Drawing distributions and shading in certain areas of the distribution corresponds MOST directly to ______.

A) stating the null hypothesis
B) the difference between statistics (such as s) and parameters (such as σ)
C) the effect of sample size on α
D) the concept of a 'critical value'

Shading in certain areas of a distribution corresponds most directly to the concept of a 'critical value'. This is because the critical value determines the cutoff point for determining whether the null hypothesis should be rejected or not based on the level of significance (α) chosen. Shading in the area beyond the critical value indicates the region where the null hypothesis would be rejected, while shading in the area within the critical value indicates the region where the null hypothesis would not be rejected. Therefore, shading in certain areas of a distribution is closely tied to understanding the critical value concept.