Determine The Critical Value For A Left-Tailed Test Of A Pop

Determine The Critical Value For A Left Tailed Test Of A Population

Determine the critical value for a left-tailed test of a population mean at the α=0.005 level of significance based on a sample size of n = 30.

Analyze the significance level, sample size, and find the corresponding critical t-value from the t-distribution table or calculator.

Paper For Above instruction

In statistical hypothesis testing, determining the critical value is a pivotal step that depends on the chosen significance level (α), the nature of the test (one-tailed or two-tailed), and the degrees of freedom, which are derived from the sample size. In this case, the focus is on a left-tailed test for a population mean with a significance level of 0.005 and a sample size of 30. This means we are testing whether the population mean is significantly less than a certain value, with the rejection region in the left tail of the t-distribution.

The degrees of freedom (df) for a one-sample t-test are calculated as df = n - 1, which in this scenario is 30 - 1 = 29. The critical t-value corresponding to α=0.005 and 29 degrees of freedom can be obtained from the t-distribution table or a statistical software package. Since the test is left-tailed, we are interested in the negative critical value.

Referring to the t-distribution table, the critical value for df=29 and α=0.005 (left tail) is approximately -2.756. This value indicates that if the calculated test statistic falls below -2.756, then we reject the null hypothesis at the 0.005 significance level. The choices provided are:

  • A) 2.750
  • B) 2.756
  • C) -1.699
  • D) -2.756
  • E) None of these

Among these, the negative critical value closest to the table value is -2.756, which matches option D. It is essential because in a left-tailed test, critical values are negative for a right-tailed test or positive for a left-tailed test depending on the direction of the alternative hypothesis. Here, since it's a left-tailed test, the critical value is -2.756.

Therefore, the correct answer is D) -2.756. This indicates that the key threshold for decision-making in the hypothesis test is at -2.756. If the computed t-statistic from the sample data is less than -2.756, we reject the null hypothesis, concluding that there is sufficient evidence at the 0.005 significance level to support the claim that the population mean is less than the hypothesized value.

This process underscores the importance of understanding degrees of freedom, significance levels, and the nature of the tail in hypothesis testing, guiding statisticians to make accurate inferences about population parameters based on sample data.

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