Spreadsheets, Programming, and Their Application to Data Science

4 units · Undergraduate lower division (0-99)

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. No programming experience required. Covers computer fundamentals such as files, file extensions, directories, paths, ZIP archives, saving and retrieving files, and using a programming-suitable text editor. Use of Desmos Graphing Calculator and Google Sheets. Introduction to core coding concepts such as data types, syntax, variables, functions, and error messages. Demonstration of data analysis tools such as curve fitting, sorting, filtering by value and conditions, pivot tables, weighted averages, and graphs. Study of programming using Python language. Topics include variables, assignments, data types; arithmetic, comparisons, logical connectives, indexing; built-in functions, math and random functions; control flow, user-defined functions and methods; Python libraries (Pillow, Matplotlib, SciPy). P/NP or letter grading.