Since the cell is permeable to both sodium and potassium, over time, you would expect an equilibrium state would be reached at which point the concentration of sodium and potassium would be approximately equal inside and outside of the cell. Hence, there would be no membrane potential. The pump is another integral protein complex that requires ATP and actively transports sodium out of the cell and potassium into the cell. For every three sodium that are moved out, two potassium are moved in. Thus, the sodium-potassium pump maintains the ion gradient across the membrane.
Some cells are excitable , that is, they can change their membrane potential.
Let's examine the voltage-activated gates of sodium and potassium. At rest, sodium cannot pass through these gates because gate 1 is closed. Potassium Channel - this channel permits the diffusion of potassium closed at rest depolarization causes it to open slowly. B. Opening the gates. If the depolarization reaches ca.