mathematics

Mary N. Torrey

Mary N. Torrey is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mary N. Torrey rather than just read about it. In short: Mary Newton Torrey (February 2, 1910 – January 7, 1998) was an American mathematical statistician and quality control specialist for Bell Laboratories. With Harold F.

Key takeaways

Mary N. Torrey belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mary N. Torrey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mary N. Torrey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mary Newton Torrey (February 2, 1910 – January 7, 1998) was an American mathematical statistician and quality control specialist for Bell Laboratories. With Harold F. Dodge at Bell Labs, she was an early contributor to the theory of acceptance sampling. The Dodge–Torrey continuous sampling plans are named after her and Dodge. Torrey was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1930 from Wellesley College as a Durant Scholar (Wellesley's highest honor) with a double major in mathematics and physics. In that year she joined the Quality Assurance Department of Bell Labs. While working there, she earned a master's degree in mathematical statistics from Columbia University in 1946. In 1958, she was elected to be a Fellow of the American Statistical Association "for her contributions to the theory of sampling inspection, for her able analyses of engineering data, and for her clear and concise presentation of statistical quality control in electronics". She was also a fellow of the American Society for Quality Control. Torrey died on January 7, 1998, at the age of 87.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mary N. Torrey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mary N. Torrey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mary N. Torrey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mary N. Torrey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mary N. Torrey

In research: Mary N. Torrey appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mary N. Torrey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mary N. Torrey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1910 births, 1998 deaths, 20th-century American statisticians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mary N. Torrey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mary N. Torrey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mary N. Torrey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mary N. Torrey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mary N. Torrey in simple terms?

Mary Newton Torrey (February 2, 1910 – January 7, 1998) was an American mathematical statistician and quality control specialist for Bell Laboratories. With Harold F.

Why does Mary N. Torrey matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mary N. Torrey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mary N. Torrey.