Statistics and Probability with Applications for Engineers and Scientists, Preliminary Edition

Chapter 1

Introduction

Statistics, the discipline, is the study of the scientific method. In pursuing this discipline, Statisticians have developed a set of techniques that are extensively used to solve problems in any field of scientific endeavor, such as in the engineering sciences, biological sciences, and the chemical, pharmaceutical, and social sciences.

This book is concerned with discussing these techniques and their applications for certain experimental situations. It begins at a level suitable for those with no previous exposure to probability and statistics, and carries the reader through to a level of proficiency in various techniques of statistics.

In all scientific areas, whether engineering, biological sciences, medicine, chemical, pharmaceutical, or social sciences, scientists are inevitably confronted with problems that need to be investigated. As examples,

• An engineer wants to determine the role of an electronic component needed to detect the malfunction of the engine of a plane.
• A biologist wants to study various aspects of wildlife, the origin of a disease, or the genetic aspects of a wild animal.
• A medical researcher is interested in determining the cause of a certain type of cancer.
• A manufacturer of lenses wants to study the quality of the finishing on intraocular lenses.
• A chemist is interested in determining the effect of a catalyst in the production of low-density polyethylene.
• A pharmaceutical company is interested in developing a vaccination for swine ...