Question

Some cells will concentrate ions, such as potassium ions, inside where the concentration is twenty times higher than the outside environment. The cells are moving these ions against their concentration gradient.

Which of the following would be required to maintain this gradient in the cells?

Question 7 options:

movement of the ions directly across the membrane


energy as glucose


energy as ATP


energy as starch

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To maintain an ion concentration gradient, such as having potassium ions concentrated inside a cell against their concentration gradient, energy is required for active transport processes.

In this case, the correct option would be:

**energy as ATP**

Active transport mechanisms, such as the sodium-potassium pump (Na+/K+ pump), utilize ATP to move ions against their concentration gradients. Therefore, the process of concentrating potassium ions inside a cell requires ATP.