To express the null and alternative hypotheses in symbolic form for the claim that the mean weight of male nurses at a local hospital is equal to 183 lbs, you can define the following:
Let \( \mu \) be the mean weight of male nurses.
The hypotheses can be stated as:
- Null Hypothesis (\( H_0 \)): \( \mu = 183 \)
- Alternative Hypothesis (\( H_1 \)): \( \mu \neq 183 \)
This setup suggests a two-tailed test, as we are interested in any difference from the mean weight of 183 lbs.