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Control Systems

Resting potential and the action potential

  • 7 things to know
  • Papers 2 and 3

Overview

Recall questions on the resting potential, the sodium-potassium pump and potassium leak channels, threshold, depolarisation through voltage-gated sodium channels, repolarisation through potassium channels, and hyperpolarisation.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Process

By what process do sodium ions enter the axon during depolarisation?

Key term

What is the approximate resting potential of an axon, and which side of the membrane is negatively charged?

Key term

What must happen to the membrane potential for an action potential to be initiated?

Key term

What happens to voltage-gated sodium channels during repolarisation?

Key term

What type of transport does the sodium-potassium pump use, and what energy source does it require?

Key term

What type of ion channels open during the depolarisation phase of an action potential?

Key term

What happens to voltage-gated potassium channels during repolarisation?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is the approximate resting potential of an axon, and which side of the membrane is negatively charged?

    Model answer

    Approximately −70 mV, with the inside of the axon being negatively charged relative to the outside.

  2. 2

    What type of transport does the sodium-potassium pump use, and what energy source does it require?

    Model answer

    Active transport, requiring ATP.

  3. 3

    How many sodium ions does the sodium-potassium pump transport out of the axon per cycle?

    Model answer

    3 Na⁺ ions are pumped out per cycle.

  4. 4

    How many potassium ions does the sodium-potassium pump transport into the axon per cycle?

    Model answer

    2 K⁺ ions are pumped in per cycle.

  5. 5

    What does the unequal exchange of ions by the sodium-potassium pump create across the membrane?

    Model answer

    It creates an electrochemical gradient across the membrane.

  6. 6

    Why is the axon membrane more permeable to potassium ions than sodium ions at rest?

    Model answer

    Because potassium leak channels are open at rest, allowing K⁺ to diffuse out of the axon.

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