What is the role of the sodium-potassium pump in cellular transport?
Understand the Problem
The question relates to the sodium-potassium pump, which is a mechanism that transports sodium and potassium ions across cell membranes. It highlights the importance of carrier proteins in active transport and their role in maintaining ion concentration within cells.
Answer
Sodium-potassium pump actively moves Na+ out and K+ in, using ATP.
The sodium-potassium pump is a type of active transport that moves three sodium ions out of the cell and two potassium ions into the cell, using energy from ATP. This process maintains concentration gradients of Na+ and K+ across the cell membrane, which is essential for cellular function and membrane potential.
Answer for screen readers
The sodium-potassium pump is a type of active transport that moves three sodium ions out of the cell and two potassium ions into the cell, using energy from ATP. This process maintains concentration gradients of Na+ and K+ across the cell membrane, which is essential for cellular function and membrane potential.
More Information
The sodium-potassium pump is crucial for nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction, as well as maintaining proper cell volume.
Tips
A common mistake is not recognizing the necessity of ATP in this process since the movement of ions is against their concentration gradients.
Sources
- Sodium–potassium pump - Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org
- Physiology, Sodium Potassium Pump - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- 2.16: Sodium-Potassium Pump - Biology LibreTexts - bio.libretexts.org
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