← Back to Home

MATH 302 - Introduction to Probability

Monty Python

  • Rating: 8/10

General Overview

An introduction to probability and basic statistics. The course covered various distributions, probability density/mass functions (pdf/pmf), and probability bounds, with an emphasis on the law of large numbers.

Topics Covered

  • Sample spaces, events, axioms of probability
  • Counting principles and combinatorics
  • Independence and conditional probability, Bayes formula
  • Discrete random variables: expectation and variance
  • Continuous random variables: expectation and variance
  • Joint distributions, conditional distributions
  • Transformations of random variables
  • Covariance and correlation
  • Moment generating functions
  • Chebyshev inequality
  • Law of large numbers and central limit theorem

Class Schedule

  • Three 2-hour lectures and one 1-hour lecture per week.
  • Midterms were always on the 1-hour day.

Grading Scheme

  • Homework: 15%
  • Midterm: 35%
  • Final: 50%

Personal Thoughts

This is the course to take if you want to become a professional gambler. I think the most interesting part of this course is figuring out probabilities for the casino games like roulette and card hands. Although some of the lectures were a little confusing, most lectures contained a lot of cool material and had engaging examples. Overall, I think this is one of the most interesting courses I have taken so far, and I'll be using the lessons I've learnt to make millions at the casino.