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Mathematical tables are lists of numbers showing the results of a calculation with varying arguments.
- Tables of trigonometric functions were used in ancient Greece and India for applications to astronomy and celestial navigation. They continued to be widely used until electronic calculators became cheap and plentiful, in order to simplify and drastically speed up computation.
- Tables of logarithms and trigonometric functions were common in math and science textbooks, and specialized tables were published for numerous applications.
Facing pages from a 1619 book of mathematical tables by Matthias Bernegger, showing values for the sine, tangent and secant trigonometric functions. Angles less than 45° are found on the left page, angles greater than 45° on the right. Cosine, cotangent and cosecant are found by using the entry on the opposite page.
These mathematical tables from 1925 were distributed by the College Entrance Examination Board to students taking the mathematics portions of the tests
