MATH 170E
Introduction to Probability and Statistics 1: Probability
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: course 32B. Highly recommended: course 61 or 70. Not open to students with credit for course 170A, Electrical and Computer Engineering 131A, or Statistics 100A. Introduction to probability theory with emphasis on topics relevant to applications. Topics include discrete (binomial, Poisson, etc.) and continuous (exponential, gamma, chi-square, normal) distributions, bivariate distributions, distributions of functions of random variables (including moment generating functions and central limit theorem). P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2021 - I loved 170E with Professor Tyler – he was a really good teacher, taught a lot, and was really helpful during office hours. There's a good amount of homework, but since we were virtual the midterms and final weren't bad. Class seems to be one of the easier math classes, but also one that's pretty interesting as well, and Tyler is a great teacher for this class.
Winter 2021 - I loved 170E with Professor Tyler – he was a really good teacher, taught a lot, and was really helpful during office hours. There's a good amount of homework, but since we were virtual the midterms and final weren't bad. Class seems to be one of the easier math classes, but also one that's pretty interesting as well, and Tyler is a great teacher for this class.
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Spring 2025 - Butson was an interesting prof. The class was definitely harder than I expected, especially the second midterm and parts of the final. His grading isn't generous, and his problems are very different from homework and textbook problems, and require you to think critically about the material (think AIME, Mathcounts). His lectures were mostly slides and whiteboard based, not recorded, and didn't provide too much practice material. He loves calling things trivial and using "apriori" to explain things, and would explain things in OH and after class (although sometimes reluctantly). He is mostly a chill guy (slept through one of the classes, often funny in class), but not a great teacher. Overall, expect to do a decent amount of self-studying unless you have strong mathematical intuition.
Spring 2025 - Butson was an interesting prof. The class was definitely harder than I expected, especially the second midterm and parts of the final. His grading isn't generous, and his problems are very different from homework and textbook problems, and require you to think critically about the material (think AIME, Mathcounts). His lectures were mostly slides and whiteboard based, not recorded, and didn't provide too much practice material. He loves calling things trivial and using "apriori" to explain things, and would explain things in OH and after class (although sometimes reluctantly). He is mostly a chill guy (slept through one of the classes, often funny in class), but not a great teacher. Overall, expect to do a decent amount of self-studying unless you have strong mathematical intuition.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - This professor was the most unclear and unfair professor. I don't understand why he was even able to be teaching and don't believe he should continue. When I first started the class, I thought he was a really cool math professors with lots of icebreakers and fun games to help understand concepts. However, as the class went on it seemed to me that he really was playing mind games on the whole class. He would make typos on lectures and then frame it as if he did it on purpose, giving people bonus points left and right for what felt like complete favoritism. For our second midterm, he gave some of the class the ENTIRE midterm with word for word questions that COMPLETELY ruined the curve. The first midterm was fair and those who worked hard actually did better but since you were able to take the midterm with the higher score almost everyone got 100% on that midterm. Not to mention, he would tell us to ignore certain material that he said wouldn't be tested which then showed up on exams! For the final, there were many rumors that he gave people in office hours the questions that would be on the final. This class was extremely corrupt, as I had an A in the class up until the terrible and impossible final that was given. I am extremely upset with the way this class had ended and definitely wouldn't recommend taking his class. I have even reported this to the math department and I am very disappointed that no action was taken further.
Fall 2020 - This professor was the most unclear and unfair professor. I don't understand why he was even able to be teaching and don't believe he should continue. When I first started the class, I thought he was a really cool math professors with lots of icebreakers and fun games to help understand concepts. However, as the class went on it seemed to me that he really was playing mind games on the whole class. He would make typos on lectures and then frame it as if he did it on purpose, giving people bonus points left and right for what felt like complete favoritism. For our second midterm, he gave some of the class the ENTIRE midterm with word for word questions that COMPLETELY ruined the curve. The first midterm was fair and those who worked hard actually did better but since you were able to take the midterm with the higher score almost everyone got 100% on that midterm. Not to mention, he would tell us to ignore certain material that he said wouldn't be tested which then showed up on exams! For the final, there were many rumors that he gave people in office hours the questions that would be on the final. This class was extremely corrupt, as I had an A in the class up until the terrible and impossible final that was given. I am extremely upset with the way this class had ended and definitely wouldn't recommend taking his class. I have even reported this to the math department and I am very disappointed that no action was taken further.
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