Resource Library

This course is second in the series of undergraduate Statistical Physics courses and features comprehensive lecture notes and assignments. Course topics include probability distributions for classical and quantum systems; microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical partition-functions and associated thermodynamic potentials; conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium for homogeneous and heterogeneous systems; non-interacting Bose and Fermi gases; mean field theories for real gases, binary mixtures, magnetic systems, polymer solutions; phase and reaction equilibria, critical phenomena; fluctuations, correlation functions and susceptibilities, and Kubo formulae; evolution of distribution functions: Boltzmann and Smoluchowski equations.

The applets in this section allow users to see how probabilities and quantiles are determined from a Normal distribution. For calculating probabilities, set the mean, variance, and limits; for calculating quantiles, set the mean, variance, and probability. Users can choose from three different probability expressions. Variance is restricted to numbers between 0.1 and 10, inclusive. To select between the different applets you can click on Statistical Theory, Normal Distribution and then the Main Page. At the bottom of this page you can make your applet selection. This page was formerly located at http://www.stat.vt.edu/~sundar/java/applets/

The applet in this section allows you to see how the T distribution is related to the Standard Normal distribution by calculating probabilities. The T distribution is primarily used to make inferences on a Normal mean when the variance is unknown. If the variance is known inference on the mean can be done using the Standard Normal. The user has a choice of three different probability expressions, then can change the degrees of freedom and the limits of probability. This page was formerly located at http://www.stat.vt.edu/~sundar/java/applets/TNormal.html

This module contains discussions on t-test, ANOVA, correlation, two-way factorial ANOVA, regression, chi-squared, and distributions and provides links to a variety of activities relevant to the discussions.

This module contains discussions on two and three dimensional graphs, histograms, scatterplots, boxplots, and data visualization, and provides links to a variety of relevant activities.

This collection is organized as discussions and activities in the subjects of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, graphical analysis, and TI-83 and Excel guides. It also includes a section of quizzes. Key Words: Mean; Median; Mode; Normal Distribution; Skewed Distribution; Range; Standard Deviation; Confidence Interval; T-Test; ANOVA; Correlation; Regression; Chi-Square; Probability Distributions; Histograms; Scatterplots; Boxplot.

In this activity, students will calculate the mean, median, and mode of the salaries for the Angels and the Orioles baseball players. Questions about the exercise and links to Excel and TI-83 instructions. The data exists in Excel, TI-83, and text formats.

In this activity, students will calculate confidence intervals for the mean weight (in milligrams) of seed harvester ants for 4 size classes of the ants. Questions about the exercise and links to Excel and TI-83 instructions are given. This data exists in Excel, TI-83, and text formats.

In this activity, students will perform a t-test to see if fecal coliform counts collected from Blackwater Creek in Lynchburg, Virginia differ before and after rain showers. Questions about the exercise and links to Excel and TI-83 instructions are given. The data exist in Excel, TI-83, and text formats.

In this activity, students will perform an ANOVA to determine if the longevity of male fruitflies is related to their reproductive cycle. The dataset contains longevity (in days) of male fruitflies in 5 groups: Alone, 1 Interested Female, 8 Interested Females, 1 Uninterested Female, 8 Uninterested Females. Questions about the exercise and links to Excel and TI-83 instructions are given. The data exist in Excel, TI-83, and text formats.