A friend of yours has gone out on a warm day for a relativel

A friend of yours has gone out on a warm day for a relatively long jog. She has taken along water to drink. After about an hour the water is gone, but your friend continues on for another 30 minutes. The entire time your friend has been running, she is also sweating. Her activity has caused a loss of electrolytes, and altered ion concentrations in the fluid surrounding cells. The level of K+ in the extracellular fluid of your friend is now very low. How does it affect the resting membrane potential compared to normal K+ levels? Resting membrane potential is not changed. Resting membrane potential is lower than normal. Resting membrane potential is higher than normal.

Solution

Ans: Resting membrane potential is lower than normal.

Ans: Resting membrane potential is lower than normal.

Due to lower K+ in extracellular fluid, cells will get hyperpolarised. This is also called hypokalemia, a condition in which resting potential is lowered (becomes more negative).