Hello everyone,
In this blog, we'll study a two-tailed test in the context of hypothesis testing. So far with respect to hypothesis testing, we have studied,
Now In case 1, we use two-tailed test to test the null hypothesis and in two other situations we use a one-tailed test such as left-tailed test and right-tailed test for case 2 and 3 respectively
Now the area under the left half of the curve up to the lower critical limit Z= -1.96 is 0.475 and the area under the right half of the curve up to the upper critical limit Z=1.96 is also 0.475 and both taken together equals to 0.95 or 95% area of the curve.
Now to find the area under the normal curve for Z=1.96, you may refer the table “Area under the standard normal distribution” in any book of business statistics
Here 1.96 is the critical value, and if the value of test statistic like ‘Z’ test comes out less than or equal to1.96 then the null hypothesis will remain in acceptance region and if the value of test statistic comes out above 1.96 at 5% significance level then the null hypothesis will rest in the rejection region.
Hence mathematically Acceptance Region is defined by;
Now to better understand the concept of the two-tailed test, let's take an example
Now to conclude that whether the sample is taken from this population at a 5% significance level, we first state the null and alternative hypothesis…..
H0: μ=67.39 and Ha: μ not equal 67.39
Here alternative hypothesis is two-sided hence we use two-tailed test, also it is given that
And we may conclude that the given sample with mean height of 67.47 Inches drawn from the population with a mean height of 67.39 inches and a standard deviation of 1.30 inches at a 5% significance level.
Narender Sharma
In this blog, we'll study a two-tailed test in the context of hypothesis testing. So far with respect to hypothesis testing, we have studied,
- The concept of hypothesis testing,
- The test statistic, level of significance and level of confidence,
- Concept of Type 1 and Type 2 errors, and
- Risk of rejecting a null hypothesis in case it is true
Testing a Hypothesis
For testing a hypothesis we have three different situationsCase 1: H0: μ=μ0 and Ha: μ not equal μ0
When the null hypothesis stated as the population mean equals to the hypothetical population mean and alternative hypothesis stated as the population mean is not equal to the hypothetical population mean. It implies the population mean is either lower than or higher than the hypothetical population meanCase2: H0: μ=μ0 and Ha: μ < μ0
When the null hypothesis stated as the population mean equals to the hypothetical population mean and alternative hypothesis stated as the population mean less than the hypothetical population meanCase3: H0: μ=μ0 and Ha: μ>μ0
When the null hypothesis stated as the population mean equals to the hypothetical population mean and alternative hypothesis stated as the population mean greater than the hypothetical population meanNow In case 1, we use two-tailed test to test the null hypothesis and in two other situations we use a one-tailed test such as left-tailed test and right-tailed test for case 2 and 3 respectively
Rejection Regions, Acceptance Region, and Critical Limits
In a two-tailed test, there are two rejections regions also known as critical regions, one on each tail of the curve. For a 5% significance level, the value of alpha (α) is 0.05. it defines the probability of the rejection area for the null hypothesis when it is true. And if we apply the two-tailed test, then it equally splits on both sides of the curve such as (α/2)=0.025
Now the acceptance region is 95% or 0.95, here in this region the null hypothesis will be accepted. The acceptance region is the area under the normal curve between the critical limits defined by Z=+/-1.96 at a 5% significance level. You may name these limits as lower critical limit and the upper critical limit for suitability
Now the area under the left half of the curve up to the lower critical limit Z= -1.96 is 0.475 and the area under the right half of the curve up to the upper critical limit Z=1.96 is also 0.475 and both taken together equals to 0.95 or 95% area of the curve.
Now to find the area under the normal curve for Z=1.96, you may refer the table “Area under the standard normal distribution” in any book of business statistics
Here 1.96 is the critical value, and if the value of test statistic like ‘Z’ test comes out less than or equal to1.96 then the null hypothesis will remain in acceptance region and if the value of test statistic comes out above 1.96 at 5% significance level then the null hypothesis will rest in the rejection region.
Hence mathematically Acceptance Region is defined by;
A: |Z|<=1.96
And Rejection Region is defined by;
R: |Z|>1.96
Now to better understand the concept of the two-tailed test, let's take an example
Example Problem
A sample of 400 male students is found to have a mean height of 67.47 inches. And the mean height of a large population of male students is 67.39 inches and the standard deviation is 1.30 inches. Conclude that at a 5% significance level, whether the sample is taken from the population having a population mean 67.39inches.Now to conclude that whether the sample is taken from this population at a 5% significance level, we first state the null and alternative hypothesis…..
Solution
So the null and alternative hypothesis for the given problem can be stated asH0: μ=67.39 and Ha: μ not equal 67.39
Here alternative hypothesis is two-sided hence we use two-tailed test, also it is given that
- The sample mean (xbar)=67.47inches,
- The hypothetical population mean (μ0)=67.39 inches, and
- Population standard deviation (Std. Dev.p)=1.30 inches
- And Number of students in sample (n) = 400
Z= (xbar-μ0)/(Std. Dev.p /sqrt(n)
Z= (67.47-67.39)/(1.30/sqrt(400) = 0.080/0.065=1.231
The calculated value of ‘Z’ is 1.231 less than the critical value of Z=1.96 at a 5% significance level under a two-tailed condition hence it will lie in the acceptance region and therefore null hypothesis is accepted.And we may conclude that the given sample with mean height of 67.47 Inches drawn from the population with a mean height of 67.39 inches and a standard deviation of 1.30 inches at a 5% significance level.
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Narender Sharma