Step 1 :The problem is asking to express the null and alternative hypotheses in symbolic form for the claim that the mean weight of female dancers in a local modern dance company is at most 144 lbs.
Step 2 :The null hypothesis (H0) is the hypothesis that the claim is true. So, the null hypothesis would be that the mean weight (µ) is equal to 144 lbs.
Step 3 :The alternative hypothesis (H1) is the hypothesis that the claim is false. So, the alternative hypothesis would be that the mean weight (µ) is less than 144 lbs.
Step 4 :Thus, the null and alternative hypotheses in symbolic form for this claim are: \[\begin{array}{l} H_{0}: \mu = 144 \\ H_{1}: \mu < 144 \end{array}\]