GQ, 4 credits
GenEd Quantitative Literacy courses present
mathematical thinking as a tool for solving everyday problems, and
as a way of understanding how to represent aspects of a complex
world. They are designed to prepare students as citizens and voters
to have the ability to think critically about quantitative
statements, to recognize when they are misleading or false, and to
appreciate how they relate to significant social or political
issues. While computation may be part a QL course, the primary
focus is not computational skills.
Quantitative Literacy courses are intended to
teach students how to:
- Become familiar with quantitative models that
describe real world phenomena and be able to recognize limitations
of those models;
- Develop an ability to perform simple
mathematical computations associated with a quantitative model and
make conclusions based on the results; and
- Appreciate mathematical thinking as an important
tool for solving a large number of problems that are part of
everyday life.
Select One Course
Community & Regional Planning 0821
Geography & Urban Studies 0821
From web-based applications like Google Maps, to
automobile navigation systems, to satellite pictures of hurricanes,
digital maps are widely used to display information about the
Earth. This course unmasks the underlying technologies used for
computer-based mapping, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS),
satellite remote sensing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
We will investigate how computers store and analyze digital maps,
and see how mapping technologies can be used to address a variety
of societal problems, such as analyzing the environmental impacts
of urban growth, tracking the spread of a deadly disease, and
planning for earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Electrical Engineering 0822
Learn about the challenges of personal financial
management in an ownership society. The idea that you should be
thinking about retirement today when you're just in college may
seem premature. But if you are responsible for accumulating around
$2.0 million by the time you retire, shouldn't you understand the
effect of delaying your investments until well after graduation
when your career is established? In this course you will learn how
to determine your retirement needs, how to think about managing
risk in your investments, the issues involved in structuring a
retirement portfolio, the role of the economy as it affects your
investment performance, and the trade-offs between active and
passive investing. If you want to avoid being forced to wear an
orange (blue or red) vest when you should be enjoying retirement,
then this course should be of interest to you.
Computer & Informational Science 0823
Math 0823
How can I tell if an Email message is really from
my bank? If I do on-line banking, can other people see the
information? Does playing the lottery make sense? Does it make
sense to draw for an inside straight? How can polling results
differ so much from the election--or do they? Sometimes the winner
of an election in the US gets much less than 50% of the vote. Would
it make sense to have a run-off in such cases? How long will the
world's oil last, assuming that we use more each year. How long
will a million dollars last you, assuming it earns interest until
you spend it? If you bought your text on-line, could someone tap
into the Internet and get your credit card number when it's
transmitted? Why does the VIN on your car have so many digits?
Math 0824
News stories, everyday situations, and puzzling
vignettes will be used to illuminate basic math concepts. Learn
probability, for example, by discussing the gambler's fallacy and
gambler's ruin, the drunkard's random walks, the Monty Hall
problem, the St. Petersburg paradox, the hot hand, monkeys randomly
typing on a typewriter, and many others. A similar approach
involving estimation problems and puzzles will be taken in the
units
on basic numeracy and logic. Throughout the course, lectures and
readings will examine the mathematical angles of stories in the
news, suggesting fresh perspectives, questions, and ideas on
current issues from Google searches to the randomness of the iPod
shuffle.
Anthropology 0825
Political Science 0825
Psychology 0825
Sociology 0825
Psychological, political, social, and economic
arguments and knowledge frequently depend on the use of numerical
data. A psychologist might hypothesize that I.Q. is attributable to
environmental or genetic factors; a politician might claim that
hand gun control legislation will reduce crime; a sociologist might
assert that social mobility is more limited in the United States
than in other countries, and an economist might declare that
globalization lowers the incomes of U.S. workers. How can we
evaluate these arguments? Using examples from psychology,
sociology, political science, and economics, students will examine
how social science methods and statistics help us understand the
social world. The goal is to become critical consumers of
quantitative material that appears in scholarship, the media, and
everyday life.
Statistical Reasoning & Games of
Chance
Statistics 0827
This is a beginning course in probability and
statistics with special emphasis on the critical analysis of games
of chance proposed by the Department of Statistics. The objectives
of the course are to introduce several quantitative concepts with
real-life applications. These applications are related to
situations that involve fallacies in reasoning, equity markets and
games of chance.
The course is designed for a general audience, and the only
prerequisite is basic arithmetic and algebra (at the level of Math
0701). The background material in probability, statistics and games
of chance required to accomplish our objectives will be developed
concurrently as we progress through the course.
Statistics 0826
Through discussion of approximately 50 news
articles, learn basic principles of statistics. This course focuses
on the relevance, interpretation and usage of statistics in the
news media. It has no quantitative prerequisites and involves more
reading than math aptitude. Statistics deals with the study of
variability, uncertainty, and decision-making, and has
applicability to most other disciplines and everyday life.
