampling distribution of the variance for random samples taken from a normal distributionyou identify the correct degrees of freedom associated with a chi-squared distributionyou use a table to locate a critical chi-squared score given the degrees of freedom and a probability value, alphayou identify the sampling distribution of the of the ratio of two variances taken from two independent samplesyou recognize the use of the F distribution to analyze the sampling distribution of the ratio of two variances taken from two independent samplesyou identify the correct numerator and denominator degrees of freedom associated with an F distributionyou use a table to locate a critical F score given the numerator degrees of freedom, the denominator degrees of freedom, and a probability value, alpha
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Calculate Confidence Intervals for Population Parameters Based on Sample Data.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou distinguish between biased and unbiased estimators of a population parameteryou distinguish between the probability of a future outcome and the level of confidence for an estimate based on data already obtainedyou calculate confidence intervals for a population mean in terms of a sample mean and a sample standard deviation for large samplesyou demonstrate the connection between the Central Limit Theorem and confidence intervals for the population mean based on large sample sizesyou use the degrees of freedom of the sample variance and the t distribution to calculate confidence intervals for population means when the sample size is smallyou state and critically examine the assumptions made in using a t distribution to calculate confidence intervals for population means when the sample size is smallyou determine the sample size necessary to attain a prescribed level of precision for a stated level of confidenceyou use the sampling distribution of differences of meansyou compute the pooled estimate of the variance of two populations of equal variance based on the sample variancesyou calculate confidence intervals for the difference of two population means in terms of the sample means and sample standard deviations for both large and small independent samplesyou state and critically examine the assumptions made in using a t distribution to calculate confidence intervals for the difference of population means based on small independent samplesyou decide when it is appropriate to calculate degrees of freedom based on the Smith-Satterthwaite formulayou distinguish between independent random samples and a matched pair experimental designyou calculate a confidence interval for a difference of two population means using a matched pair experimental designyou use the chi-squared distribution to calculate a confidence interval for a population varianceyou state and critically examine the assumptions made in using a chi-squared distribution to calculate confidence intervals for a population varianceyou use the confidence interval for a population variance to calculate a confidence interval for the population standard deviationyou calculate confidence intervals for a population proportion in terms of a sample proportion based on a large random sampleyou demonstrate the connection between the binomial distribution and a confidence interval for a population proportionyou demonstrate the similarities between confidence intervals for a population mean and a population proportionyou demonstrate the differences between confidence intervals for a population mean and a population proportionyou examine the adequacy of using a normal distribution in generating a confidence interval for a population proportionyou determine the sample size necessary to attain a prescribed level of precision in generating a confidence interval for a population proportion at a stated level of confidenceyou calculate confidence intervals for the difference of two population proportions in terms of two independent sample proportionsyou demonstrate the similarities between confidence intervals of the differences of two population means and the difference of two population proportionsyou demonstrate the differences between confidence intervals of the differences of two population means and the difference of two population proportionsyou use technology to compute confidence intervals
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Test Hypotheses About Population Parameters Based on Sample Data.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou formulate alternative and null hypotheses from a written statement of a question to be decidedyou recognize Type I and Type II errorsyou recognize the connection between Type I errors and the level of significanceyou distinguish the probability of falsely rejecting the null hypothesis, alpha, from beta, the probability of failing to reject the null hypothesis when the alternative hypothesis is trueyou distinguish between one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses testsyou recognize and interpret a operating characteristic curve for one-sided and two-sided alternative hypothesesyou recognize the connection between two-sided tests and confidence intervalsyou distinguish the observed sample statistic from the corresponding critical score obtained from a probability distributionyou recognize the appropriate criterion for rejecting the null hypothesisyou formulate the appropriate rejection (critical) region based on the critical score and the alternative hypothesisyou perform one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses tests about a population meanyou perform one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses tests about a population proportionyou perform one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses tests about the difference of two population means based on independent samplesyou perform one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses tests about the difference of two population means based on a matched pair experimental designyou perform one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses tests about the difference of two population proportionsyou perform one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses tests about a population variance using a chi-squared distributionyou use the chi-squared distribution at a given level of significance to test whether the disagreement between theoretical and empirical probabilities is not random (a "Goodness of Fit" test)you recognize when empirical and theoretical probability distributions are in agreement based on their graphsyou provide valid justification for the use of a chi-squared distribution in testing whether the disagreement between theoretical and empirical probabilities is not randomyou test whether two categorical variables are dependent by performing a contingency table analysis using a chi-squared distributionyou perform one-sided (one tail) and two-sided (two tail) hypotheses tests about two population variances based on two independent samples and the F distributionyou calculate P-values for hypotheses tests using the standard normal distributionyou interpret P-values for hypotheses tests using the standard normal distributionyou estimate P-values for hypotheses tests that use the t, chi-squared or F distributionsyou interpret P-values for hypotheses tests that use the t, chi-squared or F distributionsyou explain the relationship between the stated level of significance of the test and the calculated or estimated P-valuesyou recognize the underlying assumptions involved in testing a given hypothesisyou recognize the underlying limitations involved in testing a given hypothesisyou use technology to test hypotheses
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Interpret a One Way Analysis of Variance.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou recognize a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test whether there are differences in performance due to a single factor varied at more than two levelsyou state and explain the null hypothesis for a one-way ANOVAyou perform a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test whether there are differences in performance due to a single factor varied at more than two levelsyou interpret the treatment sum of squares and the error sum of squaresyou identify the degrees of freedom associated with the single treatment factoryou identify the degrees of freedom associated with erroryou relate the null hypothesis to the interpretation of the ratio of the treatment mean square to error mean squareyou construct an ANOVA tableyou use the F distribution in a one-way ANOVAyou state a conclusion consistent with the one-way ANOVA analysis and the stated level of significanceyou recognize the underlying assumptions of a one-way ANOVAyou recognize the underlying limitations of a one-way ANOVAyou examine the sample data to check if there is evidence that the underlying assumptions are not validyou use technology to perform the one-way analysis of variance
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Determine Which Levels of a Single Factor Make a Significant Difference in Performance.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou test for which treatment means are different by performing multiple pair comparison testsyou interpret the value of the level of significance used in the multiple pair comparisonsyou explain the value of the level of significance used in the multiple pair comparisonsyou explain the connections between the conclusions of the one-way ANOVA test and the multiple pair comparisons
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Set Up and Calculate a Linear Regression Fit of Bivariate Data.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou distinguish between a deterministic and a probabilistic model description of the relationship between a pair of variablesyou distinguish between a control variable (input) and a response variable (output)you generate the scatter diagram for a set of paired xy datayou paraphrase the method of least squares and its connection to the linear regression equationsyou state the underlying assumptions made in the method of least squares applied to a set of paired xy datayou generate the normal equations and from them derive the equations for the regression slope and interceptyou compute the regression slope and the regression intercept from a set of paired xy datayou plot the regression line for a set of paired xy data on the scatter diagramyou use technology to compute the regression slope and intercept and to plot the regression line
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Perform Statistical Inference on a Linear Regression Fit of Bivariate Data.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou recognize and state the underlying assumptions made when performing statistical inference on a linear regression analysisyou critically examine for a given data set whether there is evidence that the underlying assumptions are invalidyou recognize the underlying limitations of a linear regression analysisyou perform statistical inference (calculation of a confidence interval or performance of a hypothesis test) on the population slope and population interceptyou calculate confidence intervals for the mean response of y for a given x valueyou interpret confidence intervals for the mean response of y for a given x valueyou calculate confidence intervals for a single y measurement (future observed value) for a given x valueyou interpret confidence intervals for a single y measurement (future observed value) for a given x valueyou recognize and quantify the danger of extrapolating beyond the range of experimentationyou use technology to compute the confidence intervals and to perform the hypothesis testing
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Examine the Adequacy of a Linear Regression Fit of Bivariate Data.Assessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou calculate the coefficient of determination and the correlation coefficient for a set of paired xy datayou interpret the coefficient of determination and the correlation coefficient for a set of paired xy datayou demonstrate the connections between the regression slope and the correlation coefficientyou compute the degrees of freedom associated with the error variation and the explained variationyou demonstrate the connections between the explained variation, the error variation, ANOVA and the coefficient of determinationyou interpret the results of ANOVA applied to the regression fityou plot graphs of the residualsyou inspect graphs of the residuals for deterministic deviations from a linear model(OPTIONAL) you recognize that a linear model refers to linearity in the parameters of the model, not to linearity between the response variable and the control variable(OPTIONAL) you a use linear model employing a curvilinear dependence of response variable to control variable(OPTIONAL) you determine the form of the curvilinear model from the pattern of residualsyou use technology to compute the coefficient of determination and to plot the residuals
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Correlation AnalysisAssessment Strategiesin the solution to a problem on a quiz, homework, project or examCriteriayou calculate the correlation coefficient for a set of paired xy datayou interpret the correlation coefficient for a set of paired xy datayou distinguish the assumptions made in a correlation analysis from those made in a regression analysisyou recognize the symmetry treatment of x and y in the correlation coefficient for a set of paired xy datayou distinguish correlation from causationyou recognize the connection between covariance and correlationyou use the bivariate normal distribution and the Fisher Z transformation to perform statistical inference about the population correlation coefficientyou use technology to to perform statistical inference about the population correlation coefficient