Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
In a completely randomized design (CRD), the degrees of freedom for error are:
\[
\text{df}_{\text{error}} = N - t
\]
where \(N\) is the total number of observations and \(t\) is the number of treatments.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Total number of observations:
\[
N = 4 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 17
\]
Number of treatments:
\[
t = 5
\]
So,
\[
\text{df}_{\text{error}} = 17 - 5 = 12
\]
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The error degrees of freedom represent the number of independent pieces of information available to estimate the error variance.
In CRD, \(\text{df}_{\text{error}} = N - t\).
Here, \(N = 17\) and \(t = 5\), so \(\text{df}_{\text{error}} = 12\).
Step 4: Final Answer:
Therefore, option (B) is correct.