Name: A1_167_Patricia Shankar Jethani

Exercise 3: Neurophysiology of Nerve Impulses: Activity 1: The Resting Membrane Potential Lab Report

Pre-lab Quiz Results

You scored 100% by answering 4 out of 4 questions correctly.

1. What is the approximate concentration of K+ inside a typical cell (intracellular concentration)?

You correctly answered: a. 150 mM

2. What is the approximate concentration of K+ outside a cell (extracellular concentration)?

You correctly answered: b. 5 mM

3. What is the approximate concentration of Na+ inside a cell (intracellular concentration)?

You correctly answered: b. 5 mM

4. What is the approximate concentration of Na+ outside a cell (extracellular concentration)?

You correctly answered: a. 150 mM

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Experiment Results
Predict Question:
Predict Question: Predict what will happen to the resting membrane potential if the extracellular K+ concentration is
increased.
Your answer : b. The resting membrane potential will become less negative.

Stop & Think Questions:

What is the polarity of the resting membrane potential (voltage)?
You correctly answered: b. negative

What does it mean that the voltage just inside the membrane is negative?
You correctly answered: b. There are more negative charges than positive charges just inside the membrane.

The membrane of most cells, including neurons, contains passive, open,

K+ leak channels. Given the normal K+ concentrations and the resultant concentration gradient, which direction would K+
be expected to move (diffuse) through these leak channels?
You correctly answered: b. out of the cell

What effect does increasing extracellular K+ have on the net diffusion of K+ out of the cell?
You correctly answered: b. It decreases the net diffusion of K+ .

Which way would Na+ move across the membrane if there were open Na+ channels?
You correctly answered: a. Na+ would diffuse into the cell.

The membrane has open K+ channels, and changing extracellular K+ concentration results in a change in membrane
potential. Changing the extracellular Na+ concentration does not significantly change the membrane potential. What do
your results suggest about the number or state (open or closed) of Na+ channels in the resting membrane of a neuron?
You correctly answered: b. Na+ channels are mostly closed.

Experiment Data:

Extracellular Fluid (ECF) Microelectrode Position Voltage (mV)

Control Cell body extracellular 0
Control Cell body intracellular -70
Control Axon extracellular 0
Control Axon intracellular -70
High K+ Axon intracellular -40
High K+ Axon extracellular 0
High K+ Cell body extracellular 0
High K+ Cell body intracellular -40
Low Na+ Cell body intracellular -72
Low Na+ Cell body extracellular 0
Low Na+ Axon extracellular 0
Low Na+ Axon intracellular -72

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Post-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 3 out of 3 questions correctly.

1. A negative membrane potential was recorded when the tip of the microelectrode was
You correctly answered: d. both inside the cell body and inside the axon.

2. Which of the following caused a change in membrane potential from -70 to -40 in the cell body?
You correctly answered: a. an increase in extracellular K+

3. Which of the following has the most negative voltage?

You correctly answered: c. between the inside of the axon and the outside of the axon with control K+ ECF

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Review Sheet Results
1. Explain why increasing extracellular K+ reduces the net diffusion of K+ out of the neuron through the K+ leak
channels.
Your answer:
Increasing the concentration of the ECF does not change in ICF concentration, this is because the concentration of K+
inside the the neuron is already high.

2. Explain why increasing extracellular K+ causes the membrane potential to change to a less negative value. How well
did the results compare with your prediction?
Your answer:
The prediction was that less pottasium ion diffuses out of the neuron, therefore more of the concentrated potassium
remained inside the neuron in comparison to control. This resulted in making a less negative value than the control.
The results does match up with my prediction.

3. Explain why a change in extracellular Na+ did not significantly alter the membrane potential in the resting neuron?
Your answer:
In almost all of the experiments conducted, all of the sodium channels were closed, therefore most of the sodium channels
did not diffuse into the neuron. Thus, there was no significant change in membrane potential.

4. Discuss the relative permeability of the membrane to Na+ and K+ in a resting neuron.
Your answer:
There is a fast period of diffusion of the potassium ion from a higher concentration to a lower concentration because most of
the potassium channels being opened. On the other hand, the sodium channels doesn't show any significant movement,
since the point of focus of the experiment is concerning the number of potassium ion channels.

5. Discuss how a change in Na+ or K+ conductance would affect the resting membrane potential.
Your answer:
The conductance of the potassium ion increased as my membrane potential became more negative. However, when the
conductance of potassium ion decreased, the membrane potential become less negative. For the sodium ion, it worked in
the opposite direction

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