Final answer:
The semi-interquartile range is not equal to one-fourth of the range; it is actually half of the interquartile range (IQR), which is the difference between the third and first quartiles.
Step-by-step explanation:
No, the semi-interquartile range is not equal to one-fourth of the range. The semi-interquartile range, also known as the quartile deviation, is calculated as half the interquartile range (IQR), which is the difference between the third and first quartiles (Q3 - Q1). On the other hand, the range is the difference between the maximum and minimum values in the data set.
Given an example where the IQR is given as 17 years, and assuming the IQR is calculated correctly, the semi-interquartile range would be half of this value, that is 8.5 years, not one-fourth of the data's total range.