Online courses directory (418)

Random variables. Expected value. Probability distributions (both discrete and continuous). Binomial distribution. Poisson processes. Random Variables. Discrete and continuous random variables. Probability Density Functions. Expected Value: E(X). Expected value. Law of Large Numbers. Term Life Insurance and Death Probability. Binomial Distribution 1. Binomial Distribution 2. Binomial Distribution 3. Binomial Distribution 4. Expected Value of Binomial Distribution. Galton Board Exploration. Poisson Process 1. Poisson Process 2. Random Variables. Discrete and continuous random variables. Probability Density Functions. Expected Value: E(X). Expected value. Law of Large Numbers. Term Life Insurance and Death Probability. Binomial Distribution 1. Binomial Distribution 2. Binomial Distribution 3. Binomial Distribution 4. Expected Value of Binomial Distribution. Galton Board Exploration. Poisson Process 1. Poisson Process 2.

Fitting a line to points. Linear regression. R-squared. Correlation and Causality. Fitting a Line to Data. Estimating the line of best fit exercise. Estimating the line of best fit. Squared Error of Regression Line. Proof (Part 1) Minimizing Squared Error to Regression Line. Proof Part 2 Minimizing Squared Error to Line. Proof (Part 3) Minimizing Squared Error to Regression Line. Proof (Part 4) Minimizing Squared Error to Regression Line. Regression Line Example. Second Regression Example. R-Squared or Coefficient of Determination. Calculating R-Squared. Covariance and the Regression Line. Correlation and Causality. Fitting a Line to Data. Estimating the line of best fit exercise. Estimating the line of best fit. Squared Error of Regression Line. Proof (Part 1) Minimizing Squared Error to Regression Line. Proof Part 2 Minimizing Squared Error to Line. Proof (Part 3) Minimizing Squared Error to Regression Line. Proof (Part 4) Minimizing Squared Error to Regression Line. Regression Line Example. Second Regression Example. R-Squared or Coefficient of Determination. Calculating R-Squared. Covariance and the Regression Line.

This course is designed for students who will be starting or restarting college within the next year, and for current students who have not completed their general education math requirement. It will provide math refresher materials covering a wide range of mathematical concepts together with information about success in college. Incoming college students are typically placed in college math courses based on placement exam scores. Students often take these placement exams with minimal preparation or after a long break since their last math class. The study materials in the course will help students prepare for placement exams, and higher scores mean fewer required math courses in college. Students who have already taken a placement exam (such as the ACT) can also use these materials to study and then retest, hopefully scoring higher. College students who have started, but not finished their math courses, can also retake a placement exam and possibly skip a math class. The course will also be valuable for anyone who just wants to refresh their math skills. The provided study materials are individualized based on a student’s current knowledge. Each student will be provided a customized learning path that maximizes efficiency so that study time is spent where it’s needed most. Beyond math content, the course will also provide college success material such as test-taking strategies, new student orientation, and study techniques. All of this material can be accessed separately from the math content so even if a student is already placed highly in math, or has tested out of it completely, the course will provide valuable information to help the student orient to college and to get the most out of the college experience.

The key learning objectives of this MOOC are: 1. Review, develop, and demonstrate their conceptual understanding and procedural skills with selected fundamental mathematical topics 2. Collaborate with peers to solve problems that arise in mathematics and other contexts 3. Create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas 4. Reflect on the process of problem solving 5. Justify results using mathematical reasoning 6. Communicate mathematical thinking clearly to peers and to the instructor The learning objectives and course content align with on?campus versions of this type of course. We are building this MOOC around key concepts and skills in the nationally recognized Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, the ACT College Readiness Standards, and the SAT Skills Insight. Students successfully completing our MOOC will find their subject matter knowledge to be in alignment with the "typical" course offered by other U.S. colleges and universities. By using Common Core standards, ACT College Readiness Standards, and the SAT Skills Insight, we can also begin to develop post?test instruments that will assess the students' levels of proficiency

This course is designed to introduce you to the study of Calculus.  You will learn concrete applications of how calculus is used and, more importantly, why it works.  Calculus is not a new discipline; it has been around since the days of Archimedes.  However, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, two 17th-century European mathematicians concurrently working on the same intellectual discovery hundreds of miles apart, were responsible for developing the field as we know it today.  This brings us to our first question, what is today's Calculus?  In its simplest terms, calculus is the study of functions, rates of change, and continuity.  While you may have cultivated a basic understanding of functions in previous math courses, in this course you will come to a more advanced understanding of their complexity, learning to take a closer look at their behaviors and nuances. In this course, we will address three major topics: limits, derivatives, and integrals, as well as study their respective foundations and a…

This course is the second installment of Single-Variable Calculus.  In Part I (MA101) [1], we studied limits, derivatives, and basic integrals as a means to understand the behavior of functions.  In this course (Part II), we will extend our differentiation and integration abilities and apply the techniques we have learned. Additional integration techniques, in particular, are a major part of the course.  In Part I, we learned how to integrate by various formulas and by reversing the chain rule through the technique of substitution.  In Part II, we will learn some clever uses of substitution, how to reverse the product rule for differentiation through a technique called integration by parts, and how to rewrite trigonometric and rational integrands that look impossible into simpler forms.  Series, while a major topic in their own right, also serve to extend our integration reach: they culminate in an application that lets you integrate almost any function you’d like. Integration allows us to calculat…

This course is an introduction to linear algebra.  It has been argued that linear algebra constitutes half of all mathematics.  Whether or not everyone would agree with that, it is certainly true that practically every modern technology relies on linear algebra to simplify the computations required for Internet searches, 3-D animation, coordination of safety systems, financial trading, air traffic control, and everything in between. Linear algebra can be viewed either as the study of linear equations or as the study of vectors.  It is tied to analytic geometry; practically speaking, this means that almost every fact you will learn in this course has a picture associated with it.  Learning to connect the facts with their geometric interpretation will be very useful for you. The book which is used in the course focuses both on the theoretical aspects as well as the applied aspects of linear algebra.  As a result, you will be able to learn the geometric interpretations of many of the algebraic concepts…

In this course, you will study basic algebraic operations and concepts, as well as the structure and use of algebra. This includes solving algebraic equations, factoring algebraic expressions, working with rational expressions, and graphing linear equations. You will apply these skills to solve real-world problems (word problems). Each unit will have its own application problems, depending on the concepts you have been exposed to. This course is also intended to provide you with a strong foundation for intermediate algebra and beyond. It will begin with a review of some math concepts formed in pre-algebra, such as ordering operations and simplifying simple algebraic expressions, to get your feet wet. You will then build on these concepts by learning more about functions, graphing of functions, evaluation of functions, and factorization. You will spend time on the rules of exponents and their applications in distribution of multiplication over addition/subtraction. This course provides students the opportuni…

This course is a continuation of MA001: Beginning Algebra [1]. Algebra allows us to formulate real-world problems in an abstract mathematical term or equation. These equations can then be solved by using techniques you will learn in this course. For example, if I can ride my bicycle at 5 miles per hour and I live 12 miles from work, how long will it take me to get to work? Or, suppose I am a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and my fast ball is 95 miles per hour, how much time does the hitter have to react to the baseball? And, can you explain why an object thrown up into the air will come back down? If so, can you tell how long it will take for the object to hit the ground? These are all examples of problems that can be stated as an algebraic equation and then solved. In this course you will study compound inequalities and solve systems of linear equations. You will then study radicals and rational exponents, followed by quadratic equations and techniques used to solve these equations. Finally, you will…

This course is designed to introduce you to the study of calculus. You will learn concrete applications of how calculus is used and, more importantly, why it works. Calculus is not a new discipline; it has been around since the days of Archimedes. However, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, two seventeenth-century European mathematicians concurrently working on the same intellectual discovery hundreds of miles apart, were responsible for developing the field as we know it today. This brings us to our first question, what is today’s calculus? In its simplest terms, calculus is the study of functions, rates of change, and continuity. While you may have cultivated a basic understanding of functions in previous math courses, in this course you will come to a more advanced understanding of their complexity, learning to take a closer look at their behaviors and nuances. In this course, we will address three major topics: limits, derivatives, and integrals, as well as study their respective foundations and appl…

Partial differential equations (PDEs) describe the relationships among the derivatives of an unknown function with respect to different independent variables, such as time and position. For example, the heat equation can be used to describe the change in heat distribution along a metal rod over time. PDEs arise as part of the mathematical modeling of problems connected to different branches of science, such as physics, biology, and chemistry. In these fields, experiment and observation provide information about the connections between rates of change of an important quantity, such as heat, with respect to different variables. These connections must be exploited to find an explicit way of calculating the unknown quantity, given the values of the independent variables  that is, to derive certain laws of nature. While we do not know why partial differential equations provide what has been termed the “unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences” (the title of a 1960 paper by physicist…

Real Analysis II is the sequel to Saylor’s Real Analysis I, and together these two courses constitute the foundations of real analysis in mathematics. In this course, you will build on key concepts presented in Real Analysis I, particularly the study of the real number system and real-valued functions defined on all or part (usually intervals) of the real number line. The main objective of MA241 [1] was to introduce you to the concept and theory of differential and integral calculus as well as the mathematical analysis techniques that allow us to understand and solve various problems at the heart of sciencenamely, questions in the fields of physics, economics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. In this course, you will build on these techniques with the goal of applying them to the solution of more complex mathematical problems. As long as a problem can be modeled as a functional relation between two quantities, each of which can be expressed as a set of real numbers, the techniques used for real-value…

This course provides an introduction to causal and statistical reasoning. After taking this course, students will be better prepared to make rational decisions about their own lives and about matters of social policy. They will be able to assess criticallyeven if informallyclaims that they encounter during discussions or when considering a news article or report. A variety of materials are presented, including Case Studies where students are given the opportunity to examine a causal claim, and the Causality Lab, a virtual environment to simulate the science of causal discovery. Students have frequent opportunities to check their understanding and practice their skills. This course is meant to serve students in several situations. One, it is meant for students who will only take one such research methods course, and are interested in gaining basic skills that will help them to think critically about claims they come across in their daily lives, such as through a news article. Two, it is meant for students who will take a few statistics courses in service of a related field of study. Three, it is meant for students interested in the foundations of quantitative causal models: called Bayes Networks.

Logic is a remarkable discipline. It is deeply tied to mathematics and philosophy, as correctness of argumentation is particularly crucial for these abstract disciplines. Logic systematizes and analyzes steps in reasoning: correct steps guarantee the truth of their conclusion given the truth of their premise(s); incorrect steps allow the formulation of counterexamples, i.e., of situations in which the premises are true, but the conclusion is false. Recognizing (and having conceptual tools for recognizing) the correctness or incorrectness of steps is crucial in order to critically evaluate arguments, not just in philosophy and mathematics, but also in ordinary life. This skill is honed by working in two virtual labs. In the ProofLab you learn to construct complex arguments in a strategically guided way, whereas in the TruthLab the emphasis is on finding counterexamples systematically. Who Should Take This Course? This is an introductory course designed for students from a broad range of disciplines, from mathematics and computer science to drama and creative writing. The highly interactive presentation makes it possible for any student to master the material. Concise multimedia lectures introduce each chapter; they discuss, in detail, the central notions and techniques presented in the text, but also articulate and motivate the learning objectives for each chapter. Open & Free Version The Open & Free, Logic & Proofs course includes the first five chapters of Logic & Proofs, providing a basic introduction to sentential logic. A full version of Logic & Proofs, including both sentential and predicate logic, is also available without technical or instructor support to independent users, for a small fee. No credit is awarded for completing either the Open & Free, Logic & Proofs course or the full, unsupported Logic & Proofs course. Academic Version Academic use of Logic & Proofs provides a full course on modern symbolic logic, covering both sentential and predicate logic, with identity. Optional suites of exams are available for use in academic sections.

Statistical Reasoning introduces students to the basic concepts and logic of statistical reasoning and gives the students introductory-level practical ability to choose, generate, and properly interpret appropriate descriptive and inferential methods. In addition, the course helps students gain an appreciation for the diverse applications of statistics and its relevance to their lives and fields of study. The course does not assume any prior knowledge in statistics and its only prerequisite is basic algebra. We offer two versions of statistics, each with a different emphasis: Probability and Statistics and Statistical Reasoning. Each course includes all expository text, simulations, case studies, comprehension tests, interactive learning exercises, and the StatTutor labs. Each course contains all of the instructions for the four statistics packages options we support. To do the activities, you will need your own copy of Microsoft Excel, Minitab, the open source R software, TI calculator, or StatCrunch. One of the main differences between the courses is the path through probability; Statistical Reasoning places less emphasis on probability than does the Probability and Statistics course and takes an empirical approach.

This class covers the analysis and modeling of stochastic processes. Topics include measure theoretic probability, martingales, filtration, and stopping theorems, elements of large deviations theory, Brownian motion and reflected Brownian motion, stochastic integration and Ito calculus and functional limit theorems. In addition, the class will go over some applications to finance theory, insurance, queueing and inventory models.

Build your earth science vocabulary and learn about cycles of matter and types of sedimentary rocks through the Education Portal course Earth Science 101: Earth Science. Our series of video lessons and accompanying self-assessment quizzes can help you boost your scientific knowledge ahead of the Excelsior Earth Science exam . This course was designed by experienced educators and examines both science basics, like experimental design and systems of measurement, and more advanced topics, such as analysis of rock deformation and theories of continental drift.

Build your earth science vocabulary and learn about cycles of matter and types of sedimentary rocks through the Education Portal course Earth Science 101: Earth Science. Our series of video lessons and accompanying self-assessment quizzes can help you boost your scientific knowledge ahead of the Excelsior Earth Science exam . This course was designed by experienced educators and examines both science basics, like experimental design and systems of measurement, and more advanced topics, such as analysis of rock deformation and theories of continental drift.