As stated previously, Darken's first equation allows the calculation of the marker velocity  in respect to a binary system where the two components have different diffusion coefficients. For this equation to be applicable, the analyzed system must have a constant concentration and can be modeled by the Boltzmann–Matano solution.
For the derivation, a hypothetical case is considered where two homogeneous binary alloy rods of two different compositions are in contact. The sides are protected, so that all of the diffusion occurs parallel to the length of the rod. In establishing the coordinate axes to evaluate the derivation, Darken sets the x-axis to be fixed at the far ends of the rods, and the origin at the initial position of the interface between the two rods. In addition this choice of a coordinate system allows the derivation to be simplified, whereas Smigelskas and Kirkendall's coordinate system was considered to be the non-optimal choice for this particular calculation as can be seen in the following section. At the initial planar interface between the rods, it is considered that there are infinitely small inert markers placed in a plane which is perpendicular to the length of the rods. Here, inert markers are defined to be a group of particles that are of a different elemental make-up from either of the diffusing components and move in the same fashion. For this derivation, the inert markers are assumed to be following the motion of the crystal lattice. The motion relative to the marker is associated with diffusion, , while the motion of the markers is associated with advection, . Fick’s first law, the previous equation stated for diffusion, describes the entirety of the system for only small distances from the origin, since at large distances advection needs to be accounted for. This results in the total rate of transport for the system being influenced by both factors, diffusion and advection.