Software/tool quick links
Pre-recorded lecture, live lecture recordings
Concept Checks for pre-lecture videos
Live (synchronous) lecture/section
Lecture slides and notes
Problem set PDFs, starter code, and templates
Submit and upload PDFs
(optional) LaTeX Typesetting
Coding problems (or another Python3 editor)
Discussion forum
Office hours
Chat for Section/Students
Contact Lisa, Jerry, and the CAs
RESOURCES
EXAMS
Quiz #1 Wednesday, October 7 to Friday, October 9
Quiz #2 Wednesday, October 28 to Friday, October 30
Quiz #3 Wednesday, November 18 to Friday, November 20
TEACHING TEAM
Instructors
Lisa Yan yanlisa @ stanford.edu Online MF 2:00PM-3:00PM
Jerry Cain jerry @ cs.stanford.edu Online W 2:00PM-4:00PM
ANNOUNCEMENTS
We received 19 contest entries this quarter and were impressed by the creativity and probability know-how the entries showed!
Grand Prize Winners: Ian Chang, Classifying Art using Probability Sohit Gatiganti and Chris Chankyo Kim, Stack Overflow: A Deep Dive into Post Quality Analysis
Runners-Up: Valexa Orelien, The Book Matcher Edward Park, From the First to the Last, From Cradle to Grave Anna Quinlan, Improving Virtual Diabetes Patient Simulations with Bayesian Networks Erika Hunting and Wes Peisch, Metro Mania
Congratulations to everyone who participated! We loved learning about what motivates you to study probability!
Quiz #3 for CS109 is coming up: It is Wednesday, November 18th 2:00PM - Friday, November 20th 1:00PM Pacific. We have given you a 47-hour timeslot, but the quiz should correspond to about 1-3 hours of active work time, depending on your preparation and process. The quiz will cover material up to and including logistic regression (Lecture 26), which includes Problem Sets 5 and 6.
The best way to study is to work through the practice exams and section handouts. This linked webpage also has quiz administration details and review session materials.
There will be no separate review session for this quiz, but your section TA will do a 50-minute review in your last section. All handouts will be posted in the section handouts tab.
If you have an emergency situation where you are unable to set aside a few hours to complete the exam in this timeslot, please email Jerry and Lisa at any time. We will try our best to accommodate you.
The final problem set was released last Friday, due date next Monday 11/16 (on-time). You will implement two machine learning algorithms, Naive Bayes and Logistic Regression. You will then use these algorithms to make predictions on heart tomography, Netflix movies and ancestry data.
Due to the ongoing climate around the U.S. elections (specifically, that Election Day has evolved into Election Week), we've decided to push back Problem Set 5's on-time deadline as follows. All times Pacific.
We've also released a preliminary gradebook with your current numeric final grade as computed from Gradescope. Please email your Section Leader if you have section attendance questions. For all other concerns, post on Ed or email the staff list. Access the gradebook below.
Everyone, a fellow CS109 student, Alissa Vuillier, emailed me with news that CS51 and CS52 are now accepting applications for next quarter. Here's the crux of what she wrote [slight edited]:
Let me know if you'd like me to introduce you to Alissa or others on the CS51/52 teaching team.
Section this week is cancelled; we've posted the section handout and solutions if you'd like to self-study. Lisa will also be holding an extra set of office hours on Wednesday 11/4, 10am-12pm Pacific on Nooks, so feel free to come on by and ask questions about section, work on the current problem set, or just de-stress.
Quiz #2 has been graded, and you can see how you did by visiting Gradescope and reviewing your quiz there. In general, quiz results were fantastic! The median grade was a 77 out of 80, and the standard deviation was 9.22. If after you review your graded quiz you feel there was a grading error, you can submit a regrade request directly on Gradescope any time between now and next Tuesday, November 10th at 11:59pm, Stanford time.
The penultimate problem set is now available! This problem set has only 8 questions.
Quiz #2 for CS109 is coming up: It is Wednesday, October 28th 2:00PM - Friday, October 30th 1:00PM Pacific. We have given you a 47-hour timeslot, but the quiz should correspond to about 1-3 hours of active work time, depending on your preparation and process. The quiz will cover material up to and including lecture 15, which includes Problem Sets 3 and 4.
Review session: Candice and Sri, two of our outstanding TAs, will be hosting a review session on Monday, October 26th, 7:00pm-9:00pm Pacific, accessible via this Zoom link. The session recording and materials will be posted on the quiz website afterwards.
We're interested to know what you think of CS109 so far. We invite you to fill out an anonymous feedback form here: https://forms.gle/poskurHZjavx2Sxw8. We'll keep the form open through Friday evening, October 23.
Problem Set #4 has been released! It has you predict flu or cold based on binary symptoms and risk factors. You will also design a probabilistic text analyzer to determine who really wrote the Federalist Papers!
Our Python review session #3 will be held on Monday, October 19th, 6-7pm Pacific and will cover the material you need to know for the last three psets (including this one). Zoom recording and materials will be made after the session, available on the Python for Probability page.
Quiz #1 has been graded, and you can see how you did by visiting Gradescope and reviewing your quiz there. In general, quiz results were fantastic! The median grade was an 86 out of 95, and the standard deviation was an 11.1. If after you review your graded quiz you feel there was a grading error, you can submit a regrade request directly on Gradescope any time between now and next Monday, October 18th at 11:59pm, Stanford time.
Quiz #1 is released and is available on the exam page. The take-home, open-book, open-notes exam is to be completed individually, and is due on Friday, 10/9 1:00pm Pacific Time. Please read all instructions; if you have difficulty downloading your personalized quiz, send a message to the staff mailing list or post privately on Ed so that we can email you your copy of the exam.
The quiz should correspond to about 1-3 hours of active work time (plus any typesetting). The Gradescope assignment submission portal will be up through the end of the 47-hour window, so please make sure your final submission is uploaded by then. Also please make sure to tag your PDF submission pages to each question answered.
If you have an emergency situation where you are unable to set aside a few hours to complete the exam in this timeslot, please email Lisa and Jerry at any time. We will try our best to accommodate you.
Problem Set #3 has been released! It uses real probability density functions from the IPCC Climate Change report, and has you analyze a bloom filter (a probabilistic datastructure). The partial answer-checking will be up on Gradescope soon. Pset 3 is due Friday, October 16, 1:00PM Pacific Time.
Quiz #1 for CS109 is coming up: It is Wednesday, October 7th 2:00PM - Friday, October 9th 1:00PM Pacific. We have given you a 47-hour timeslot, but the quiz should correspond to about 1-3 hours of active work time, depending on your preparation and process. The quiz will cover material up to and including lecture 6, which includes Problem Sets 1 and 2.
Review session: Sandra and Anand, two of our outstanding TAs, will be hosting a review session on Sunday, October 4th, 6:00pm-8:00pm Pacific, accessible via this Zoom link. The session recording and materials will be posted on the quiz website afterwards.
Congratulations on finishing PSet #1 (or coming close)! Problem Set #2 has been released! This problem set is just 10 problems to adjust for your workload in this course. Here is a Latex template for pset 2. This pset has a larger coding portion, so our Python review session #2 will be held on Wednesday, September 30th, 3:30pm-4:30pm Pacific. Zoom recording and materials will be made available after the session, available on the Python for Probability page.
Section assignments have been released and are available on this page, which is also accessible through our About Section page. A reminder that sections start this week (Tuesday 9/21 and Wednesday 9/22). Zoom links will be accessible on the Section/Office Hours page starting Monday evening.
If you did not receive a section, or the current section time no longer works for you, please click the "Join" or "Switch" buttons on the Section Assignments page to switch sections. You can do so until the end of Week 3 (Friday, October 2). If there are any other questions with section assignments, please email Lisa or Jerry.
Problem 3 (parts (a) and (b)) have been reworded for clarity.
Please sign up for section by filling out this form (sign in with Stanford email): https://forms.gle/DADWHJazqfptWgJm8.
Once a week you are going to meet in a small group section. We are going to find the best weekly times for everyone. Section signups will close on Saturday, September 19 at 5:00pm Pacific. Preferences are not first come first serve. For more information, visit the About Section page.
We will notify you of your section assignment on Sunday evening, September 20, when you will have the opportunity to switch sections should your assigned timeslot no longer work.
Problem Set #1 has been released! It is due Friday, September 25th at 1:00pm Pacific. Submission will be via Gradescope. Office Hours start today, and the Office Hours Calendar will have times and instructions to join.
You are encouraged to write up your problem sets using LaTeX. Templates for each Problem Set are located on their respective webpage. See this Guide to LaTeX under Resources/Demos. Though you may install LaTeX, it is often much easier to use an online LaTeX editor. A great option is: overleaf.com.
There is a programming problem on this problem set you will complete in Python and submit to an autograder on Gradescope. We will be holding two offerings of our first Python review session this Friday, September 18th, at 12:00am-1:00am Pacific and 2:00pm-3:00pm Pacific. Please see the Python for Probability page under Resources/Demos for Zoom links, slides, and recordings (to be posted Friday evening).
If you just added CS109 and are not on the Gradescope/Edstem:
The access code to the Gradescope is: 93EV7B
The link to join the Discussion Forum is here: Join (Stanford-only)
The Syllabus page has details on course logistics. Read our FAQ for more information. The Honor Code handout describes how the Honor Code applies in the context of the work you will do in CS109.
The Schedule page has a list of all topics that we will cover in CS109, and will have links to lecture materials and concept checks. The Office Hours page has contact information for the teaching team. Office Hours will be listed on this calendar and start on Wednesday, September 16th.
Finally, the Software/tool quick links button helps you navigate the tools used in differnt parts of this class: lectures, sections, problem sets, and getting help in office hours or on our discussion forum.
CS109A, also known as CS109 ACE, is a new, 1-unit supplementary section designed to build a stronger foundation in computer science. Students participating in ACE will attend an additional weekly section and participate in exam review sessions and individual tutoring. Section will take place on Tuesdays 10:30-11:50am Pacific on Zoom, synchronously.
CS109A ACE is a Computer Science department program based on one of the School of Engineering's Equity and Inclusion Initiatives. We especially want to provide an opportunity for students who come from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds or for anyone who feels they might need additional support in order to succeed. We limit enrollment to enable small classes that allow students to have one-on-one interactions with the CA.
If you are interested in joining the ACE section, please apply online. The application is due on September 18. All student who apply by September 14 will be welcome to attend section the first week and will receive a Zoom link for section via email during Week 1. If you have any questions about ACE, feel free to reach out to Gili Rusak (CS109A ACE CA) at gili@stanford.edu.
Welcome to CS109! We are looking forward to a fun quarter. Class starts Monday, September 14 at 1:00pm PT Online. Section enrollment details will be released on the first day of class; you do not need to enroll via Axess.
This page is under construction. More details to be released soon!