Question

There is a dance event going on with students attending from two different elementary schools. Students from one school are wearing purple shirts and students from the other school are wearing silver shirts. Imagine that the students in the purple represent potassium ions and the students in silver represent sodium ions, while the gymnasium represents the neuron. If their distribution is similar to what occurs at the resting potential for a neuron, which students would be moving in and out through the gym doors MOST often?

Answer 1

Answer:

The students with the purple shirts are moving through the gym doors most often.

Explanation:

• The students with the purple shirts represent potassium ions
• Potassium ions move freely across the membrane by passive transport and are important in maintaining membrane potentials
• The movement of sodium ions is through active transport therefore this is a process that requires energy (ATP) and thus these ions are less likely to move across the membrane often