AUDIENCE/PREREQUISITES

Essentials of Statistics is written for students majoring in any field. Although the use of algebra is minimal, students should have completed at least an elementary algebra course. In many cases, underlying theory is included, but this book does not stress the mathematical rigor more suitable for mathematics majors. Because the many examples and exercises cover a wide variety of different and interesting statistical applications, this book is appropriate for students pursuing careers drawing from a wide variety of disciplines ranging from the social sciences of psychology and sociology to areas such as education, the allied health fields, business, economics, engineering, the humanities, the physical sciences, journalism, communications, and liberal arts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mario F. Triola is a Professor of Mathematics at Dutchess Community College, where he has taught statistics for over 30 years. Marty is the author of Mathematics and the Modern World and A Survey of Mathematics, and is the coauthor of Introduction to Technical Mathematics and Business Statistics. Outside of the classroom, Marty's consulting work includes the mathematical design of casino slot machines and fishing rods, and he has worked with attorneys in determining probabilities in paternity lawsuits and identifying salary inequities based on gender. Marty was recently a writing team member of the Project Coalition writing team with NASA and the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges. When he's not working, Marty enjoys playing golf and tennis, running, hiking, and anything that flies. He has a commercial pilot's license with an instrument rating, and has flown airplanes, helicopters, sail planes, hang gliders, and hot air balloons. His passion for flying has included parachute jumps, flying in a Goodyear blimp, and parasailing. With his family, Marty had the pleasure of visiting 49 of the United States. He hopes to visit Kentucky very soon. Other favorite trips include a Kenyan photo safari, a rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, and hiking in Yellowstone National Park where he collected data for the Old Faithful geyser. The Text and Academic Authors Association has awarded Mario F. Triola a "Texty" for Excellence for his work on Elementary Statistics.

FEATURES

Beyond an interesting and accessible (and sometimes humorous) writing style, great care has been taken to ensure that each chapter of Essentials of Statistics will help students understand the concepts presented. The following features are designed to help meet that objective:

• Chapter-opening features: A list of chapter sections previews the chapter for the student; a chapter-opening problem, using real data, then motivates the chapter material; and the first section is a chapter overview that provides a statement of the chapter's objectives.
• End-of-chapter features:
  

  Statistics in the News encourages analysis of timely applications of statistics; A Chapter Review summarizes the key concepts and topics of the chapter; Review Exercises provide practice on chapter concepts and procedures; Cumulative Review Exercises reinforce earlier material; From Data to Decision: Critical Thinking, a capstone problem, requires critical thinking and a writing component; Cooperative Group Activities encourage active learning in groups; An Internet Project that applies important chapter concepts.

• Margin Essays: The text includes 87 margin essays, which illustrate uses and abuses of statistics in real, practical, and interesting applications. Topics include "Six Degrees of Separation," "Statistics and Land Mines," and "Choosing Personal Security Codes."
• STATDISK, Minitab, Excel, and TI-83 Plus instructions and output appear throughout the book.
• Flowcharts: These appear throughout the text to simplify and clarify more complex concepts and procedures.
• Real Data Sets: Real data are used extensively throughout the entire book. Appendix B lists 20 data sets. These data sets are provided in printed form in Appendix B at the back of the book, and in electronic form on the CD packaged with the book. The data sets include such varied topics as eruptions of the Old Faithful geyser, nicotine contents of cigarettes, diamond prices and characteristics, weights of diet and regular Coke and Pepsi, movie financial and rating data, and rainfall amounts.
• Interviews: Every chapter of the text includes interviews with professional men and women in a variety of fields who use statistics in their day-to-day work.
• Appendices: Appendix A contains tables; Appendix B lists 20 data sets; Appendix C is a summary of important TI-83 Plus procedures; Appendix D contains answers to all the odd-numbered section exercises, as well as all answers to Review Exercises and Cumulative Review Exercises.
• Data Analysis: Throughout the book there is a strong emphasis on describing, exploring, and comparing data. For examples, see Section 2-3 or 8-2.
• Interpreting Results: Throughout the book there is a strong emphasis on interpreting results. Instead of simply obtaining an answer, the consequences of the answer are considered. For example, when discussing probability in Chapter 3, instead of simply finding probability values, we interpret them by differentiating between events that are usual and those that are unusual. In Section 4-4, after we find the values of means and standard deviations in binomial probability distributions, we use those results to distinguish between results that are usual and those that are unusual. With hypothesis testing, we don't simply end with a conclusion of rejecting or failing to reject a null hypothesis; we proceed to state a practical conclusion that addresses the real issue. Students are encouraged to think about the implications of results instead of cranking out cookbook results that make no real sense.
• Detachable Formula/Table Card: This insert, organized by chapter, gives students a quick reference for studying, or for use when taking tests (if allowed by the instructor). The formula/table card is also available on the Web site.

Because exercises are of such critical importance to any statistics book, great care has been taken to ensure their usefulness, relevance, and accuracy. Three statisticians have read carefully through the final stages of the book to verify accuracy of the text material and exercise answers. Exercises are arranged in order of increasing difficulty by dividing them into two groups: (1) Basic Skills and Concepts and (2) Beyond the Basics. The Beyond the Basics exercises address more difficult concepts or require a somewhat stronger mathematical background. In some cases, these exercises also introduce a new concept.

Real data: More than half of the exercises use real data. Because the use of real data is such an important consideration for students, hundreds of hours have been devoted to finding real, meaningful, and interesting data. In addition to the real data included throughout the book, many exercises refer to the 20 data sets listed in Appendix B.

Technology Supplements

STATDISK: An easy-to-use statistical software package designed by the author, included on the CD-ROM provided with this book. STATDISK is available for Windows and Macintosh systems. In addition to this free software, there are references to STATDISK throughout this book, and there is a separate STATDISK manual/workbook.
Minitab: There are references to Minitab (Release 13) throughout this book, and there is a separate Minitab manual/workbook. The Appendix B data sets are included on the CD-ROM in a Minitab format.
Excel: References to Excel are included throughout this book, and there is a separate Excel manual/workbook. The Appendix B data sets are included on the CD-ROM in an Excel format.
Excel Add-In: Data Desk/XL is a software supplement on the CD-ROM that enhances the statistics capabilities of the Excel program.
TI-83 Plus: References to the TI-83 Plus calculator appear throughout, and there is a separate manual/workbook. The CD-ROM includes a data application for the TI-83 Plus. This application includes the Appendix B data sets.
SPSS: There is a separate SPSS manual/workbook. The Appendix B data sets are included on the CD-ROM in an SPSS format.
Data CD: The Appendix B data sets included in formats for Minitab, Excel, SPSS, the TI-83 Plus calculator, and text files are included on the CD and packaged with the book.

The following supplements can be ordered through a campus bookstore, or by calling our customer service group directly at 1-800-282-0693.

Videos, designed to supplement most sections in the book, with many topics presented by the author. This is an excellent resource for students who have missed class or wish to review a topic. It is also an excellent resource for those instructors involved with distance learning, individual study, or self-paced learning programs. ISBN: 0-201-70470-6. Available on CD-ROM. CD-ROM ISBN: 0-201-70966-X.

Data Sets/Program Software, prepared by Mario F. Triola, includes the data sets (except for Data Set 6) from Appendix B in the textbook. These data sets are stored as text files, Minitab worksheets, TI Data application for the TI-83 Plus,and Excel workbooks and are included on the CD located in the back of the book. The CD also includes programs for the TI-83® graphing calculator.

STATDISK Statistical Software, specifically for the Triola text, is a statistical software package (for both Windows and Macintosh) licensed free to adopters of Essentials of Statistics . This software is included on the CD in the back of the book.

STATDISK Student Laboratory Manual and Workbook , written by Mario F. Triola, includes instructuions and experiments to be conducted by students using STATDISK software, either in the computer lab, or for out-of-class assignments. ISBN: 0-201-70466-8.

The Student Edition of Minitab is a reduced version of Minitab professional software (which allows the user access to 3500 data points and to a full range of Minitab functionalities and graphics capabilities), and an accompanying manual (which includes case studies and hands-on tutorials). A special Student Version (Windows only) of Minitab now includes data sets from Triola Elementary Statistics, Eighth Edition. Currently available Student Editions are: Student Edition of Minitab, Release 12 for Windows 95/98 NT, ISBN: 0-201-39715-3 Student Edition of Minitab, Release 8 for DOS, ISBN: 0-201-83590-8 Student Edition of Minitab, Release 8 for the Macintosh, ISBN: 0-201-83591-6

Minitab Student Laboratory Manual and Workbook , written by Mario F. Triola, includes instructions on and examles of Minitabe use. It also supplies many computer experiments to be conducted, and allows further exploration of statistical concepts. ISBN: 0-201-70461-7

Excel Add-In: Free software, called Data Desk/XL, designed to enhance the capabilities of Excel's statistics programs. Available on the CD bound in the back of the book.

CD-ROM: A free CD-ROM, packaged with every copy of the text, contains the Data/Program software, STATDISK software, and the Excel Add-In.

Student Solutions Manual , by Milton Loyer (Penn State University), provides detailed, worked-out solutions to all odd-numbered exercises. ISBN: 0-201-74801-0.

Excel® Student Laboratory Manual and Workbook , written by Johanna Halsey and Ellena Reda (Dutchess Community College), includes instructions on and examples of Excel in use. The manual includes many examples and problems from the book as well as other appropriate exercises, and encourages further exploration of statistical concepts. ISBN: 0-201-70459-5

SPSS® Student Laboratory Manual and Workbook , by Roger Peck (California State University-Bakersfied) includes instructions on and examples of SPSS use to guide students as they learn this software package. It also includes appropriate exercises from the text. ISBN: 0-201-70464-1.

TI-83 Plus® Companion to Elementary Statistics, Eighth Edition , by Larry Morgan (Montgomery County Community College) is organized to follow the sequence of topics in the text, and is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide on how to use the TI-83 Plus® graphing calculator. It provides worked-out examples to help students fully understand and use the graphing calculator. This supplement is also suitable for use with a TI-83 calculator. ISBN: 0-201-70469-2.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Introduction to Statistics
	1-1 Overview
	1-2 The Nature of Data
	1-3 Uses and Abuses of Statistics
	1-4 Design of Experiments
Chapter 2 Describing, Exploring, and Comparing Data
	2-1 Overview
	2-2 Summarizing Data with Frequency Tables
	2-3 Pictures of Data
	2-4 Measures of Center
	2-5 Measures of Variation
	2-6 Measures of Position
	2-7 Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)
Chapter 3 Probability
	3-1 Overview
	3-2 Fundamentals
	3-3 Addition Rule
	3-4 Multiplication Rule: Basics
	3-5 Multiplication Rule: Complements and Conditional Probability
	3-6 Counting
Chapter 4 Probability Distributions
	4-1 Overview
	4-2 Random Variables
	4-3 Binomial Probability Distributions
	4-4 Mean, Variance, and Standard Deviation for the Binomial Distribution
Chapter 5 Normal Probability Distributions
	5-1 Overview
	5-2 The Standard Normal Distribution
	5-3 Nonstandard Normal Distributions: Finding Probabilities
	5-4 Nonstandard Normal Distributions: Finding Values
	5-5 The Central Limit Theorem
	5-6 Normal Distribution as Approximation to Binomial Distribution
Chapter 6 Estimates and Sample Sizes
	6-1 Overview
	6-2 Estimating a Population Mean: Large Samples
	6-3 Estimating a Population Mean: Small Samples
	6-4 Determining Sample Size
	6-5 Estimating a Population Proportion
	6-6 Estimating a Population Variance
Chapter 7 Hypothesis Testing
	7-1 Overview
	7-2 Fundamentals of Hypothesis Testing
	7-3 Testing a Claim about a Mean: Large Samples
	7-4 Testing a Claim about a Mean: Small Samples
	7-5 Testing a Claim about a Proportion
	7-6 Testing a Claim about a Standard Deviation or Variance
Chapter 8 Inferences from Two Samples
	8-1 Overview
	8-2 Inferences about Two Means: Independent and Large Samples
	8-3 Inferences about Two Means: Matched Pairs
	8-4 Inferences about Two Proportions
Chapter 9 Correlation and Regression
	9-1 Overview
	9-2 Correlation
	9-3 Regression
	9-4 Variation and Prediction Intervals
	9-5 Rank Correlation
Chapter 10 Multinomial Experiments and Contingency Tables
	10-1 Overview
	10-2 Multinomial Experiments: Goodness-0f-Fit
	10-3 Contingency Tables: Independence and Homogeneity
	10-4 One-Way ANOVA
Appendices
	Appendix A: Tables
	Appendix B: Data Sets
	Appendix C: TI-83 Plus Reference
	Appendix D: Answers to Odd-Numbered Exercises (and All Review Exercises and All Cumulative Review Exercises)