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A First Course in Probability (6th Edition) 6th Edition

3.2 out of 5 stars 27 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0130338518
ISBN-10: 0130338516
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 528 pages
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall; 6th edition (July 31, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0130338516
  • ISBN-13: 978-0130338518
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 1 x 9.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #712,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

By Leonard J. Wilson on October 24, 2004
Format: Hardcover
A First Course in Probability by Sheldon Ross covers all the main topics of probability theory: Combinatorics, Probability Axioms, Conditional Probability and Independence, Discrete Random Variables, Continuous Random Variables, Joint Distributions, Expectation, and Limit Theorems. He develops each topic thoroughly using the definition-theorem-proof approach of classical mathematics, interspersed with numerous examples, many of which are classics in probability.

This book does require a solid foundation in calculus. Consequently, it is an appropriate text for a course at an advanced undergraduate level or even a first year graduate course (which is where I first encountered it). It does not require any knowledge of truly advanced mathematics (i.e., measure theory) which one would expect to find in an upper level graduate text, such as Patrick Billingsley's Probability and Measure.

Advice to students (and teachers): A student who does not have a solid foundation in calculus, as evidenced by the ability to apply integration by parts, and perhaps a year of post-calculus math which introduced the concept of the mathematical proof, will have a difficult time with this book.

This book provided me with all the probability theory I needed to complete a master's degree in statistics. Since statistics is nothing more than a collection of applied problems that can be solved, modeled, or at least understood by using the tools of probability theory, I was able to coast through the rest of my master's program and didn't have to start really working again until I subsequently encountered Billingsley's book (cited above).

Thank you, Professor Ross.
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Format: Hardcover
I used this book (as well as the SOA sample exams) as my sole means of preparation for the Actuary Examination P. Ross does an excellent job of utilizing a plethora of examples in order teach a particular concept. In some cases, a chapter may consist of two pages of instruction, followed by dozens of examples. This method tends to be extremely effective with regard to test preparation, but more frustrating for students using this as a course textbook. The proofs provided are fairly vigorous, but a strong background in Calculus is essential to understanding any significant portion of this book.

The chapter discussing "Jointly Distributed Random Variables" is the longest in the book, and perhaps rightly so, considering this comprises the majority of the P exam. However, in 50 pages of text, about five pages involves a formal discussion of terms and proofs, and the rest is made up of about 40 examples, many which span multiple pages. Again, this happens to be quite effective when paired with the SOA example questions, but may prove to be a difficult text to follow when a professor expects you to understand the finer points of probability theory.

If you can answer every question provided in a sample exam packet, you will easily pass the exam; and you will master the sample exam if you spend several months covering the first seven chapters of this book.
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Format: Hardcover
I used this book in my second year of undergrad in an introductory probability course. This book was perfect for such a course. It is a very easy introduction to the world of probability. Ross assumes almost nothing but basic calculus and a willingness to work through the problems to increase your understanding. Some of the other reviews I have read basically are asking for the author to hold your hand and do all the work for you. I felt like this book actually does this a little too much at times, but really strikes an almost perfect balance between simplicity and technical rigor.

Obviously one needs to move on to much more technical and rigorous texts before one actually has an understanding of probability. However, one of the most important abilities I have found in my academic life is the ability to use the basics that I learned in Ross to conceptualize much more difficult concepts. I continually refer back to this book for a intuitive explanation of certain basic concepts when I feel a little rusty during my every day use of probability.

One must be aware though that as my current probability teacher said, probability is inherently challenging, it is not as trivial as calculus. In the sense that our natural world, at a first approximation, follows the laws of Newtonian physics for which calculus was invented; however, probability is much less intuitive and everyone has a difficulty with it at some point or another.
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Format: Hardcover
If you manage to solve a good bit of the problems given in this book, you would be more than adequately prepared for an intermediate course in mathematical statistics. The text is uniformly well above average, at least in the earlier chapters. The last two chapters, perhaps the last three, give the reader the impression that they have been added to the book rather grudgingly and as an afterthought. For example, the short chapter on "additional topics in probability" - which deals with Markov chains, coding theory, entropy etc. - hardly does justice to any of the topics dealt with. In spite of these criticisms, this is a decent book on probability at the advanced undergraduate/first year grad. level.
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