OMG! you people remember statistics class?

vash · vash's Garage

some may remember, my wife got laid off and is now back in school. she is in a statistics class. i clearly remember getting a solid "C" back in college. for some reason, i really struggled with the concept. i want to help with her homework, but holy, sweet mother of..........i find it daunting.

was anyone ever great in this class? i did a random sampling of my office mates. everyone one of them grimaced when i asked. summer school is 4 weeks. this is going to be hell (for me).

vash · vash's Garage

if anyone can help me find the random number generator on my 48GX, that would be cool. i used MTH->NXT->"PROB" ->"RAND" and it only generates numbers from 0 to 1. can i set it to pump out whole numbers?

Tim Walsh · Tim Walsh's Garage

That's pretty typical for computers(don't know what a 48gx is). generally we use something like this INT(TopOfRange*Rand()) where TopOfRange == the largest number you want in your random number.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

I got an "A" in it but it was years ago. Pretty easy as I recall.

What the hell is a 48GX? Don't you people learn concepts out of textbooks anymore?

M.D. Holloway · 06-23-2009, 09:03 AM

For Standard Deviations; determine the mean, establish the differnce of each number then take the mean, square each difference, calculate the average of the squares then calculate the square root of the squares or you can stick the data in Excel and hit STDEVPA

M.D. Holloway · 06-23-2009, 09:03 AM

I think...

vash · vash's Garage

sorry..HP 48GX is a scientific calculator. they have newer versions, but IMHO, there is none better. i loaned my spare to my wife. kinda like handing a light saber to lancelot. overkill.

VincentVega · 06-23-2009, 09:06 AM

I think I dropped it at least once. It didnt get easier in grad school

M.D. Holloway · 06-23-2009, 09:07 AM

Redbeard is a wiz at stats

Seahawk · 06-23-2009, 09:27 AM

I owned stats: so simple like the Jitterbug...

Don't complicate the math, remember numbers always add up, formulas are your friend and the numbers always add up

Amail · 06-23-2009, 09:27 AM

I've got the HP 48G Series User's guide. Would you like me to send it to you? I rarely use it, and could certainly stand to let it go to a worthy cause.

kycarguy 935 · 06-23-2009, 09:46 AM

I just had 400 level Stats at MSU a year ago. For the most part it was not too bad. I was in the minority however. 3/4 of the class graded C or failed.

It isn't my favorite thing either. I have to use the same process of statistical method in 2 of my other classes.

flatbutt · 06-23-2009, 09:47 AM

statistics cover all of my flaws....statistically

Seahawk · 06-23-2009, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt

statistics cover all of my flaws....statistically

I am willing to bet, statistically, that your flaws can't be covered...statistically.

I'll be happy to show the math

legion · 06-23-2009, 10:09 AM

I got an A in statistics, but it's been awhile.

As for random numbers, you usually have to set the bounds of the random number.

Say you want a random number between 0 and 100. You multiply the random function by 100....

jyl · jyl's Garage

I recall statistics was not so intuitive with all that null hypothesis stuff and all the different flavours of distributions and tests. If you're more into math or physics, you get kind of frustrated. Where is the clarity, where is the beauty? But just ignore the dissatisfaction and plug through the formulas, the answers come quickly enough, I never saw a statistics problem that actually stretched your mind.

Dave L · 06-23-2009, 12:09 PM

I took stats in college as an elective so some insane reason. I did alright in it and actually enjoyed the class. Cant remember any of it now though.

rick-l · 06-23-2009, 12:35 PM

Do you have Excel?

Returns an evenly distributed random number greater than or equal to 0 and less than 1. A new random number is returned every time the worksheet is calculated.

Syntax

RAND( )

Remarks

To generate a random real number between a and b, use:
RAND()*(b-a)+a

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

if anyone can help me find the random number generator on my 48GX, that would be cool. i used MTH->NXT->"PROB" ->"RAND" and it only generates numbers from 0 to 1. can i set it to pump out whole numbers?

You multiply the RND number by the range you want, make an integer and then add 1.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

A in stats here, and 6 Sigma trained, like the Lubemaster.

What help do you need?