Analytical evaluation of the derivatives used in equilibrium calculations

The derivatives of the total concentrations and other measured quantities with respect to the formation constants are calculated in general by a numerical method using finite increments. It is shown in this paper that these values can be calculated analytically, whereby the disadvantages of numerical differentiation may be avoided. The use of this method gives the possibility of writing faster programs for the calculation of the stability constants, based on the SCOGS and LETAGROP principle, without as large a memory requirement as in the LEAST and MINIQUAD programs.