Concepts of probability; random variables; combinatorial probability; discrete and continuous distributions; joint distributions, expected values; moment generating functions; law of large numbers and central limit theorems.
4
UnitsOptional
Grading1, 2
PasstimeNone
Level LimitLetters and science
CollegeLecture
Sections
Lectures were very informative but there definitely wasn't enough time which is why I recommend doing practice problems from the textbook. To study for exams, I would recommend doing practice problems instead of just doing the homework and attending lectures/section.
His lectures are useless. Half the grade is free, midterm and final are hard.
Prof Wainwright is a great guy, and his class was really interesting. Took 120A as an elective, and it was fairly hard, but if you keep up with TA material and study with his resources (and CLAS) you will do fine. He helped me out when I had a scheduling conflict and really does care about student success. You will be extremely prepared for 120B!
Very good professor. HW is slightly challenging, but is 50 percent of grade and is based on completion which is great. Both the midterm and the final are very fair, as long as you understand the material. The only slight downside is that his lectures are slightly boring. Also, the PSTAT CLAS 120A made my Jeremy Li is incredibly helpful.
120A was tough. I wouldn't say Wainwright was, though. Twice weekly office hours provided plenty of time to get clarification of homework, previous quiz questions, or general prob/stats questions. Every-other-week quizzes were tough, made by TAs, but only 12% of total grade. Mandatory section attendance (13%). Very information-dense. Worth it!
His lectures and pretty boring, and often irrelevant to homework and test material, but he is amazing during office hours, and if you put in the work to teach yourself how to do the homework, the tests should be a walk in the park. The biweekly quizzes are tough, but do-able with ample studying. Will prepare you for 120B.