Question

question 9
omark this question
which process keeps the intracellular fluid compartment high in potassium
and low in sodium?
o facilitated diffusion
o osmosis
o passive transport
o active transport

Explanation:

• Facilitated diffusion: Moves substances down their concentration gradient with the help of transport proteins, but doesn't maintain the \(K^{+}\) high and \(Na^{+}\) low intracellular environment.
• Osmosis: Movement of water across a semi - permeable membrane, not related to ion concentration maintenance in this context.
• Passive transport (includes simple and facilitated diffusion): Moves substances down their concentration gradient, not for creating and maintaining ion gradients.
• Active transport: Uses energy (e.g., ATP) to move substances against their concentration gradient. The sodium - potassium pump (\(Na^{+}/K^{+}\) - ATPase) is an example of active transport. It pumps \(3Na^{+}\) out of the cell and \(2K^{+}\) into the cell, maintaining the intracellular fluid high in \(K^{+}\) and low in \(Na^{+}\).

Answer:

Active transport