Chapter 12: Using Randomness, Continued (Days 96-97)

Today in Ethnostats, we continue with the next six pages in Chapter 12 on using randomness. These pages discuss random assignments, simulations, and trials. Random number generators -- including tables and calculators -- are used to represent the components of a trial in these simulations.

The main example in the text involves the coupon collector's problem -- how many boxes of cereal need to be purchased in order to get all three cards, if 20% of the boxes contain LeBron James, 30% David Beckham, and 50% Serena Williams. We use a table of random digits -- 0-1 for LeBron, 2-3 for Beckham, and 5-9 for Serena -- to determine that the median number of boxes is around five.

Indeed, once omicron surged and the first two days after winter break were cancelled, I was considering getting rid of the quiz right then and there. The only reason I didn't was because of the possibility that either the 24th or the 31st would be a minimum day and I could give quiz corrections that day. It never occurred on me that I could be the fourth week of January without knowing the exact date of the next minimum day. In short, I'm definitely regretting my idea of tying quizzes to the minimum days.

Thus in my Ethnostats class, I must keep up the charade -- that is, if any student asks about the quiz, I tell them that there's a "possibility" of a quiz on Friday. In reality, chances are that no minimum day will have been declared by then, and so there really won't be a quiz. So today I continue with the chapter, and instead of a quiz, we'll discuss another Ethnostats article instead.

Meanwhile, Calculus class is the main reason for tying quizzes to minimum days, since I want to use the short days for corrections. But as I feared, this lesson doesn't go well, since many students still struggle with the TI-84 calculators. Just like last week, I give them a DeltaMath assignment and tell them that if there's a quiz tomorrow, it will cover the same material as DeltaMath.

Trig class is tricky, since we take quizzes every Tuesday in that class. But the quizzes are supposed to correspond to Calculus quizzes (when adding up the points), so I wasn't sure whether I should give Trig a quiz if Calc isn't doing one this week. It also doesn't help that one student is absent this week, so I was really second-guessing myself. In the end, I gave an 18-point quiz on Sections 1.1-1.3.

Today is the second day of the week on the Eleven Calendar. (I often refer to it as "Saturday" so that there's a Jewish Sabbath, even though it doesn't correspond to the Gregorian Calendar.)

Resolution #2: We are prompt and prepared.

I hope the students are prompt and prepared for this week's quizzes, even if there are no quizzes this week due to the minimum day game.

Meanwhile, on Jeopardy! tonight, Californian Amy Schneider has been defeated. Amy has completed the second-longest ever run on the show (behind host Ken Jennings) -- 40 days and over $1.3 million.

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