Potassium ions act as if they were nonpenetrating solutes in the intracellular fluid and as sodium, chloride, and ions in the extracellular fluid. they are pumped back out because
<h3>What is the Na+- K+ pump's principal function in preserving the resting membrane potential ?</h3><h3 />
The Na+K+-ATPase pump helps living things maintain their osmotic equilibrium and membrane potential. The sodium and potassium withstand concentration gradients. The Na+ K+-ATPase pump maintains the gradient between a higher concentration of sodium extracellularly and a higher concentration of potassium intracellularly.
A change in K+ conductance would have a greater effect on the resting membrane potential than a change in Na+ conductance because the membrane is more permeable to K+.
If the extracellular potassium ion concentration decreased, more potassium would leave the cell, causing the electrical gradient across the membrane, or transmembrane potential, to increase. This state is known as hyperpolarization.