Final answer:
The maximum number of significant digits for the double type is not strictly 15; it's approximately 15 to 17 decimal digits of precision due to its IEEE 754 floating-point representation, so the statement is false.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the maximum number of significant digits in values of the double type is 15 is false. In computer programming, the double type is a floating-point data type that is commonly used to represent numbers with fractions. The precision of a double can vary slightly depending on the system, but it typically allows for about 15 to 17 decimal digits of precision. This is because the double type is usually a 64-bit IEEE 754 floating point number, which includes a sign bit, an 11-bit exponent, and a 52-bit mantissa.
The concept of significant digits is more relevant to the field of science and engineering, where measurements are taken and rounding takes place based on the precision of the instruments used. It determines how many digits in a given number are meaningful in expressing the accuracy of a measurement. When working with double values in programming, it is the precision and representation in memory that are of primary concern rather than the number of significant digits.