BIOL 212 UPDATED Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers

Which ion most readily leaks across a neuron's membrane, helping to establish the resting potential? K+ In resting neurons, the membrane is selectively permeable to K+ through a K+ channel protein. As K+ leaves the cell along its concentration gradient, the inside of the membrane becomes negatively charged relative to the outside. Will K+ continue to leave the cell indefinitely? No−−as the interior of the cell becomes more negative, the electrical gradient counteracts the movement of K+ out of the cell. Eventually, there is no net movement of K+. The nucleus and most of the organelles in a neuron are located in the _____. cell body For a neuron at rest with a membrane potential of -65 mV, an increase in the movement of potassium ions out of that neuron's cytoplasm would result in the ________. hyperpolarization of the neuron