Math 231 - Introduction to Probability for Biologists
- Prerequisites: Math 221 or 211.
- Frequency: Irregular
- Student Body: This course is intended for students in the biological sciences
- Credits: 2. (N-I)
- Recent Texts: Introduction to Probability and its Applications, 2nd ed., Duxbury Press. (Richard L. Scheaffer)
- Past Instructors: Timo Seppalainen
- Background and Goals: Biology is a vast subject, but a common feature of many areas of biology over the past several decades has been the rapidly increasing importance of mathematics. Math 231 and Math 232 are companion courses covering two types of mathematical models important in biology: probabilistic (math 231) and deterministic (math 232). Math 231 is an introductory course in the mathematical theory of probability. It is a course in mathematics but applications to genetics and other areas of biology will appear in examples and exercises.
- Alternatives: n/a
- Subsequent Courses: students can follow 231 with 232, dynamical systems for biologists
Content coverage:
- Probabilistic mathematical model
- Conditional probability and independence
- Random variables
- Density functions
- Probability distribution functions
- Mean and variance
- Applications
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