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Critical Z-values Calculator
How does the critical z-values calculator work, what 1 formula is used for the critical z-values calculator.
- Z = (x - μ)/σ/√n
What 3 concepts are covered in the Critical Z-values Calculator?
Example calculations for the critical z-values calculator.
- NORMSINV(0.95)
Critical Z-values Calculator Video
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Critical Value Calculator
What is a critical value, critical value definition, how to calculate critical values, how to use this critical value calculator, z critical values, t critical values, chi-square critical values (χ²), f critical values.
Welcome to the critical value calculator! Here you can quickly determine the critical value(s) for two-tailed tests, as well as for one-tailed tests. It works for most common distributions in statistical testing: the standard normal distribution N(0,1) (that is, when you have a Z-score), t-Student, chi-square, and F-distribution .
What is a critical value? And what is the critical value formula? Scroll down - we provide you with the critical value definition and explain how to calculate critical values in order to use them to construct rejection regions (also known as critical regions).
In hypothesis testing, critical values are one of the two approaches which allow you to decide whether to retain or reject the null hypothesis. The other approach is to calculate the p-value (for example, using the p-value calculator ).
The critical value approach consists of checking if the value of the test statistic generated by your sample belongs to the so-called rejection region , or critical region , which is the region where the test statistic is highly improbable to lie . A critical value is a cut-off value (or two cut-off values in case of a two-tailed test) that constitutes the boundary of the rejection region(s). In other words, critical values divide the scale of your test statistic into the rejection region and non-rejection region.
Once you have found the rejection region, check if the value of test statistic generated by your sample belongs to it :
- if so, it means that you can reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis; and
- if not, then there is not enough evidence to reject H 0 .
But, how to calculate critical values? First of all, you need to set a significance level , α \alpha α , which quantifies the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is actually correct. The choice of α is arbitrary; in practice, we most often use a value of 0.05 or 0.01. Critical values also depend on the alternative hypothesis you choose for your test , elucidated in the next section .
To determine critical values, you need to know the distribution of your test statistic under the assumption that the null hypothesis holds. Critical values are then the points on the distribution which have the same probability as your test statistic , equal to the significance level α \alpha α . These values are assumed to be at least as extreme at those critical values .
The alternative hypothesis determines what "at least as extreme" means. In particular, if the test is one-sided, then there will be just one critical value; if it is two-sided, then there will be two of them: one to the left and the other to the right of the median value of the distribution.
Critical values can be conveniently depicted as the points with the property that the area under the density curve of the test statistic from those points to the tails is equal to α \alpha α :
left-tailed test: the area under the density curve from the critical value to the left is equal to α \alpha α ;
right-tailed test: the area under the density curve from the critical value to the right is equal to α \alpha α ; and
two-tailed test: the area under the density curve from the left critical value to the left is equal to α 2 \frac{\alpha}{2} 2 α and the area under the curve from the right critical value to the right is equal to α 2 \frac{\alpha}{2} 2 α as well; thus, total area equals α \alpha α .

As you can see, finding the critical values for a two-tailed test with significance α \alpha α boils down to finding both one-tailed critical values with a significance level of α 2 \frac{\alpha}{2} 2 α .
The formulae for the critical values involve the quantile function , Q Q Q , which is the inverse of the cumulative distribution function ( c d f \mathrm{cdf} cdf ) for the test statistic distribution (calculated under the assumption that H 0 holds!): Q = c d f − 1 Q = \mathrm{cdf}^{-1} Q = cdf − 1
Once we have agreed upon the value of α \alpha α , the critical value formulae are the following:
left-tailed test : ( − ∞ , Q ( α ) ] (-\infty, Q(\alpha)] ( − ∞ , Q ( α )]
right-tailed test : [ Q ( 1 − α ) , ∞ ) [Q(1-\alpha), \infty) [ Q ( 1 − α ) , ∞ )
two-tailed test : ( − ∞ , Q ( α 2 ) ] ∪ [ Q ( 1 − α 2 ) , ∞ ) (-\infty, Q(\frac{\alpha}{2})] \ \cup \ [Q(1 - \frac{\alpha}{2}), \infty) ( − ∞ , Q ( 2 α )] ∪ [ Q ( 1 − 2 α ) , ∞ )
In the case of a distribution symmetric about 0 , the critical values for the two-tailed test are symmetric as well: Q ( 1 − α 2 ) = − Q ( α 2 ) Q(1 - \frac{\alpha}{2}) = -Q(\frac{\alpha}{2}) Q ( 1 − 2 α ) = − Q ( 2 α )
Unfortunately, the probability distributions that are the most widespread in hypothesis testing have somewhat complicated c d f \mathrm{cdf} cdf formulae. To find critical values by hand, you would need to use specialized software or statistical tables. In these cases, the best option is, of course, our critical value calculator! 😁
Now that you have found our critical value calculator, you no longer need to worry how to find critical value for all those complicated distributions! Here are the steps you need to follow:
Tell us the distribution of your test statistic under the null hypothesis: is it a standard normal N(0,1), t-Student, chi-squared, or Snedecor's F? If you are not sure, check the sections below devoted to those distributions, and try to localize the test you need to perform.
Choose the alternative hypothesis : two-tailed, right-tailed, or left-tailed.
If needed, specify the degrees of freedom of the test statistic's distribution. If you are not sure, check the description of the test you are performing. You can learn more about the meaning of this quantity in statistics from the degrees of freedom calculator .
Set the significance level, α \alpha α . We pre-set it to the most common value, 0.05, by default, but you can, of course, adjust it to your needs.
The critical value calculator will then display not only your critical value(s) but also the rejection region(s).
Go to the advanced mode of the critical value calculator if you need to increase the precision with which the critical values are computed.
Use the Z (standard normal) option if your test statistic follows (at least approximately) the standard normal distribution N(0,1) .
In the formulae below, u u u denotes the quantile function of the standard normal distribution N(0,1):
left-tailed Z critical value: u ( α ) u(\alpha) u ( α )
right-tailed Z critical value: u ( 1 − α ) u(1-\alpha) u ( 1 − α )
two-tailed Z critical value: ± u ( 1 − α 2 ) \pm u(1- \frac{\alpha}{2}) ± u ( 1 − 2 α )
Check out Z-test calculator to learn more about the most common Z-test used on the population mean. There are also Z-tests for the difference between two population means, in particular, one between two proportions.
Use the t-Student option if your test statistic follows the t-Student distribution . This distribution is similar to N(0,1) , but its tails are fatter - the exact shape depends on the number of degrees of freedom . If this number is large (>30), which generically happens for large samples, then the t-Student distribution is practically indistinguishable from N(0,1). Check our t-statistic calculator to compute the related test statistic.

In the formulae below, Q t , d Q_{\text{t}, d} Q t , d is the quantile function of the t-Student distribution with d d d degrees of freedom:
left-tailed t critical value: Q t , d ( α ) Q_{\text{t}, d}(\alpha) Q t , d ( α )
right-tailed t critical value: Q t , d ( 1 − α ) Q_{\text{t}, d}(1 - \alpha) Q t , d ( 1 − α )
two-tailed t critical values: ± Q t , d ( 1 − α 2 ) \pm Q_{\text{t}, d}(1 - \frac{\alpha}{2}) ± Q t , d ( 1 − 2 α )
Visit the t-test calculator to learn more about various t-tests: the one for a **population mean with an unknown population standard deviation, those for the difference between the means of two populations (with either equal or unequal population standard deviations), as well as about the t-test for paired samples .
Use the χ² (chi-square) option when performing a test in which the test statistic follows the χ²-distribution . You need to determine the number of degrees of freedom of the χ²-distribution of your test statistic - below, we list them for the most commonly used χ²-tests.
Here we give the formulae for chi square critical values; Q χ 2 , d Q_{\chi^2, d} Q χ 2 , d is the quantile function of the χ²-distribution with d d d degrees of freedom:
Left-tailed χ² critical value: Q χ 2 , d ( α ) Q_{\chi^2, d}(\alpha) Q χ 2 , d ( α )
Right-tailed χ² critical value: Q χ 2 , d ( 1 − α ) Q_{\chi^2, d}(1 - \alpha) Q χ 2 , d ( 1 − α )
Two-tailed χ² critical values: Q χ 2 , d ( α 2 ) Q_{\chi^2, d}(\frac{\alpha}{2}) Q χ 2 , d ( 2 α ) and Q χ 2 , d ( 1 − α 2 ) Q_{\chi^2, d}(1 - \frac{\alpha}{2}) Q χ 2 , d ( 1 − 2 α )
Several different tests lead to a χ²-score:
Goodness-of-fit test : does the empirical distribution agree with the expected distribution?
This test is right-tailed . Its test statistic follows the χ²-distribution with k − 1 k - 1 k − 1 degrees of freedom, where k k k is the number of classes into which the sample is divided.
Independence test : is there a statistically significant relationship between two variables?
This test is also right-tailed , and its test statistic is computed from the contingency table. There are ( r − 1 ) ( c − 1 ) (r - 1)(c - 1) ( r − 1 ) ( c − 1 ) degrees of freedom, where r r r is the number of rows, and c c c is the number of columns in the contingency table.
Test for the variance of normally distributed data : does this variance have some pre-determined value?
This test can be one- or two-tailed! Its test statistic has the χ²-distribution with n − 1 n - 1 n − 1 degrees of freedom, where n n n is the sample size.
Finally, choose F (Fisher-Snedecor) if your test statistic follows the F-distribution . This distribution has a pair of degrees of freedom .
Let us see how those degrees of freedom arise. Assume that you have two independent random variables, X X X and Y Y Y , that follow χ²-distributions with d 1 d_1 d 1 and d 2 d_2 d 2 degrees of freedom, respectively. If you now consider the ratio ( X d 1 ) ÷ ( Y d 2 ) (\frac{X}{d_1})\div(\frac{Y}{d_2}) ( d 1 X ) ÷ ( d 2 Y ) , it turns out it follows the F-distribution with ( d 1 , d 2 ) (d_1, d_2) ( d 1 , d 2 ) degrees of freedom. That's the reason why we call d 1 d_1 d 1 and d 2 d_2 d 2 the numerator and denominator degrees of freedom , respectively.
In the formulae below, Q F , d 1 , d 2 Q_{\text{F}, d_1, d_2} Q F , d 1 , d 2 stands for the quantile function of the F-distribution with ( d 1 , d 2 ) (d_1, d_2) ( d 1 , d 2 ) degrees of freedom:
Left-tailed F critical value: Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( α ) Q_{\text{F}, d_1, d_2}(\alpha) Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( α )
Right-tailed F critical value: Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( 1 − α ) Q_{\text{F}, d_1, d_2}(1 - \alpha) Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( 1 − α )
Two-tailed F critical values: Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( α 2 ) Q_{\text{F}, d_1, d_2}(\frac{\alpha}{2}) Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( 2 α ) and Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( 1 − α 2 ) Q_{\text{F}, d_1, d_2}(1 -\frac{\alpha}{2}) Q F , d 1 , d 2 ( 1 − 2 α )
Here we list the most important tests that produce F-scores: each of them is right-tailed .
ANOVA : tests the equality of means in three or more groups that come from normally distributed populations with equal variances. There are ( k − 1 , n − k ) (k - 1, n - k) ( k − 1 , n − k ) degrees of freedom, where k k k is the number of groups, and n n n is the total sample size (across every group).
Overall significance in regression analysis . The test statistic has ( k − 1 , n − k ) (k - 1, n - k) ( k − 1 , n − k ) degrees of freedom, where n n n is the sample size, and k k k is the number of variables (including the intercept).
Compare two nested regression models . The test statistic follows the F-distribution with ( k 2 − k 1 , n − k 2 ) (k_2 - k_1, n - k_2) ( k 2 − k 1 , n − k 2 ) degrees of freedom, where k 1 k_1 k 1 and k 2 k_2 k 2 are the number of variables in the smaller and bigger models, respectively, and n n n is the sample size.
The equality of variances in two normally distributed populations . There are ( n − 1 , m − 1 ) (n - 1, m - 1) ( n − 1 , m − 1 ) degrees of freedom, where n n n and m m m are the respective sample sizes.
What is a Z critical value?
A Z critical value is the value that defines the critical region in hypothesis testing when the test statistic follows the standard normal distribution . If the value of the test statistic falls into the critical region, you should reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis.
How do I calculate Z critical value?
To find a Z critical value for a given confidence level α :
- Check if you perform a one- or two-tailed test .
- Left -tailed: critical value is the α -th quantile of the standard normal distribution N(0,1).
- Right -tailed: critical value is the (1-α) -th quantile.
- Two-tailed test: critical value equals ±(1-α/2) -th quantile of N(0,1).
- No quantile tables ? Use cdf tables! (The quantile function is the inverse of the cdf.)
- Verify your answer with an online critical value calculator.
Is a t critical value the same as Z critical value?
In theory, no . In practice, very often, yes . The t-Student distribution is similar to the standard normal distribution, but it is not the same . However, if the number of degrees of freedom (which is, roughly speaking, the size of your sample) is large enough (>30), then the two distributions are practically indistinguishable , and so the t critical value has practically the same value as the Z critical value.
What is the Z critical value for 95% confidence?
The Z critical value for a 95% confidence interval is:
- 1.96 for a two-tailed test;
- 1.64 for a right-tailed test; and
- -1.64 for a left-tailed test.
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Critical Value Calculator
- Chi-Square Value
How does T critical value calculator work?
- Enter Significance Level(α) In The Input Box.
- Put the Degrees Of Freedom In The Input Box.
- Hit The Calculate Button To Find T Critical Value.
- Use The Reset Button To calculate New Values.
How does z critical value calculator work?
- Enter The Significance Level(α) In The Input Box.
- Use The Calculate Button To Get The Z Critical Value.
How does R critical value calculator work?
- Enter Significance Level(α) & Degree of freedom In The Input Boxes.
- Click The Calculate Button.
- Hit The Reset Button To calculate New Values.
How does this calculator work?
- Enter Significance Level(α) & Degree of freedom In Required Input Boxes.
- Press The Reset Button To calculate New Values.
How does F critical value calculator work?
- Enter Significance Level(α)
- Enter Degree of freedom of numerator and denominator in required input boxes.
Give Feedback What do you think of critical value calculator?

Other Calculators
Critical T value calculator enables to you to calculate critical value of z and t at one click. You don’t have to look into hundreds of values in t table or a z table because this z critical value calculator calculates critical values in real time . Keep on reading if you are interested in critical value definition, difference between t and z critical value, and how to calculate critical value of t and z without using critical values calculator.

Table of Content
What is a critical value, critical value formula, how to find critical values.
- T-Distribution Table
A critical value is a point on the t-distribution that is compared to the test statistic to determine whether to reject the null hypothesis in hypothesis testing. If the absolute value of test statistic is greater than the critical value, statistical significance can be declared as well as null hypothesis can be rejected. Critical value tests can be:
Left-tailed test: Q (α)

Right-tailed test: Q (1 - α)

Two-tailed test: Q (α/2)] ∪ Q (1 - α/2)

What is a t critical value?
T critical value is a point that cuts off the student t distribution . T value is used in a hypothesis test to compare against a calculated t score. The critical value of t helps to decide if a null hypothesis should be supported or rejected.
What is a z critical value?
Z critical value is a point that cuts off area under the standard normal distribution . Critical value of z can tell what probability any particular variable will have. Z and t critical values are almost identical.
What is f critical value?
F critical value is a value at which the threshold probability α of type-I error (reject a true null hypothesis mistakenly). The f statistics is the value that follows the f-distribution table.
Here are a few tests that help to calculate the f values.
- Overall significance in regression analysis. k
- Compare two nested regression models.
- The equality of variances in two normally distributed populations.
All the above tests are right-tailed. F critical value calculator above will help you to calculate the f critical value with a single click.
What is the chi-square value?
In certain hypothesis tests and confidence intervals, chi-square values are thresholds for statistical significance. The Chi-square distribution table is used to evaluate the chi-square critical values. It is rather tough to calculate the critical value by hand, so try a reference table or chi-square critical value calculator above.
The chi-square critical values are always positive and can be used in the following tests.
- Goodness-of-fit tests
- Homogeneity tests
- Tests for independence in contingency tables
Unlike the t & f critical value, Χ 2 (chi-square) critical value needs to supply the degrees of freedom to get the result.
The formula of z and t critical value can be expressed as:
- Q t is the quantile function of t student distribution
- u is the quantile function of the normal distribution
- d refers to the degree of freedom
- α is the significance level
Critical value of t calculator uses all these formulas to produce the exact critical values needed to accept or reject a hypothesis.
Calculating critical value is a tiring task because it involves looking for values into t distribution chart. The t distribution table (student t test distribution) consists of hundreds of values, so, it is convenient to use t table value calculator above for critical values. However, if you want to find critical values without using t table calculator, follow the examples given below.
How to find t critical value?
Find the t critical value if size of the sample is 5 and significance level is 0.05 .
Subtract 1 from the sample size to get the degree of freedom. Degree of Freedom = N – 1 = 5 – 1 Degree of freedom = 4 α = 0.05
Depending on the test, choose one-tailed t distribution table or two-tailed t table below.
Look for the degree of freedom in the most left column. Also, look for the significance level α in the top row. Pick the value occurring on the intersection of mentioned row and column. In this case, the t critical value is 2.132 .

How to find z critical value?
Find the z critical value if the significance level is 0.02 .
Divide the significance level α by 2 α/2 = 0.02/2 α/2 = 0.01
Subtract α/2 from 1. 1 - α/2 = 1 – 0.01 1 - α/2 = 0.99
Search the value 0.99 in the z table given below. Add the values of intersecting row (top) and column (most left) to get the z critical value. 2.3 + 0.03 = 2.33 Z critical value = ±2.33 for two-tailed test.

T-Distribution Table (One Tail)
The t table for one tail probability is given below.
T-Distribution Table (Two Tail)
The t table for two tail probability is given below.
Z table (right-tailed)
The normal distribution table for right-tailed test is given below.
Z table (left-tailed)
The normal distribution table for left-tailed test is given below.
- Krista King Math | Online math tutor. 2021. Critical points and the first derivative test — Krista King Math | Online math tutor.
- S.3.1 Hypothesis Testing (Critical Value Approach) | STAT ONLINE. PennState: Statistics Online Courses.
- 7.1.3.1. Critical values and p values. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Criticalvaluecalculator.com is a free online service for students, researchers, and statisticians to find the critical values of t and z for right-tailed, left tailed, and two-tailed probability.
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Hypothesis Test For a Population Proportion Using the Method of Rejection Regions
Instructions:
It is assumed that you have already read the relevant chapter in your textbook and attended lecture on this topic. Otherwise you will find this applet too challenging. The purpose of this applet is to provide the student with guided practice through problems on hypothesis testing for a population proportion using the method of rejection regions.
Follow the instructions and hit the "Enter" key when you have finished entering in your step, or select the correct entry.
If you need a hint, click on the "Hint" Button".
Carry your calculations to three decimal places. Use your three decimal places result for p^ when calculating the Z-score.
In the applet, the number of successes is labeled " r ", so that p^ = r/n .
You will need the following table of z-critical values for this applet.
Notice that two decimal places are given for some values while three are given for others. The applet will accept 1.645 or the rounded 1.65 .
Note: For all of the examples given in this activity, the conditions np > 5 and nq > 5 are met. This allows us to use the normal distribution to approximate the binomial distribution and proceed as the applet shows. If the conditions had not been met, the normal distribution cannot be used. A larger sample sized should be obtained. Do not conduct a hypothesis test for a population proportion when the sample size is too small.
Note: There are two common methods to conduct a hypothesis test. This activity allows you to practice the method of rejection regions. The other method involves the method of p-values. For an applet on the P-Value method, click here . Both methods are important to understand and both will always produce the same results.
Click here for a video that demonstrates this applet
The Null and Alternative Hypotheses Are
H : p =
H : p
The Z Critical Value is
The Cast of Characters Are
The Z-Score is:
The Proportion of people who are registered to vote in this state is 0.59. You think that this proportion os different for college students. You survey 103 college students and 47 of them are registered to vote. Conduct the appropriate hypothesis test using a level of significance of 0.10.
Congratulations!
Written Exercises
When you have mastered the above tutorial, please answer the following in a few complete sentences
Describe the steps in conducting a hypothesis test for a proportion?
Explain how conducting a hypothesis test for a proportion differs from conducting a hypothesis test for a mean.
Explain how the method of Rejection Regions differs from the method of P-Values.
Information on conducting a hypothesis test for a proportion
Statistics Lecture Notes
Back to Larry Green's Applet Page
Critical Value Calculator
Step by step calculation, what is the critical value, how to find critical value, left tailed test, right tailed test, z critical value calculator, t critical value calculator, f critical value calculator, chi square critical value calculator, calculators.

IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Calculate right-tailed value: Since α = 0.01, the area under the curve is 1 - α → 1 - 0.01 = 0.99. Our critical z value is 2.3263
It works for most common distributions in statistical testing: the standard normal distribution N(0,1) (that is, when you have a Z-score), t-
Formula: Probability (p): p = 1 - α/2. Upper Tail Probability. Critical Value: Definition and Significance in the Real World.
If α = 0.01 , then the area under the curve representing H 1 , the alternative hypothesis, would be 99%, since α (alpha) is the same as the area
Critical Value Calculator. T Value; Z Value; Chi-Square Value; F Value; R Value. Significance Level α: (0 to 0.5) Sample Inputs Degrees of Freedom:.
Page 1. 0 t critical value. -t critical value t curve. Central area t critical values. Confidence area captured: 0.90. 0.95. 0.98. 0.99. Confidence level:.
Denom. Numerator Degrees of Freedom. d.f.. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 1. 4052.181. 4999.500. 5403.352. 5624.583. 5763.650. 5858.986. 5928.356. 5981.070.
You will need the following table of z-critical values for this applet. a = 0.01, a = 0.05, a = 0.10. Z-Critical Value for a
Calculates critical values and draws distribution chart for Z, t, F and chi-squared ... For a standard normal distribution enter μ = 0 and &sigma = 1.
This video explains how to use the unit normal table to locate the critical value of Z for .o5, .o1, and .001 alpha levels in a both 1 & 2